Kali rests against the fence beside Seema, forcing a smile to her face. Andi walks up behind me, wearing darker colours and a scarf around her neck, the usual garb we wear out to hide under the cover of darkness.
“Here we go,” she says. I can’t tell if she is nervous or excited, maybe both.
Caelan addresses us all. “Remember, stay quiet, we don’t know if there are any soldiers nearby. We will avoid a fight if we can help it, save our energy.” His eyes dart around each of us.
The cave door opens, Kaleb comes up, gripping my hand and wrapping one arm around me, “Behave yourself, little cub.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” Aron says, frowning. I clasp his hand in mine.
“Find them. Please,” I whisper. Aron nods, clasping his hand on my shoulder.
Iza and Lilah say they’re goodbyes and slip off into the night. Caelan reckons it will take us possibly three, four weeks to getthere. Once we get to the border of Yiren, we’ll be in the clear. The next few days will be the hardest with the soldiers hanging around.
Andi stomps off after Caelan, leaving the rest of us to follow in her wake.
Chapter Forty-Three
Andi
Screams echo through the walls. Startled from my sleep, I toss my blanket to one side and rush to check on Andrina. So small and fragile, she rustles in her sleep, her face screws up in a pout. I pick her up to comfort her as someone bolts through the bedroom door, the light from the hallway snakes along the floor.
“Ma’am, I do apologise for the intrusion. Something has happened in the castle, we need to get the two of you out of here,” my maid Teagan says as she hurriedly grabs light clothes and a cloak, laying them on the bed. “Please, there is no time.” She rushes up and takes Andrina from my arms.
Reluctantly, I hand her over, the insistence in her voice and the solemn scowl on her face tells me that something has her scared. “Teagan, what is going on? What is happening in the castle? What is that screaming?” I ask, getting dressed as fast as I can, grabbing some boots from the closet.
“I—I—I don’t know…exactly…but…” Teagan holds on to my baby tight, kissing the top of her forehead; tears build in her eyes as her bottom lip quivers.
“Teagan. Tell me right now.”
“There’s a man in the castle…he’s…he’s killing people...” She sobs into the bundle of blankets that keeps Andrina snug, her words almost inaudible, but the last part couldn’t have been clearer.
“Killing? Who?” I swallow my words. “Who is dead, Teagan?” I take my baby from her arms as tears stream down her face. Teagan buries her head in her hands and sobs. “Teagan!”
“Everyone. The king is dead.”
Shock runs through me like I have been stabbed with an ice shard, my heart stops beating for a split second, before pounding so rapidly I can hear the drumming in my head. They’re dead. All of them. How? Who could have done this? Why?My last words with him were in anger, now I’ll never get the chance to make things right.
Shouting from the corridor snaps me back into reality, and heavy footsteps stomp towards my room. Teagan pulls me towards the servant’s door hidden behind a curtain in the corner of the room. I follow her blindly into the tunnels, ducking into the dark. I don’t ask questions; I trust Teagan. She has always been a friend to me, regardless of our station. Always treated me as such and spoke candidly when she felt it necessary.
Whatever is happening in the castle tonight, it has her frightened.
We slink through the tunnels for what feels like hours. Thankfully, she knows them well, or we would be lost in this labyrinth of pathways and doors. We come to a stop deep in the castle, down further than even I knew existed. Fixing the blanket around Andrina, somehow, in all the commotion, she has settled back to sleep.
“Teagan, please, what happened? I need to know.”
“I was awoken by some younger maids, shouting within the main rooms below had caused them to be alarmed. Mae and Rose snuck out to see what was going on, they’ve always had a nosey streak. Only one returned. Mae watched as guards struck down Rose, but they weren’t our guards, she said theyhad no signet on their breastplates. Mae saw a tall, cloaked man attacking your family. The poor thing was shaking so much she could barely get her words out. That’s when I came to you.”
Crouching down beside an old, broken wooden door, Teagan peeks outside to make sure the path is clear. Heading out the door, I realise we have somehow made our way across the entire castle and out behind the stables. My knees threaten to buckle at the sight of bodies scattered across the ground, the guardhouse obscured with flames. Screams wail from inside the castle walls. I can’t help them now.
Misneach, forgive me. I focus on Andrina, on getting her out. That’s the most important thing.
We creep alongside the wall, hiding within the shadows, into the stables, but the stable door is wide open, and all the horses have fled into the night. Teagan groans, pulling me around the stable wall, heading to the portcullis. I rock Andrina, hushing her, willing her to remain sleeping in my arms.
Loud men’s voices mumble from around the corner of the castle, growing louder with every second. Teagan and I make a run for the already open portcullis. The night is dark, most of the torches have been extinguished, but the keep is brightly lit by the fire in the guard house. I look back, scanning for the voices; silhouettes of men slip around the castle walls, blood dripping from their weapons and armour.
This was not an attack, but an execution.
Teagan yelps as a man steps out in front of the gate, his large size covering the open portcullis, tall and broad. Mae was right, he stands in front of us, arrogant with a bare breastplate, which can only mean one thing: whoever attacked us is using paid mercenaries.
