She squeezed his hand and whispered in a shaky voice, “We left the trapdoor open. It"s now closed.”
So she had sensed it also.
She was trying to hide her concern, but Tiernan knew she was frightened. Not that he wasn"t worried also. He whispered, “Stay here.”
He really didn"t want to leave her alone at the base of the stone stairs carved into the rock in the event someone sinister was in the tunnels and might come upon her. But he didn"t want to take her up the stairs to the trapdoor and move her outside if someone dangerous happened to be waiting for them topside.
“Together,” she whispered, repeating his own mantra, sounding as though staying behind scared her more than facing whoever had closed the trapdoor. “I have a dagger in my boot.”
He raised his brows at her. Her words brought to mind his advisor"s saying that some women in other kingdoms were warrior women. But she did not look like the kind of lady who waged war. And he doubted her mother would allow her only daughter to partake in such a deadly venture. “I have a sword, but I did not wear it to the evening meal.”
“No dagger either?”
“My advisor and the rest of my men carried theirs. I was attempting to appear as though I came in peace, my lady. I never thought the digs would harbor any danger for you, or I would not have allowed you to remain here.”
Ritasia tugged on his hand. “Shouldn"t we at least try to fae transport out of here?”
“Aye, we shall try.” He drew her closer, not needing to, but wanting to. Both tried their best to travel, but it was hopeless. “Iron ore must be in the rock. Let"s try the trapdoor.”
He had the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach that the door would be blocked. He had no real good reason to feel that way, but still, he did.
When he gave it a shove, it didn"t budge. He tried with all his might, first his shoulder, then his back pressing against it at alternate times, but it didn"t move even a fraction of an inch.
“We"re trapped down here,” she said, sounding like she was fighting tears. “Do you think anyone knows we"re down here?”
“Possibly. Or someone just found the opening and decided to secure it until the archeologists arrive in the morning. You"ve had thievery here before. A guard may check the site periodically through the night. He might have even been concerned someone might fall through the opening and injure himself.”
“Then we should holler for help before he leaves.”
Tiernan walked her back down the steps. “Whoever blocked the trapdoor might not be one of your mother"s guards.”
“My mother will kill me,” Ritasia said disconsolately.
“She intended to scold you tonight when I returned you after our garden walk, did she not?”
“Oh, aye. Now she will be more than furious.” She looked up at him. “What if she insists we wed?”
“We will find a way out. There must be an exit that opens to the outside somewhere.
Then we can return a little later than we intended, and all will be well.” The notion her mother would insist they wed had appeal, but he thought it best not to address that subject for the moment.
The problem was the deeper they walked into the tunnel, the more passages they found.
“Have we been going in circles?” Ritasia finally asked, sounding thoroughly dejected after they"d walked for what seemed like hours.
“Maybe so. Give me your dagger, and I"ll carve an arrow pointing in the direction we have gone and if we see it again, we"ll know we"ve been this way before.”
Chapter 6
Her mother would kill her, Ritasia thought morosely again. It had been her stupid idea to discover what the hinged box meant, at least that"s what she"d thought it was. Not a trapdoor. She hadn"t known what to expect, except maybe to find a treasure vault and see it first before anyone else could. No matter what she"d suspected when she"d considered the door, she hadn"t believed it would lead to an endless myriad of tunnels. Surely one of them would lead outside soon. But she was afraid they"d been walking in circles.
And now they were trapped inside.
Every tunnel looked like every other tunnel, no distinguishing features from one to the next. She felt like she was in one of those poorly constructed dungeon and dragons" kind of role-playing games that the humans loved so much where the artwork was repeated and none of it varied enough so that the players would find themselves lost for hours in such a maze of tunnels.
At least like the ones Alicia had shown her when she took her to her human home.
The walls were dripping with water, blanketed in emerald green moss, an occasional stalactite holding tight to the ceiling, or a stalagmite poking up from the floor. The air was cool and moist and she shivered, feeling as though the cool wetness was beginning to seep through her clothes into the marrow of her bones. The only thing warming her up down her was Tiernan, his body pressed against her side, his arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her tight beside him, and the thought of that surprise kiss.
She was astonished when he"d taken her in hand and kissed her, then pulled away.
Though she knew he was enjoying the kiss as much as she was. Which made him all the more honorable. And yet, she wouldn"t have minded the kiss lasting a bit longer.
She watched as Tiernan carved an arrow into the wall, felt a little guilty that they would leave their mark down here when it didn"t belong to them. That was silly, she had to tell herself.
The tunnels and wreckage of the castle didn"t belong to anyone, not really, not any longer. Well, except her mother had laid claim to it.
At least Tiernan could carve something in the wall to help them determine if they were walking through the same area over and over again.
She was beginning to wonder if they should attempt to return to the trapdoor. Surely someone would come there in the morning.
The morning. Ritasia would have spent the entire night with a man who was not her relation. Even though he was a king, it would not bode well for either of them.
She wasn"t sure what else to do. They hadn"t found even a hint of an exit, no fresh air seeping into the passageways, no outside light, though it was probably still early night. She was so tired, she could barely lift her feet to traverse the rocky floor, stumbling more often than not, and though Tiernan was making sure she stayed on her feet, his hand securely around her waist now, he had stumbled a time or two himself.
He finally pulled her to a stop. “This area has the smoothest floor that we"ve come across in all our travels.”
Her heart lifted and she thought he was going to say he believed they might have found a way close to the exit. Instead he said, “We need to rest. We"re both so tired we can barely walk upright any longer. Come, lie down with me and we will sleep for a bit. Surely someone, or even more than that will be searching the tunnels in the morning.”
She wasn"t ready for what he did next. She thought they"d sleep close to each other for warmth and safety, but not like this.
He cuddled her against his body so she wouldn"t have to recline on the cold, hard floor, kissed the top of her head, and said, “Sleep, princess. We"ll be out of here in no time.” His voice was weary and though he tried to sound like he knew what he was talking about, he also sounded like he didn"t believe in his own words either, but was only trying to reassure her.
“They"ll find us,” she said, snuggling against his chest, listening to his heartbeat thumping beneath his royal navy tunic decorated in gold trim, now layered in a film of red dust.
She realized then he must have dressed in all his finery to impress her mother, the court, and of course, Ritasia, when she had gloated about being as poorly dressed for such an affair as possible.
She sighed.
She wouldn"t have done anything differently. She hadn"t known him then, hadn"t wished to get to know him. Now, it was different, somehow. Maybe because they"d shared an adventure, and he had not gotten angry with her for getting them into this mess. Her mother would have been highly pis
sed. Her brother would have been extremely exacerbated. Tiernan? He was trying to make the most of it, while also attempting to ensure she was not alarmed.
She realized that adversity had only brought them closer.
She prayed that her people would find them and no one else that might wish them harm, and that her mother wouldn"t be as angry with her as she knew she would be as she tried to sleep.
***
Deveron paced across his sister"s chamber and stopped to ask Ritasia"s maid once again,
“You"re sure she went to the gardens with King Tiernan?”
The older woman was wringing her hands and nodded, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. “Aye. She was walking toward them with her hand in the king"s, and I returned here to make down her bed. The queen herself didn"t want me to watch them walking in the gardens.
She said enough courtiers were enjoying the weather before it turns too cold that she would be chaperoned adequately, and she did not want us to appear as though we didn"t trust him with the princess.”
Deveron stalked over to the window and looked out. “Then where is she? Where is he?
His men have not seen their king any more than we can find Ritasia! Which means they are together. Somewhere. I did not think she liked the king well enough to go off somewhere with him alone.”
He was trying with all his might to reign in his anger and not throw the king"s men in the dungeon. They were just as concerned as he was, and they seemed sincere enough that they didn"t know where their king or Ritasia had disappeared to.
Melissina offered, “He could not have taken her hostage, my lord. Not if he left his men behind.”
Deveron frowned at her. “True, but then what has become of them? They have both vanished!”
“Did you not hear what she was saying to the king while you sat on the other side of the princess? Mayhap they had planned a secret rendezvous.”
“I would not have thought it possible. But she was whispering to him. Where would they have gone?”
“"Tis a mystery to me, my lord. Usually when we cannot find her, she is with you, beg pardon.”
“She is not with me,” Deveron said coldly. “She is with him! And we have no notion as to what sort of a man he truly is. We have very little knowledge of the hawk fae"s kind. Perhaps this is their way of securing an unwilling bride!”
“Oh my heavens, no,” Melissina said. “It cannot be true.”
“We have no way of learning the truth until we find them.”
“What is the queen saying about this?” Melissina whispered, her voice full of dread.
“She is sleeping, thank the goddess. She sent me to have words with Ritasia about her behavior and dress tonight. The queen was feeling tired and wished me to deal with my sister.
Thank the goddess,” he repeated.
His mother would have thrown the king"s men in the dungeon until someone told them where the king and Ritasia had disappeared to. Worse, the sun would be up in several hours and then what would he tell his mother when they had morning meal?
He"d been searching all night for his sister…and the king. He"d questioned everyone who had been awake and awakened those who were not, barraging everyone with the same question.
Where had Ritasia and the king gone?
A light tapping on his sister"s chamber door made him whip around to see a middle-aged lady standing in the doorway, a cloak about her shoulders, her pale skin flushed. “My lord,” she stammered. “Lord Everton and I had taken a trip to the human world and just returned to find the place in an uproar. We just received word that you were looking for Princess Ritasia and King Tiernan. They fae traveled somewhere else. They had just reached the garden gate, and we were about to approach them and curtsey and bow to them in greeting when they disappeared.”
He frowned. “Did he forcibly take her somewhere?”
“Why, no, my lord. Just the opposite.”
Deveron"s brows rose. “She forcibly took him somewhere?” His voice arced in disbelief.
“Why, no, my lord. Not exactly.”
“Then what, pray tell?”
“Well, Princess Ritasia pulled her hand from his, and she disappeared. King Tiernan"s face reddened, he cursed under his breath, and then he vanished. He did not stop to solicit anyone"s help in locating the lady, so we assumed he knew where she had gone.”
“So he was angry that Ritasia had left him.”
“Aye, my lord. He looked quite smitten with the princess. Then quite annoyed.”
Deveron scowled. He still had no idea where she would have gone to. If it hadn"t been that the king seemed to know just where she had disappeared, he would have assumed she had tried to escape walking with him in the gardens.
Still several more hours before the sun would be up. He had to find her before then. Their mother would have a meltdown when she learned Ritasia and the king were missing.
He stalked out of Ritasia"s chambers to find the fae trackers and head them in the right direction.
***
“Are you sure it was the princess?” Duke Tully asked his second in command, delighted at the prospect that he would be able to take the lady hostage, and that Queen Irenis would pay handsomely for her return.
Lords Langtry and Havetson rolled the fallen pillar segment away from the trapdoor to the ancient ruins that they"d used to block it.
“Aye,” Lord Langtry said. “We came here to see if we could find any valuable relics and saw the princess still dressed as she was earlier at the site. I have no idea who the man was that came with her here. No doubt some suitor. But she did not have a lady"s maid with her so she was not properly chaperoned.”
Not believing the queen would permit such behavior, Duke Tully shook his head.
“No doubt the man was highborn, at least from the way he was so elegantly dressed and would bring just as worthy a ransom. Whereas she was dressed in men"s breeches and a dusty tunic.” Lord Langtry smiled. “Mayhap you should keep the lady for your own. I"m sorry, my lord, that it took so long for us to come and get you. We had a devil of a time locating you.”
The lady would be way too much of a handful. And Duke Tully could not see keeping her confined when he was sure she wouldn"t be a willing bride. Her mother would hunt him down on top of that. As well as would her brother and cousins. It was best to ransom her for the money it could bring. His king would enjoy his share and be amused to boot. “You are certain they did not find a way out already?”
“Nay, we are not certain of that, my lord. If they found another exit, we know not where it is.”
Lord Langtry preceded the duke into the tunnels. Duke Tully followed and his five other men after that, while one remained behind as lookout.
After traversing the tunnels for what seemed an eternity, they came upon an arrow carved into a rock facing. “Newly marked,” Lord Langtry whispered. “They"ve come this way.”
Duke Tully smiled, already anticipating how much money this could mean to him, but capturing the dark fae princess was an added bonus.
**
Startled awake by the sound of men"s boots tromping down one of the tunnels, Ritasia sat up and tugged at King Tiernan"s tunic. “Someone"s coming,” she whispered. “Sounds like several men.”
Why was she whispering, when it probably was some of her own people? Because no one was calling out her name. And that made her fear that whoever it was were thieves.
King Tiernan pulled her to her feet, but she felt cold and stiff and achy. Even though he"d helped to warm her by keeping her off the floor and kept his arms wrapped tight around her, it hadn"t kept all the chill out of her bones. And she was hungry. Sitting beside the king at the evening meal, she"d been so conscious of the way he was sitting so close to her, whispering into her ear, making her people believe he was ready to snatch her up and marry her, that she"d barely been able to eat.
The fae didn"t need to eat. Not really. But they did so as a form of celebration and they did get hungry when they didn"t partake i
n regular meals. She supposed it was kind of like when a human had finished a meal, but was still craving having something else to eat—like a hot fudge sundae even though he didn"t really need it to slake a hunger.
“Come.” King Tiernan moved her away from the sound of the boots tromping through the tunnel but quickly pulled her to a halt when the footfalls stopped abruptly. Both her breath and the king"s were puffs of mist in the chilly air. “They are trying to determine where we are by the sound of our footfalls.”
“We cannot take off our boots,” she said in a hushed voice back. “The ground"s too rocky.”
“Not here,” he said, sliding his foot across the path. “It"s still smooth here.”
“This had to be a main path closer to the castle,” she said, thinking surely it was, though how that would help them, she didn"t know when the castle above was no more.
“We might find another trapdoor.” He let go of her hand and crouched in front of her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her heart racing.
His hands were on her calves as he reached to touch her knee-high boots. “We must remove our boots. It won"t give us a lot of time unless they take the wrong path that moves them away from us. But at least they won"t be able to hear us.”
“They are not my men, are they?”
“They would have called out for you,” he said, saying just what she"d been thinking.
Then he had their boots under his arm and her hand in his as they silently moved forward.
“Do you think they found your arrow carvings?”
“Aye,” he whispered against her temple.
“They are the bad guys.”
But he didn"t agree or disagree. Still, she knew he thought the same as she did, or they would not be trying to avoid the men.
They were not the good guys.
***
King Tiernan had fought in many battles, protecting his people from the closest major kingdom there was, that of the griffon fae of the island realm, and he"d found himself avoiding capture on four different occasions when he and his men had become separated. So he was used to such maneuvers and was quite successful at it.