“Do you think your command applied to every Unseelie guard?” Dash asks. “Or only the guards in the prison?”
“No idea.” I look back the way we came, but I don’t see anyone hunting through the garden for us. If the guards have managed to open the prison trapdoor, then they’re looking for us elsewhere right now. “I don’t know exactly what I was thinking when I gave them command, and all I said was ‘the guards.’ I hope it was all of them, but I think that would have taken more power than I had left.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Zed says.
“I’d rather not find out,” Dash replies. “Em, do you think we can get to the dragon enclosures now without being seen, or should we wait until dark?”
“Uh … now is probably better. Even if we don’t try to escape until dark, there’s a thicket of trees just before the dragon pits that hardly anyone ever goes through. It’ll be safer to hide there than to hide on this side of the palace.”
“Okay. So we move now,” Zed says.
We continue our stealthy mission through the gardens, passing nothing more threatening that a few small flying and crawling creatures. “Hey, I never asked what Guild you’re from,” Dash says to Zed at one point as we pause behind a thick bush to scope out our surroundings again.
Zed rubs his neck as he peers through the bush’s leafy branches. “It’s a long story, but I’m not affiliated with any particular Guild anymore.”
“Oh. But your markings—”
“My markings are still active, yes. But it’s a story for another time. Let’s get out of here alive first.”
I happen to agree with Zed. Especially since I’ve just discovered our first major obstacle. “Hey, I think we have a problem,” I say to them. They’re both so intently examining the garden on the other side of the bush that they haven’t yet noticed what’s happening in the distance behind us.
“What’s wrong?” Dash asks, turning to face the same way I’m facing. “Ah. I see it. Where the bunting is hanging between those statues?”
“Yes. A picnic lunch is about to take place there. I just saw the last baskets of food being placed around the blankets, and the first few ladies have just arrived. Oh, and there come more people,” I add as a small group of colorfully dressed men and women wander toward the picnic area.
“I assume we were planning to walk right through that spot to get to the dragons?” Dash asks.
“Yep. Unfortunately.”
“We could backtrack a bit and go around the other side of the palace,” Zed suggests.
“It’s a lot longer going that way around,” I tell him, “and it takes us past the main entrance where all the carriages drive in and out. We’ll have to do almost a full loop of the castle.”
“Bad idea,” Dash says. “Let’s just head further to the left and go around the picnic.”
“I’ve never been to that part of the grounds,” I tell him, “so I don’t know what we might find there. I have a suspicion there are houses that way for some of the fae who work here, but I’m not sure.”
“Well we can’t go through the palace,” Dash says, “so going further left is our best option. Besides, most people should be at work during the day, right? So if there are houses that way, hopefully they’ll be empty.”
“Fine. But I hope you’re ready to fight, because you might have to.”
“Have you learned any combat magic since arriving here?” Zed asks me as we sneak out from behind the bush.
“No. Not officially. I tried out some magic on my own, but I doubt I could produce it fast enough to use it in an actual fight.” We slip behind our next cover—the first of a row of trees clipped into giant birds—and crouch down. And then … an odd sound reaches my ears from somewhere behind us.
“Oh, fudging heck,” Dash says. “The guards are out.”
I look around. A wave of uniformed men and women is moving through the garden toward us. They stab their swords into bushes, slash at leaves, and wave their blades beside every tree. “Looks like they’re not too concerned about stabbing us or chopping off a limb or two,” I say.
“We need to keep moving,” Dash says, “or it won’t be long before they reach us.”
Keeping our heads down, we run alongside the row of topiary birds. The back of my coat drags along the grass behind me. I wish I had time to stop, undo the buttons, and shed the smothering garment. I’m beginning to bake inside it. At the other end, we carefully step out into the open again. We’re a good distance away from the picnic, so as long as we make no sudden moves, we shouldn’t catch the attention of any—
“There she is!”
The distant shout comes from the direction of the picnic. I freeze and look across the garden. I’m too far away to know for sure, but I think it’s one of the guards who’s been stationed near my room since the day I got here. He launches forward and runs toward us. Another two guards detach from the gathering and join him.
“Well, that answers our question about the other guards seeing us,” Zed says as we start running.
My mind races ahead, trying to visualize a way out of this. If we can beat the guards to the dragon pits, we can jump down into one of them. Hopefully we won’t break any ankles or legs, or become a snack for Imperia. Then we can get Phillyp to remove the shield over the enclosure and let us fly away—or threaten his life if he doesn’t. Not the best way to go about things, especially since I like Phillyp, but it’s our only option now.
Until suddenly, our only option vanishes.
Almost straight ahead of us, from the area of the grounds I’ve never been to before, dozens upon dozens of guards come racing into view. “Crap,” I mutter, skidding to a stop along with Dash and Zed. “Go back the other way. The long way around the palace. At least the prison guards can’t see us.” We take off in the other direction, but the three guards from the picnic are gaining on us. Run, run, RUN, I tell myself, easily keeping up with Dash and Zed. They may be elite warriors, but I feel like I’ve spent my life training for this moment: fleeing a small army’s worth of Unseelie guards.
We hurtle past the front of the palace, providing great entertainment for anyone who happens to be in their suites looking out at the garden. I have no idea what we’ll do once we get around to the side where all the carriages drive in and out, and dozens more men and women stand guard along the walls. My mind tumbles through half-formed ideas of what I can use the last remaining part of my Griffin power for.
But I never get a chance to make a decision, because around the corner of the palace comes yet another group of uniformed faeries.
Twenty-Nine
“Dammit!” I cry out. I’m running so fast I almost trip over my own feet as I try to stop. Dash grabs onto my arm and tugs me back. “Into the palace,” I pant. “We don’t have … a choice now. We can hide … somewhere inside.”
There are open doors and archways all across the ground floor, and it’s far too easy to race into the palace. It’s a trap, of course. We’re running into an elaborate, lavishly decorated trap. Because once all the doors and windows are sealed off—and I have no doubt the king can do that in a matter of seconds with the aid of magic—we’ll have nowhere else to go.
Except …
I stop running halfway across a portrait-lined hallway, and Dash almost collides with me. “What?” he asks. “What’s wrong.”
“There’s a way out.”
“Where?” Zed asks.
“It’s—wait. Come on.” At the sound of running footsteps behind us, we keep moving. I lead the way down another hall, through a small parlor, then take a few turns along increasingly narrow passages, and eventually race past an enormous kitchen. I duck through the first open doorway I see, which turns out to be packed to the ceiling with bags of various kinds of grain.
After peering back out to make sure no one’s seen us, Dash quietly shuts the door. He faces me. “Where’s this other way out?”
“It’s a portal. A gateway into another world.” I paus
e to catch my breath and wipe tiny beads of sweat from my brow. “Not the human world and not this one. The other world Aurora and Roarke took us to. The shadow one.”
Deep lines crease Dash’s forehead. “That place with barely any color? Where that black shapeless creature chased us?”
“Yes. It isn’t a place in this world. It’s—”
“Between the worlds,” Dash murmurs.
“Yes. Just like you said. There’s a portal in Roarke’s room that leads straight into that world, and once we’re there, we can use the candles to get out.”
“Candles?”
“Yes. With—the way the witches—I’ll explain later. The point is, we can get out of that world.”
“And what about the creatures that rose up from the shadows and wanted to kill us?”
“We can run if we have to. I’m safe, actually.” I pull at the chain around my neck and lift the pendant from where it’s hiding beneath my shirt. “And you guys know how to fight. So we should be fine. I’d rather take my chances against a bunch of shadows than against an Unseelie army.”
“I hope you realize,” Zed says, “that whatever the two of you are talking about makes zero sense. A world between worlds? What does that even mean?”
“Now isn’t exactly the time to go into detail,” I point out, “but it’s real. I promise. It came into existence when the veil was torn. And it’s the only way I know of to get out of this palace.”
Slowly, Zed nods. “Okay. But won’t this portal be just as heavily guarded as any other exit?”
“I don’t think so. Roarke and his father don’t want anyone but their closest guards knowing about the shadow world. And I don’t think the king knows about the portal. I’m pretty sure Roarke kept that a secret from him. I know Roarke stationed a few of his men on either side of the portal, but he may not have had a chance to send more guards there yet. If we make it there quickly, and there are only a few guards—”
“We can handle them,” Dash says. “Definitely.”
“How far to his chambers?” Zed asks.
My enthusiasm wilts a little. It seems impossibly far right now. “Uh … far enough that the chance of being seeing is extremely high.”
“The key is to blend in,” Dash says. “If we’re not running away from anything, we won’t catch anyone’s attention. We just need to look like your average three nobles wandering around the palace.”
“Well, we’ve already failed then. You guys look awful.”
“Thanks,” Dash says drily. “But we can’t very well shed our clothing. We’ll make even more of a spectacle if we wander down the halls without—Oh.” His face brightens. “That could work.”
“What?”
“Remember where I went when I first got here?”
“Um … no. I wasn’t with you when you first got here. You were—Oh, the clothes casters.”
“Yes. I had to leave your dress in the chief clothes caster’s workroom. And guess where that is?”
I raise an eyebrow. “If the answer isn’t ‘right next door,’ that would be a very sad ending to this story.”
Dash smiles. “It’s almost right next door.”
Zed nods. “That’s almost as good.”
We sneak out of the store room and make it to the clothes caster’s workroom without being noticed by anyone. The workroom, by some miracle, is empty, and contains numerous racks of court-appropriate clothing for both men and women. “Perfect,” I say. “Too bad we don’t have time for you guys to shower. Hopefully the clean clothes will be enough to mask your dirty hair and … you know …”
“The smell?” Zed prompts.
“Yeah.”
“No time to shower?” Dash repeats. “Ha. You’ve heard of magic, right?”
I place my hands on my hips. “Seriously? Faeries have shower spells?”
“Something like that. Not as satisfying as a genuine soak in a hot pool, but it has the same effect.”
Ten minutes later, after hiding behind a screen and drenching themselves in water and mint-scented soap that somehow never touches the floor and dries almost immediately, Dash and Zed step out as well-groomed members of the Unseelie Court. They just need to take care to keep their wrists covered.
“Right,” Zed says. “Let’s do this.”
It’s difficult to walk slowly when all I want to do is flee, but I manage to keep my pace to a casual stroll beside Dash and Zed. Once we’ve left the storerooms and workrooms behind us and we’re strolling the glossy marble hallways once more, Dash moves a little closer and places my arm over his. “Take her other arm,” he tells Zed.
“My, what a lucky lady I am,” I drawl, sarcasm coating my words. “A man on each arm.”
“You’re a lot less likely to be noticed as Prince Roarke’s future wife,” Dash says, “when you have a man on each arm, don’t you think?”
“I guess so.” I look down and notice magic swirling around his other hand as it hangs loosely at his side. “Getting ready to fight?”
“To stun, actually. It’ll be quicker and cleaner.”
“Stunning someone means knocking them unconscious with magic, right?”
“Yes. It isn’t a quick spell, though. Enough magic needs to be gathered first. It can take—”
“There!” The shout comes from the top of the staircase at the end of the hall. The staircase we need to ascend. Sparks of magic shoot past us as the guards race down the stairs.
We duck down immediately, Zed swearing beneath his breath. “We’re gonna have to fight,” Dash says.
“Don’t waste your stunner magic if you can help it,” Zed tells him. “Save it for—” he dodges to avoid more sparks “—for the portal guards.”
“Yeah. And Em—”
“I’ll be fine.” I focus on the railing that runs along the gallery at the top of the stairs. “See you up there.” I launch forward with a burst of speed. The guards—just reaching the base of the staircase—might think I’m aiming directly for them. But I duck beneath their sparks and swerve to the side, heading straight for a bureau with a vase of flowers sitting atop it just to the side of the stairs. I leap up, strike the top of the bureau with one foot, and jump again. My fingers grasp the gallery railing. I pull myself up, swing over the railing, roll across the gallery floor, and spring to my feet. A momentary glance back down to the hall shows me Dash and Zed following the same path I took, with guards right behind them and others racing up the stairs.
I spin around and run. Highly polished floors streak by beneath my feet, and I’m grateful my shoes have enough grip to keep me from slipping onto my backside. I risk a look over my shoulder, and Dash yells, “Don’t stop!” I sprint toward the final staircase that will take us to royal family’s wing of the palace. But of course, it isn’t that easy.
Guards are lined up at the top of the stairs, and they’re not running down to meet us. I know nothing will make them leave their posts. Magic spins around their fingers as they raise their hands to attack. As colorful sparks fly toward me, I twist one foot, drop down onto my side, and skid clear across the floor beneath their magic. With no time to worry about the pain shrieking at me from my hip and shoulder striking the floor, I scramble through the nearest doorway. Then I’m up and running again along a new hallway, limping only slightly from the pain. “Keep going!” Dash yells, which tells me he and Zed escaped the magical assault.
My thoughts tumble ahead, planning a new path. The only way to the Roarke’s suite is up that staircase—unless you count his balcony and windows, which I do. Go down a level, double back, sneak through someone else’s window, and climb up, my brain instructs. As the pain in my hip begins to dull, I race forward with a fresh burst of speed. I turn a corner and find the winding staircase I was expecting. With every second counting, I don’t bother with the actual stairs. I swing myself easily over the railing beside the top step. Leap, land, shoulder roll, jump up, keep running, I mentally recite as I execute the maneuver almost perfectly. Despite the life-thre
atening circumstances, I can’t help doing a mental fist pump. Val would be so proud of me.
I run back along halls and passageways until I reach a large parlor that I judge to be roughly beneath the stairway to the royals’ wing. From walking through this room before, I know that the various hallways leading off it will take me to the chambers of extended family members and other lords and ladies who live here. A quick look over my shoulder confirms it’s still Dash and Zed who are following right behind me. As they reach the parlor, I hurry along another passage, pass two or three doors, then stop. After listening for a moment, I quietly open the door. Dash and Zed reach my side as I peer into the bedroom and confirm that it’s empty. We slip quickly inside, and I shut the door behind us.
“Holy freaking crap, Em,” Dash says between gasps for air. “You’d make one hell of a guardian if you knew how to fight.”
“Yeah. Knowing how to fight might be useful.” I swallow and suck in another deep breath. “But I’d rather not be part of any Guild, thanks very much.” I cross the bedroom—not quite as lavishly decorated as mine—and look out the window. “Okay, I think we should move over one more room to the right. Once we’re directly in line with the snake sculpture out there, we should be below Roarke’s balcony.”
“We’re climbing into his room?” Zed asks.
“Yes. Easier than fighting all those guards, don’t you think?”
We move to the next room, which is also empty. Everyone’s probably at the picnic. I swing my legs over the windowsill, turn carefully to face the wall, and begin climbing. I edge a little to the left as I ascend, and before long, I’m level with Roarke’s balcony. I grab onto the railing and climb over it. On tiptoe, I move toward the open doorway.