Last Stand (The Black Mage #4)(63)

There were so many questions spinning inside my head; I didn’t know which to ask first.

“Here.” The knight knelt down, and I started as I realized she was stripping one of the unconscious guards at the bottom of the stairs. “We need you to be wearing something besides a prisoner’s rags. I don’t want to give the others a reason to think something is wrong. We might need his sword too.”

“H-how could you?” I paused. Both were mages Mira had employed during my interrogations. Any pity was immediately forgotten. They had enjoyed making a crown princess scream.

The knight caught my expression and gave me a toothy grin. “They never expected a thing. I went after that one first. He couldn’t pain cast like you. It was easy.”

Trust Paige to be cocky during an escape. I rested my palm against the wall as I took in my bearings.

Seconds later, I was tearing off the remains of my dress, trying not to make a sound as Paige cut around crusted-over wounds. Then I was donning a gray uniform and the cloak Paige had been wearing over her clothes when she arrived.

Paige fisted a handful of my hair that was matted and sticky with blood. “I hope you don’t have any attachment to your hair.”

“Wh—”

Her knife whipped across the air and everything below my shoulders dropped to the floor. Paige wasted no time in gathering the strands, making a face as she did, and then stuffing them in the satchel at her waist. “Can’t have them seeing the prisoner they expect,” she explained, “and your hair is far too memorable as it is.” The guard handed me a discerning amber vial. “Rub this in.”

I didn’t bother to argue; I already recognized the contents from my parents’ shop. The scent was vile, but within seconds the sulfur had turned my hair a deep brown. The dried blood passed for dirt.

In my new garb and shorter locks, I passed for a male.

“Make sure you keep that hood down.”

Paige started to climb the stairs, and I stumbled after her, catching her arm. I balanced a bit easier now, but I was still shaking. “Wait.”

“Yes?” Her eyes flared in irritation.

“Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me? You aren’t a rebel—”

“We really don’t have time for this.” She huffed and helped me climb, slowing her pace. “All you need to know is I made a choice. Gods only know if it was the right one, but the moment the prince presented me with the opportunity, I took it. He promised me the necklace as payment for a life on the run, but…” She assisted me with the final step. “…my fealty hasn’t been to the Crown, not since the moment they told me you turned traitor.”

Something tugged at my lungs; I willed myself to blink away the tears fighting to break the surface.

“I don’t know why you did it,” she murmured, “and I don’t know how, but I know you. If you took up with the rebels, there was a reason. Now, we have exactly thirty minutes to reach the stables before the next shift arrives. Darren assured me there is a mare already readied with supplies to last us as far as the coast.” She paused and took a deep breath. “He wants you to take a ship to Borea as a fisherman’s apprentice. He’s had papers made, but I expect you want the rebels. We head north? To the keep?”

I nodded, unable to speak. She had answered my unspoken question. Darren didn’t believe me. He wouldn’t have ordered Paige to send me to the isles if he had.

He still cares, or he wouldn’t have ordered this escape. He doesn’t want your execution, even when he swore to hunt down your family next.

“I thought as much.” Paige released my arm and made a motion for me to follow closely. “Now, don’t look anyone in the eye and walk as fast as you can. Stop for no one. If they sound the bells, run.”

Her laugh was bitter as we started down the dark corridor ahead. “Gods help me,” she said, “there is no going back.”

The two of us skirted the hall as quick as we dared, doing our best not to jump or flinch at every shadow and sound. Every muscle in my body ached. I had forgotten how many sets of stairs and winding corridors there were leading from the dungeon to the central level of the palace.

We were doing well, ten minutes in, before we came across our first pair of guards. Paige continued forward with her chin high. I shuffled at her side, trying to avoid notice.

“You there. Halt.” A sharp bark made my hairs stand on end. “Names and purpose.”

“Really, Pasha?” Paige faked a laugh and jerked her thumb at me. “You don’t remember Gallaghen? He had dice with us that first week in the city.”

I took a deep breath, holding my stance, and prayed they missed the purple bruising under my jaw. That the guards only saw a lanky boy with hunched shoulders and dark, coarse bangs. It was still dark and it was late, the time of day people were more prone to mistakes.

“Very well.” The guard finished his cursory glance. “Purpose?”

“The two of us needed some time alone.” Paige threw an arm around me with a cheeky wink at the men. “This is one persistent lad, finally won my heart after all these months.”

The two guards guffawed. “You? A heart?”

“Oy, he looks a bit scrawny for your tastes.”

My guard rolled her eyes and nudged me forward. “‘Night boys.”