Last Stand (The Black Mage #4)(64)

The two of us continued past another set of guards; this time they didn’t question our presence. We made it past a third, and then I recognized a pair up ahead. Two mages from my interrogations. I reached for Paige’s arm. “We can’t go that way.”

Her lips pursed as she considered our options. We had the main hall, with twenty guards near the palace entrance, an impossible feat, or we had the back doors to the gardens–taken up by the pair in question.

“We will just have to pray they don’t recognize you.”

Somewhere above, the warning bells tolled.

The two of us flattened against the wall.

“We were supposed to have more time!” Paige uttered a curse. “The next shift must have come early. We can’t wait.”

“No!” I pointed toward the kitchens. “There’s a servants’ passage inside. It will take us to the kennels.”

“Fine,” she gasped, “it’s the best we’ve got.”

“On my count… One, two, go!”

The two of us made a mad sprint across the corridor, our footfall and pace no different than the tens of guards scattering the halls. In another minute, I knew half the palace regiment would be at the front doors, the other half to check on the king.

We ducked into the kitchens just in time to find Benny clutching a butcher’s knife, the surfaces of his dirty counters long forgotten as he made the sign against evil across his chest. “Sankt’ra Dien.” Gods protect us all in the old tongue.

I dropped the hood as I inched closer. “Benny, it’s me.”

The man stared, eyes bulging. “Princess, but you are—”

“A rebel.” My hand caught on the small catch that Darren had taught me to feel for during the apprenticeship. “Please, don’t tell anyone we were here.”

“How bad is it?” Benny’s eyes darted to Paige who was clutching the hilt at her side, readying for a fight.

“I won’t be coming back.” I met the cook’s wary gaze and prayed he wouldn’t shout for the guards. I liked to think we were friends, but the man had no reason to trust a traitor.

He heaved a sigh and set down the knife. “You always were one of my favorites. Just promise me this isn’t a mistake.”

“Thank you.”

A loud voice just outside the door hollered.

“One of you, check the kitchens!”

With one last look to Benny, I twisted the panel back and hopped inside with Paige at my heels. No sooner had we slammed the latch shut, then there were a pair of angry voices demanding if Benny had seen a fleeing prisoner.

I prayed Benny kept his word. If we had any luck, the guards would assume we were still hiding out in the palace. That we had never made it out.

It was time to run.

So, we ran. Fast.

We were stumbling around in the dark, sprinting over small bits of debris, coughing up dust, and dodging roots as we fled. More than once I lost traction from some throbbing muscle or loose bit of stone, and it was all I could do to hit the ground, breathe, and pick myself back up.

When we finally reached a small patch of light, it was long overdue.

The two of us caught our breath as we slid the second panel back and peered into the kennels beyond.

Everything was dark. But with the muffled shouts coming from the palace, we didn’t have much choice.

No sooner had we shuffled into the room, something heavy collided with my legs, followed by a wet tongue.

“Hey there, old boy.” I knelt down to pet Wolf as Paige groaned. She didn’t hate dogs; she had stepped in something foul.

From the kennels, I heard more soldiers in the courtyard. It would only get worse.

We had to keep going.

I looked at the mutt with regret. I had spent too much of my youth fearing dogs when the real villains were part of my race. “I’ll miss you.” I wrapped my arms around the dog’s scruffy neck and then stood, fighting the tightness in my chest. “Keep watch over your master for me.”

A hand squeezed my shoulder. “You need a moment?”

I shook my head and started forward. If I started to think of what I was leaving behind, I would never stop.

When we reached the kennel exit, Paige turned to me and handed me her satchel, shoving me back inside the building.

“I’ll get the horse. You wait here. If something seems wrong, make a run for the gates. No sense in both of us risking our necks. They are only looking for you right now, but who knows how long that will last.”

The sky thundered and rolled up above; I watched Paige go, ducking along the castle grounds as rain sprayed the barracks and gardens below.

The next nineteen minutes were the longest of my life. The bell tower had just tolled an hour past midnight when she returned. I heard her footsteps just outside the door.

Only a second too late did I realize I was also waiting for two sets of hooves.

“And just when I thought you escaped.”

The king stood, sopping wet, with a sword in hand and pointed at my chest.

Blayne.

I made a desperate attempt to slam the door, but he caught it just in time, yanking it back. I couldn’t counter his weight, not after ten days of suffering in that cell.

I stumbled back, fumbling for the sheath at my waist.

The king strolled in at a leisurely pace, everything at ease except for the sword in hand.