Rise of Fire (Reign of Shadows #2)(52)

Standing, I reached for Luna’s hand, folding it in my own, the sensation of her slim, cool fingers spreading warmth through my chest. I stared down at the grate of the storeroom floor, flexing my hand around hers.

“It’s here,” I said unnecessarily, looking at the jagged hole that opened up out of the stone floor. It was dark down there, a yawning hole that brought to memory the time when dwellers had dragged me underground.

“It’s cold in there,” Luna whispered beside me, peering down into the hole as though she could see into its depths.

Tendrils of cool air reached up and brushed at my hands. I adjusted the satchel I’d packed full of food and supplies, stroking my thumb along the inside of her wrist with my free hand, as much to comfort me as her. She sent me a brave smile, adjusting the bow slung over her shoulder. A gift from Chasan, she had said when I asked where she got it. I resisted the impulse to demand she leave it behind. As a weapon it was useful. I was armed with the sword and bow they had seen fit to return to me—which meant no one suspected I would do something like this. They thought I was perfectly content to marry their princess and be their puppet.

But the fact remained—it belonged to her. I had no right to tell her what to do with it.

“It will warm up once we’re Outside.”

She nodded. “Let’s get moving.”

I released her hand. “I’ll go down first. There’s a ladder built into the side wall.” I climbed down, slipping my hands and feet into the carved handholds. I glanced up as I descended, watching her pale face shrink. I wasn’t to the bottom yet when I paused. “Go ahead and start down,” I instructed.

She slid her legs over the side. Once she found her first foothold, she began climbing down. The temperature continued to drop as we descended. The hole went deep, as though we were sliding into the very bowels of the earth. I almost expected to hear dwellers, their eerie screams bouncing off the tunnel walls. That ear-shattering scream Luna and I had heard, the one that had distracted all the other dwellers and saved our lives, could probably be heard even this far away. I wonder if Luna still heard that scream in her dreams like I did. Did she wonder what was on the other side of it?

The darkness swallowed us whole, but we kept going. After several minutes, we finally reached the bottom.

She dropped down beside me and chafed her hands up and down her arms as we stood there for a moment, acclimating to the ice-cold space.

Taking her hand, I started down the tunnel. Taking a cue from Luna, I skimmed a palm along the cold rock wall. She shivered at my back and I gave her fingers a squeeze. It was good to touch her again. If it wasn’t so cold, if urgency didn’t pound like a hammer inside me, I’d pull her into my arms and taste her again. But there wasn’t time for that now. Soon. When we were someplace safe, where I could kiss her and convince her to forget about going to Relhok.

We moved quickly. I was counting on no one discovering we’d escaped until morning. The kitchen staff woke before everyone else to start preparations for the morning meal. They would discover the open grate in the storage room and alert the soldiers, but we’d be gone by then. I started a light jog. Luna kept pace, and the run at least helped warm our blood. She stopped shivering.

“Does it feel like we’re going downhill?” she panted behind me.

“The tunnel must open up at the bottom of the mountain.” We hastened along the rocky ground, every step taking us closer. “We’ll have several hours’ head start by the time they come after us.”

The tunnel finally ended. A wall rose up in front of us. I patted the surface with both hands, spreading my arms wide, discovering a narrow space, large enough for one body to pass through at a time. It had to be the way out.

“This way.” I took her hand again and squeezed into the passageway. Luna slid behind me easily. As far as escapes went, this wasn’t too difficult, but then there probably wasn’t anyone in this castle who wanted to go Outside. Ainswind was fortified against invaders. People wanted in. Dwellers wanted in. No one wanted out except us.

My breath came faster. I disliked the sensation of walls pressing in on me. Clearly, this escape route wouldn’t work for everyone. Anyone of a certain girth or height would never manage it.

“Are you all right?” Luna asked, inching along behind, detecting my unease. I grunted in affirmation, noting the sudden increase of airflow ahead. “We’re almost there, Fowler.” Of course Luna would know that. If I sensed the change in air, so did she.

Suddenly we were free. As though we’d just plunged from a pool of water, we stumbled out into the endless stretch of Outside.

Luna sucked in a deep breath beside me. “We did it.” Her voice shook and she released a nervous chuckle.

The glow of moonlight limned her features, reminding me of the first time I saw her—armed with a bow, moments after she saved my life. She looked like some kind of dark wood nymph, and I had wondered if she was even real.

I still held her hand. It was easy enough to pull her into my arms. She fell against me, fitting into me like a long-lost puzzle piece. I dove for her lips, claiming them hard, talking against her mouth. “Not touching you, pretending like I didn’t burn for you . . .”

She lifted up on tiptoes and leaned into me, and I let myself have her for one moment.

“I’d thank you to take your hands and lips off my betrothed.”