Chapter Twenty-Three
A strong, wiry arm wrapped around Allyssa’s torso, pinning her arms down, the knife pried from her fingers. She tried to scream, but the hand covering her mouth stayed firm. Pain laced through her arm and ribs.
“What? No fight?” Soma purred in her ear. “This is rather disappointing.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You reek of blood.” He inhaled, making her skin prickle. “What have you done?” He lifted his head and hissed. “Prince Odar.”
Odar spun around and froze, Shelene’s lifeless body sprawled on the bed behind him.
“You killed my sister,” Soma said, his arm around Allyssa’s torso tightening. “You call me the animal, but you have slaughtered an innocent girl. And you will pay for what you’ve done.”
All he had to do was twist her head to snap her neck, killing her. To make it out of this alive, she needed to outsmart and kill the assassin.
“Let Allyssa go,” Odar pleaded. “This has nothing to do with her.”
“I beg to differ.” Soma readjusted his grip, his fingers digging into her cheek. “I knew something was wrong when Kerdan made a big ordeal out of leaving the castle.”
“Your fight is with me. Release her and kill me as retribution.”
“That’s not how it works.” Soma chuckled, the sound rumbling against her back. “I have what you love in my hands.” The hand covering her mouth slid to her head, forcing it to the side, exposing her neck. His lips brushed her skin. “She’s so lovely. Too bad she must die for your crimes. A life for a life. That will make us even.”
Allyssa wanted to claw his eyes out and cut off his tongue. She wanted him to experience true fear and pain—like he’d caused other people.
“It’s a shame I never got to enjoy her the way Kerdan did,” the assassin cooed, his voice soft and lethal. “Maybe I should have a taste before I kill her. Would you like to watch?” Soma licked her neck, and Allyssa’s stomach recoiled.
Odar’s eyebrows drew together, his face awash with confusion.
“He lies,” she said, not wanting him to believe there was anything between her and Kerdan.
Odar shook his head infinitesimally. “Has being in Russek changed you so much?” he asked her. “The Allyssa I know and fell in love with is a cocky, arrogant fighter.”
She was a fighter, and she planned to fight. However, in order to win against this madman, he had to believe he finally broke her spirit. “I’m sorry,” she said to Odar. “But there’s nothing left. I can’t. It hurts too much.” Her body sagged against Soma’s, and she felt his muscles shift, accepting her defeat. “Save yourself,” she pleaded. Odar took a step back, dumbstruck.
“Now it’s time to play,” the assassin purred, loosening his hold on her.
Closing her eyes, she searched for strength from within. Shoving the physical pain away, she found an iron fist of strong will and determination deep inside. She pulled that to the surface. Gritting her teeth, she smashed her head into Soma’s. Stars exploded across her vision, but she didn’t hesitate as she slammed her elbow into his side. And, just as she practiced with Marek a thousand times, she twisted and kneed him. He released her.
Odar threw his knife. It narrowly missed the assassin, bouncing off the wall behind him. Allyssa tried running away, but Soma grabbed her shirt, yanking her backward. She flew to the ground, pain rippling through her body, the wind knocked out of her. Odar dove for the assassin, the two of them grappling on the ground. Sucking in a gulp of air, she rolled over, getting to her hands and knees, noticing the hilt of the knife gleaming in the moonlight only a few feet away. Neither man looked her way as she reached forward and seized the weapon.
The assassin let out a low growl, pinning Odar to the ground. Odar bucked his body, trying to throw him off. Allyssa came up behind the assassin and slashed his back to get his attention.
“Whore!” he screamed as he rotated to face her.
She lunged forward, plunging the knife into his stomach and twisting it for maximum damage. Odar grabbed Soma’s arms so he couldn’t remove the weapon. The assassin hollered in fury, blood coating the front of him.
“Hold him down,” she said to Odar.
He shimmied out from under the assassin. “That was a fatal stab. We can go.”
“No. Not yet.” She knelt next to Soma. “How many have you tortured? Killed? And for what?”
“You’ll get what’s coming to you.” Blood trickled out of the corner of Soma’s mouth.
“You deserve to suffer for your crimes.” She grabbed his arm, flattening his hand on the floor.
“What are you doing?” Odar asked. “We need to go.”
She picked up her dropped knife. “You deserve to pay for what you did to Grevik.” She placed the knife over his fingers.
“Allyssa,” Odar said.
Ignoring him, she lifted the weapon and brought it down, slicing off three of Soma’s fingers. He screamed, and she reveled in his pain. She brought the knife up in the air again, her arm shaking.
“Someone must have heard that,” Odar insisted. “Let’s go.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her away from the dying man.
“No!” she cried out. “He deserves to pay!”
“I know he does,” Odar said, his voice soothing, placating.
“Now who’s the assassin, Princess?” Soma said, blood gurgling from his mouth. His head fell to the side, the life draining from him. His chest heaved up and down, then stopped.
“Is he dead?”
Odar placed two fingers on Soma’s neck. “Yes, he’s dead.”
Utter relief filled her, and she dropped the knife, her entire body shaking. She’d killed him.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, unable to speak.
“For a moment there, I thought I was going to lose you. I’ve never been so scared.” He kissed her cheek.
“He’s dead,” she confirmed, not wanting to look at his body.
“Yes.”
“He can’t hurt me again.”
“He can’t hurt anyone ever again, thanks to you. Now, we need to get moving.”
She kept her focus on Odar, not wanting to see Shelene’s dead body sprawled on the bed. Thankfully, none of the sentries had stormed into the room when Soma yelled.
“Can you walk on your own?”
“Yes.” Her body felt like death, but the fear of discovery gave her strength to persevere. They entered the servants’ passageways again, heading back toward Jana’s bedchamber. Shouts rang out, followed by the sound of pounding footsteps.
“Our time has run out,” Odar said. “They must have discovered Eliza’s body.”
“Maybe some of the servants are returning to their rooms for the night?” she asked.
“No, that is the sound of soldiers. Hurry up.” He took her hand and pulled her down a stairwell.
Each step jarred her ribs and sent sharp shooting pains through her leg. Breathe in, breathe out, she told herself. Just keep moving. They were too close to escaping and couldn’t give up now.
Footsteps pounded on the stairs, heading directly toward them from the level below. Odar yanked her out of the stairwell and into the servants’ passageway. The first door they came to, he threw it open and shoved her inside the dark room.
“Who’s there?” someone groggily asked.
In the dim light from the hallway, she could see they’d entered a servant’s bedchamber. Odar released her hand and closed the door, sending them into darkness. There was a scuffle, a thump, and then it went quiet. What had he done? She hoped he hadn’t killed anyone—there had been enough bloodshed for one day.
“I knocked her out,” he whispered, fumbling for Allyssa’s hand. “We don’t have much time. Put this nightcap on and climb into bed.” He gave her a handful of fabric.
She didn’t hesitate to put the cap on and crawl into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.
“Face away from the door,” he instructed as he pushed the unconscious body under the bed. He tugged the blanket so it hung off the side of the bed, concealing the body beneath. “I’m going to hide in the closet.”
A second later, the door burst open, and a sentry entered carrying a torch. “Wake up,” he commanded.
Pretending to be a sleepy servant, Allyssa moaned. “What do you want?”
“Castle-wide search,” the soldier answered, quickly examining the dark corners. “Report to the Throne Room immediately.” He slammed the door shut, presumably moving on to the next room.
Odar exited the closet. “Keep the cap on,” he whispered, helping her out of the bed. “And put this on.” He handed her a dingy cloak he must have stolen from the closet. When she moved to put it on, her ribs screamed in protest. He took the cloak from her, wrapping it around her body and securing it at the base of her neck.
“How are we going to kill Jana if they’re looking for us?” How were they going to get out of the castle? And if they didn’t kill the queen, would Kerdan still uphold his end of the bargain? Couldn’t anything go their way? She growled in frustration.
“We’re not going to kill Jana. At this point, our only hope of surviving is to make our way out of the castle without anyone knowing.”
“Even if it means war?” she asked.
“Let’s hope the prince kills King Drenton and becomes king. Then he can deal with Jana.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable. “Before we exit this room, there’s something I want you to know.”
“Don’t.” She placed a hand on his chest, willing him to keep his declaration silent. “Now is not the time to talk.” If he told her that he loved her in case he died, she wouldn’t be strong enough to survive the next hour or so.
He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, all emotion evaporated, and his cold, steely face returned. “You’re right. There will be time to say what needs to be said afterward.” He handed her a knife, and she tucked it in the folds of the cloak.
“Let’s go.”
“Wait.” She pointed to the laundry chute in the corner of the room. “I guarantee that goes to the ground floor.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. You’re too injured.”
The opening was small, and she’d probably get jostled around. However, it seemed safer than running around the castle. “Trust me.”
He nodded and opened the rickety wooden door to the chute. “Give me a ten-second head start. Hopefully, I won’t get stuck.” He shimmied his body in feet first and let go.
After counting to ten, she slid her legs in the chute, intending to put her feet on the walls so she could slowly climb down. Her injured leg shook so severely that she couldn’t gain her footing. There was no other way, so she released her hold and fell into darkness, her stomach feeling like it was in her throat. Thankfully, the chute was a gradual descent, and she only bumped her knees and shoulders a couple of times.
Since it was the middle of the night, she landed in a pile of stinky, unwashed clothes. No one lurked in the dark laundry room at this late hour. As she lay there, her entire body screamed in protest. Taking several shallow breaths, she tried to focus on standing instead of the stabbing pain in her ribs, the throbbing of her leg, or her numb arm.
“Allyssa?” Odar asked, kneeling next to her.
“I’m all right.” She just didn’t want to move. He pulled her to her feet. She wiped her tears away, not wanting him to know the extent of her pain for fear he’d do something foolish—like hand himself in so she had more time to escape.
“The dungeon isn’t far from here,” he whispered. “Let’s go.”
They exited the laundry room and silently walked along the deserted corridor until they came to an arched wooden door at the end. Odar pulled out the map Kerdan had given him and glanced at it. “The Great Hall is on the other side of this door. We need to reach the corridor on the other side. From there, we only have to go twenty paces or so until we reach the dungeon.”
“You don’t mean for us to walk clear across the Great Hall out in the open, do you?” They would be too exposed. There had to be another way—a safer way, even if it wasn’t as direct.
“We’re running out of time. This is the fastest route.”
Most of the soldiers would be in the Throne Room where the search was being organized. She was dressed in a servant’s cloak with a cap on her head. “Fine.”
“I’ll go first. Wait a minute and then follow. Walk with purpose, keep your head down, and move quickly.”
With her hand on the wall to steady herself, she nodded, hoping to make it across the large room without limping or drawing attention to herself.
He kissed her cheek. “With any luck, we’ll be out of this hellhole by dawn.”
As he left, she prayed this wasn’t the last time she saw him and that they weren’t about to make a colossal mistake.