Helena held her breath as she watched a tempest of emotion sweep across Logan’s eyes. They flickered with shock, then disbelief before they hardened into determined denial.

“Nay.” The flat refusal brooked no discussion.

 She released a sigh, but instead of accepting his answer, she crossed her arms over her chest and set her jaw. “You cannot go by yourself.”

His gray eyes narrowed. “Helena, ye willnae—”

“How do you plan on finding the passageway’s entrance without me?” she asked. “How do you plan to navigate the tunnels? And once you’re inside, how do you plan to make your way through the castle unseen?”

A muscle in his cheek twitched as he clenched his teeth. “Let me guess—ye have a plan for all that, too.”

She pulled her spine straight. “Aye. The tunnel is too narrow to get an army through, so I’ll have to go alone. Of course I won’t be able to single-handedly take out all of Geoffrey’s guards, but if I can get to the gate and open it—”

“Helena.”

His firm voice halted her, his eyes as hard as steel.

“Logan, how many innocent people are inside? Fifty? A hundred?” She clutched his arm, silently pleading with him to understand. “This is the only way. I know Geoffrey—and I also know the castle. I can stop this.”

“Nay, no’ by yerself. Ye arenae going alone,” he said, the scar on his face pulled taut by his scowl. “I’ll no’ risk ye encountering a guard—or de Neville, God forbid—without me by yer side.” His eyes softened ever so slightly. “Ye say the tunnels are too narrow for an army.”

“Aye,” she said cautiously.

“Well then, we willnae bring an army, but we’ll need at least a few men. Do ye ken how much strength it takes to winch up a portcullis? Ye’ll never manage it on yer own.”

She faltered at that. In truth, she’d been so nervous to share the secret her father had made her swear never to tell that she hadn’t worked through all the details yet. Still, she could not risk knowledge of the passageways spreading.

“No one else can know,” she said, her voice soft but firm.

“Surely Colin should join us, though, and Finn. And mayhap one of the—”

“Nay.” Now it was her turn to brook no argument. From Logan’s lowered russet brows and the hard set of his jaw, though, he was not ready to concede.

“My father made me vow never to tell another living soul about the tunnels,” she said, desperation creeping into her voice. “I have already gone against that promise by telling you. The more men know of the tunnels’ existence, the less safe Craigmoor will be once it is in the Scots’ control again.”

“Robert the Bruce entrusted Colin and Finn—and me, by proxy—with retaking the castle,” Logan said. “If Craigmoor is to be his, I imagine he would want his most loyal warriors to ken about those tunnels.”

She considered that for a moment. “Once the castle is secure, I will share the secret of the tunnels with the King himself. He can decide whom he tells, but I will not be the one to decide that.”

When he still stared at her under furrowed brows, she reached for his arm once more. “Please understand, Logan. I will not yield on this point. I am the only Quincey left—the only one who is the keeper of this knowledge. That responsibility is not something I take lightly.”

At last, a crack appeared in his stony features. “I suppose we would be able to move quicker and quieter with only the two of us.”

“Aye,” she said, releasing a breath of relief.

He grew sober. “When will we go to the tunnels?”

Ignoring the stab of trepidation tearing through her stomach, she steeled her spine.

“It is time to end this—tonight.”

 

*   *   *   *

 

Helena lingered at the entrance to their tent, holding the canvas flap back just enough to gaze at Mairin’s sleeping form. The glow from a few of the camp fires cast a sliver of orange light across her back where she still lay on her cot.

Helena wasn’t sure if it was the change in surroundings, being around so many strangers, or some unknown force at work in the girl’s mind, but Mairin had lost even more ground in just a day at the camp. She’d slipped back to near-complete silence, and she had lain on the cot since they’d left Colin’s tent.

Now that night had fallen and it was time for her and Logan to make their way to the tunnels, she prayed that she would see Mairin in good spirits once again—or see her at all.

They were about to step straight into the wolf’s jaws. Logan had been busy all evening sharpening his sword, his face a mask of concentration.

He’d given Helena a dagger to slip into her boot, but in truth, the defensive techniques Adam had taught her had not included how to wield a weapon. Logan had said that it would be more dangerous to give her a heavy sword she could not properly maneuver and which could be used against her if she was disarmed.

Still, she felt naked with naught but a dagger, and Logan with a sword but no chainmail or other heavy, encumbering armor, when they were about to infiltrate a well-protected castle. It seemed there were a hundred ways they could fail, and only one to succeed.

Reluctantly, Helena let the tent flap fall, cutting off her view of Mairin. The time for preparation and contemplation had passed.

She turned to find Colin and Finn standing before Logan. They’d agreed to tell the two commanders only what they needed to know—that if they succeeded in their plan, the castle would be vulnerable tonight, and that the men should be ready to strike.

Colin crossed large arms over his chest as he stared Logan down. “I still dinnae see why ye and the lass are going alone on this secret scheme of yers—or why ye willnae tell us what it is.”

Logan’s voice was low and steady. “Trust me.”

Finn cocked a dark eyebrow. “Says the English-sympathizing mercenary.”

“I’m in the Corps now,” Logan replied calmly. “Besides, Helena kens what she’s doing. If ye dinnae trust me, then trust her.”

Helena’s chest expanded at his words even as her stomach cinched into a tight knot of nerves. Logan’s faith in her meant the world, but his trust would be for naught if they failed.

“Keep your eyes on the front gate,” she said, moving to Logan’s side. “The drawbridge may or may not lower, but if you see the portcullis begin to rise, launch an attack anyway. It will mean that we have succeeded, but there will not be a great deal of time to strike before the guards inside realize what’s happening.”

Finn turned his hard gaze on her, his eyes like chips of obsidian when they caught the light of a distant fire.

“Ye plan to be on the inside?”

“Aye,” she said, trying to smooth the waver in her voice.

He scrutinized her for another long moment, and she feared the sharp mind behind his dark eyes already understood too much, but he did not press her with questions. Instead, he shifted his gaze to Colin. The two exchanged a look that seemed to communicate much, then Colin turned back to Logan.

“Verra well,” Colin said grudgingly. “We’ll ready the men and watch for the signal.”

The two commanders began to turn away, but Logan caught Finn by the arm.

“If we dinnae return by morning,” he said, dropping his voice, “see that my sister is looked after.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and his next words were tight with emotion. “She should be with family. Reid will ensure her safety and wellbeing.”

Finn’s stony features flashed with surprise for the briefest moment before dropping into sober lines. “Aye, Mackenzie,” he said with a slow nod. “I’ll see it done.”

After Logan exchanged quick forearm shakes with the two men and they’d tilted their heads toward Helena, wishing them both luck, there was naught left to do but set out.

Once they’d cleared the edge of the camp, Helena cut to the north side of the castle. She darted glances behind them frequently, peering around the edge of her cloak’s raised hood, but the camp was quiet at this hour of night, and no one followed them. Logan strode beside her on silent feet, his body relaxed yet his eyes watchful, too.

They climbed a slight rise and wound their way through several rocky outcroppings. The moon was hidden behind the thick clouds overhead, but Helena trusted her feet to guide her back to one particular cluster of rocks.

When they reached the pile of boulders, she halted, scanning their surroundings. They’d walked perhaps a half mile from the castle. It was little more than a dark smudge in the valley below.

“Here,” she breathed, stepping before a boulder that looked exactly like the others. She grazed the stone with her fingertips until she found the crack she was looking for. She drew the blade from her boot, then slid it into the crack and down until she heard a low click.

Suddenly the boulder’s face swung open, and the black maw of the tunnel yawned before them.

Swiftly tucking the dagger back into her boot, Helena gave Logan a nod, and the two of them stepped into the darkness.