When their stolen moment had ended, and harsh reality bombarded Aerity’s senses once again, she sat in the chair watching Paxton as he stood and stretched his arms. He gazed down at her, making her feel too warm all over again.
His face was serious, and she knew he was worried about what they’d do next. She watched as he leaned down into the chest to retrieve his tunic. But to Aerity’s confusion, he stayed leaning down for longer than was necessary.
“I think there’s something here,” she heard him whisper. What was he talking about? The chest was empty. And then she heard a scraping as Paxton pulled.
Seas almighty! He was lifting the bottom of the trunk! Aerity ran to peer in.
“A tunnel?” she asked. Aerity leaned back as Paxton grabbed the torch and held it over the chest. Old wooden rungs embedded into the dirt wall went down a man-sized hole. They looked at each other, eyes rounded. “I think we’re above the cellars,” she whispered.
“I want you to stay here while I check it out.” He stood and gave her his bow and quiver. “No part of the castle is safe now. But if there’s nobody in the cellar I will call you and we can try to find the tunnel where the others are.”
“And then what?” Aerity asked, putting the bow over her shoulder. “Be stuck there forever? It’s not actually a tunnel, Pax. I don’t even know why they call it that. They say it’s simply one long room. A dead end.”
Paxton sighed.
“We’ll figure out something. At least if I can find the others, we can tell them what we know.” He handed her the torch. “I need it to be dark, so if there’s anyone below they don’t see me.”
When he turned toward the chest, fear gripped Aerity’s heart and she grabbed his arm, pulling him back for one more kiss. Their mouths sealed, his perfectly tender against hers, until Paxton pulled away enough to whisper, “Don’t be afraid. Listen for me. If anything happens, run.”
Aerity nodded, reluctantly releasing his arm. She watched as he climbed down into the hole and lowered himself one rung at a time. Her heart sprinted furiously. It felt like forever before he climbed back up and gave her a silent nod to follow. He pointed to the torch holder on the wall. Aerity snuffed the torch in the holder and felt her way in the dark back to the chest. She climbed down, pulling the chest lid closed and letting the bottom fall back into place over her head.
She was breathing too hard until she felt Paxton’s hand around her ankle and heard his firm voice say, “It’s all right. Take your time.” When they got to the bottom they were sandwiched together. Paxton fiddled with something in the dark, and Aerity felt movement of air. He’d opened a compartment of some kind. Her hands felt him kneel.
“Crawl out behind me,” he whispered.
She did as he said and found herself exiting an old cupboard in the pantry behind the wine cellar. Faint light filtered in from the staircase beyond the cellar. Around them were sacks of potatoes and grains. Paxton jumped to his feet and searched until he found another old trunk in the corner like the one they’d seen in the room above. They rushed to it and lifted the lid.
Low laughter rang out from somewhere above, making Aerity jump. Paxton wrenched up the base of the chest and motioned for Aerity to go first. She glanced behind them to be sure they were still alone before lowering herself. It was musty and dank as she made her way down into the dark. When she hit the bottom, she heard Paxton above her and all went pitch-dark again as he closed the lid.
She crouched and felt a wooden panel with her hands. Paxton deftly landed on his feet next to her.
“Harrison told me of a secret knock,” he whispered. “So they don’t attack us.”
One-two, one-two, one-two-three-four, one.
Paxton then pushed on the panel as someone from the other side pulled. Aerity squinted into the bright room and heard Vixie whisper, “It’s Aer!”
She was yanked through the doorway by her wrist and wrapped in a tight hug. Then another set of arms was around her: Wyneth’s. They moved aside so Paxton could come in and shut the panel.
“Blessed seas!” Wyneth sized her up.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Vixie exclaimed.
“Neither can I.” Aerity kissed her sister’s cheek and embraced her again.
“What’s happening up there?” Harrison asked. “How did you get away?”
“Were you possibly followed?” asked one of the soldiers.
“Nay . . .” Paxton explained their escape.
Furball gave a low rawr of welcome to Aerity and came up on his hind legs beside them. Aerity jumped back and then laughed, reaching out to scratch his wiry stomach. She then looked around the room in confusion. There were only seven people down there besides her and Paxton. Four soldiers, Harrison, Wyneth, and Vixie. But bedrolls and things were strewn everywhere.
“Where have the others gone?” Aerity asked.
Paxton stopped and looked around, his eyes quizzical as well.
“Funny story, that,” Harrison said.
Aerity spotted the chest at the end of the room and pointed. “Wait. Is that . . . ?”
“It is,” Harrison told her. “This tunnel leads north outside the royal walls. The Ascomannians are here. They’ve taken our staff to safety. Their navy has met with ours and awaits further battle in the bay. And what’s more, they told us there is rumor of help coming from both Toresta and Zorfina.”
“Seas above!” Aerity clasped her hands under her chin and beamed, closing her eyes in thanks. If what he’d said was true, and they overthrew Prince Vito, Aerity would spend her entire rule trying to repay the other three kingdoms.
“Does this mean we can leave?” Paxton asked, placing a hand on Aerity’s back.
Harrison grinned. “We’ve just been waiting on word from you.”
A low rumble began in the walls around them. They all looked up, staring at the shaking from feet stomping overhead, and then gaping at the sounds of Kalorian war cries from above.
“They’ve found out you’re gone,” Paxton said. “Go, go, go!”
But Aerity didn’t need to be told. She was already running.
Prince Vito and Rozaria stood in Princess Aerity’s empty chamber, with Nicola silent behind them. In the hall Martone shouted orders to half-drunk Kalorian soldiers, who ran about, confused. A tight knot had formed in Rozaria’s stomach as she considered what might have happened.
“She could have tricked him—”
“Silence,” Vito said in a sinister whisper. “He has made a fool of us. Perhaps now you will finally learn not to trust.” He turned to her with a sneer, and Rozaria locked her jaw in defiance. She was the only Kalorian alive who didn’t fear him, but at that very moment he seemed unstable and capable of lashing out. She kept her distance.
Vito walked the perimeter of the room, skirting the edge of the bed as he ran his fingertips along the downy covers. Menace glistened in his eyes. Rozaria did not want to believe that Paxton had helped the Lochlan queen to escape. He was different, wasn’t he? He’d made her feel things she never allowed herself to feel for men. But how could an unarmed girl overtake a strong Lashed? It only made sense that he had helped her. They were missing, together.
Rozaria sensed Nicola behind her, and felt a surge of dread: Had she been wrong about the hunter all along? Her two closest comrades, Nicola and Vito, had not trusted him, and she ignored their doubts.
A flare of disappointment singed her from the inside. Nicola must have sensed her mood because she silently moved next to her, their arms touching, as if to let her know she was still there. Still at her side. Rozaria raised her chin and felt the shame of her jaw trembling. She hadn’t cried since . . . she couldn’t recall. Never, perhaps. Tears were a sign of softness, weakness, which was not in her. This burning in her eyes, it was brought on by sheer rage at Paxton’s duplicity.
She would look him straight into his eyes as she killed him. Better yet, she would make him watch as she killed his precious queen. The thought eased the stinging behind her eyes.
Prince Vito’s hand trailed the walls until he came to a bookcase. Rozaria moved forward to see what he was staring at. Her mind went back to the king’s study and the bookcase there that opened to the hidden room. Vito’s head spun to her; he must have realized it at the same time.
“Martone!” Rozaria called. The man ran into the room, at her command. “Ready your weapon.”
He unsheathed his wicked knife and went to Vito’s side. Beside her, Nicola pulled out her dagger. The prince felt along the books until he came to three joined ones, and then he pulled downward. Martone moved to the opening to protect them, ready to attack. Rozaria held her breath, staring hard as the dark room took shape, but her anticipation fizzled to disappointment at the sight of empty space. Martone stuck his head in and whipped it back to Prince Vito, wide-eyed.
“It’s a passage!”
“What are you waiting for, idiot?” Vito asked. “Go! Find them!”
Martone rushed in, with Prince Vito, Rozaria, and Nicola following. With each lever they came to, the brute yanked it down and gave an unnecessary war cry into the empty chambers they revealed. “Shut up, you fool,” Prince Vito said after the second time. “You’ll alert them.”
Their journey ended in a small room with a chair and a trunk. Martone silently pushed the lever and charged into yet another empty room. Vito cursed and fisted his hands. If they had gone into any of those rooms, it would have put them back into the castle. Every Kalorian was on alert. They would be found.
They were quiet, thinking of what to do next, when Rozaria realized she could hear a murmur of voices below . . . coming from the chest. She pointed. Nicola fell to her knees and wrenched it open. The girl leaned into it, feeling around, and then yanked up a panel to reveal an opening with ladder rungs.
“Well done, Nic.” A thrill of victory shot through Rozaria. “We’ve got them now.”