“We clearly have different ideas of fun,” I grumbled under my breath as I batted away another cobweb.
“What, you don’t sneak through secret passages to escape guards on a daily basis?” Callum’s voice rumbled with a chuckle behind me.
“No,” I retorted. “Not all of us are psychotic.”
“There you go again with that tongue of yours.” His voice snaked into my ear, and I shivered from the proximity, even as I jabbed my elbow back, connecting with his ribs in a movement that had me rubbing my arm as he laughed.
A few agonizing moments later, a flame flickered to life behind me, and I spun, watching as Callum instructed the fire to light a path forward for us.
“Just follow the corridors,” I said quietly as Axel began brushing cobwebs away and stepping forward. “There’s only one exit from here.”
“How do you know of this passage?” Callum asked, his voice low as we moved through the inside of The Wall.
“The Tilted Tavern is run by my family. It’s been in our family since The Wall went up, from what my father told me, just as his father before him did. My father showed me this escape when I was young, telling me that if we ever needed a way out, this would bring us far away from the tavern . . . to safety.”
“Have you ever had to use it?” Cal asked, and his tone was more concerned than before, a near demand of a question.
“No—never. Well, not until today,” I answered as we moved through the space.
“And you didn’t question why your father showed you this passage? Why something like this may have been created?”
I frowned as I took another step, making my way through the corridor. “Honestly, I didn’t. My father showed this to me shortly after my own Marking Day. Most days I forget it even exists.”
“You never asked more about it?” he probed as we continued away from the tavern.
“No,” I answered. “I never felt a need to. Not until my father died . . .” I trailed off as we walked further through the passageway, my body shaking slightly from the chill.
“Watch your step,” Axel stated from ahead, my eyes drifting to the floor as I stepped over a large section of cracked cement.
“This path was built into The Wall by my family centuries ago. I didn’t think anything of it until it was too late,” I admitted as we moved further from the tavern. A pang of worry coursed through me as my thoughts flickered to my mother, still back at the Tilted Tavern. I hated leaving her . . . And perhaps I shouldn’t have, but I knew that the guards who’d arrived at the tavern wouldn’t harm my mother, not with the respect she still garnered from my father’s service in the RSG, despite the rumors circulating surrounding his death.
“We’re nearing the exit,” I whispered into the silence minutes later, knowing this would deposit us into a back alley, long forgotten in the Nox District.
“Will this door open the same?” the question was posed from ahead of me.
“Yes.” The word fell from my lips. “But I will need to open it. This escape was built long before technology was here. The locks are an old-fashioned style, but they were warded to open only to those of my bloodline.”
A huff of a laugh sounded behind me. “So, that’s why you said you don’t need to go in between the two of us.”
I spun on my heel, shooting a smile toward the spy who towered over me. “Yep,” I popped the ‘p’ as I replied. “But if chivalry isn’t dead and all of that, then I have no quandaries at all with one of you being the first out of this door, because it’s not about to be me.”
Axel stopped ahead of me, shifting to the side as I spotted the outline of the exit. Stepping forward, I pressed against the small latch keeping us trapped inside The Wall, waiting until I felt another spring, and then the door was cracking open.
“After you.” I gestured to either of the males, and Axel once again stepped forward, only motioning for me to follow once he’d confirmed the coast was clear.
My body melted at the warmth that touched my skin, even in the evening air. Ensuring the door was shut, no longer visible in the dark alley, I spun around to see two very disgruntled spies regarding me carefully.
“Well, let’s go,” I said after I brushed the remainder of the cobwebs from my shirt, shaking from the feeling that spiders could be crawling on me.
“Why, exactly, would we follow you?” Blackwood asked, his eyes trained on me, his hand on a pistol by his side.
“Um . . . are you looking for a reason other than the fact that I helped you escape the RSG?” I questioned.
“We’ve escaped. We can take it from here.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you’re not in the clear yet,” I replied. “Also, maybe athank youwould be nice?” I added with annoyance.
Both males huffed a laugh as they regarded me.
