Page 40 of To Save a Kingdom

“Get the boy a prize,” the shifter said.

He hadn’t meant to speak out loud, but at least he had confirmation. “Aliya left you here to cover for her,” he said, the shadows of her plan finally coalescing in his mind. “She didn’t have anyone she could trust and who had the authority to act on her behalf, so she decided to go herself.”

“And I wonder who pushed her to do that?”

Squinting, Elessan glared. Zadé, no doubt, though he shouldn’t be surprised the shifter was blaming him. “It is not my fault the majority of the castle guards and nobles were loyal to Malkov. It’s going to take time for Aliya to build her own support base.”

“It would go faster for her if you would go back where you came from.”

“Leave her without protection when she’s at her most vulnerable?” He stepped forward, his hands fisting at his sides. “I begin to think you want her alone and surrounded by people she can’t trust.” He tilted his head, eyeing the shifter in a new light. “Is that what you’re about? Worming your way into a position of influence like you did with Malkov? So you can be the power behind the figurehead?”

He said it to provoke a reaction as much as he believed it to be a possibility.

The cat hissed at him, swiping with a paw. “At least she can trust me. The elves would have her underneath their king’s boot and in his bed.” Twisting its head to the side, it spit the words, sarcasm dripping from its lips. “His pliant little wife, with this realm under their control.” She flicked her tail. “Think twice about what you start, mountain elf. You won’t like the outcome.”

“If you don’t think Aliya can stand up to Roland’s maneuverings, then you don’t know your niece half as well as you think you do.” Swiping the plate of food he’d brought for Aliya, Elessan spun on his heel, heading for the door. He’d pack up what he could for the road and eat the rest before he departed.

Something niggled in the back of his mind. Prior to leaving, he should hunt down Roland and make sure he understood in no uncertain terms that Elessan would not allow himself to be forced into a marriage with Tsara. But there was more going on here than met the eye. A few weeks ago, he would’ve bet his life’s blood that Roland would see him dead rather than married to the only heir to the throne. Roland, with his ‘pure sun elves only’ mentality, would never have stood for the so-called dilution of the royal line by an outsider. By a mountain elf.

Heck, the way the elven king looked down on Zadé, their most accomplished general, for the mere crime of being born half human was more than enough proof something else was amiss.

But he’d have to sort that out later. Right now, he had to get to Aliya before she reached the labor camp and saw firsthand the horrors occurring there.

Chapter 17

Aliya

Aliya pulled her mount to a stop as massive stone walls came into view. Towering turrets every few hundred paces lined the battlements, their sides peppered with tall, thin windows perfect for shielding archers from an attack. The top of the wall was covered with a substance that shimmered iridescent like hair oil on the surface of water. It reflected red, blue and purple depending on how she turned her head. Deep in her core, her power flickered.

The sight chilled something in her gut as her instincts warned her to stay far away from whatever the slick material was.

She swallowed. “This is it, then?”

Beside her, Zadé nodded.

“I don’t see any movement in the towers or along the walls. No sentries.” But that didn’t necessarily mean much if they were all clustered in the turrets or stationed in another part of the fortress. “Is that normal?”

Zadé shrugged, but the corners of her lips were turned down as she studied the behemoth before them. “I dunno, Princess.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Seems ta me it’d be smart ta have guards keepin’ an eye on the prisoners, but if’n th’ prisoners’re locked up tight…” She paused, and the other possibility—there were no longer any living inmates—hung in the air between them. Taking a breath, Zadé continued, “There’d be no reason t’ guard ‘em.”

Aliya swallowed. “You know someone in there, don’t you?”

Zadé’s lips pressed into a thin line as she nodded. “Hope so. A friend who disappeared from a battle half a century ago. We never found his body. Dalyor was no coward—he wouldn’t’ve run from the fight, if’n he’d had a choice.”

Aliya turned her focus back to the prison. “So, how do we do this?”

Zadé lifted one shoulder before dropping it. “Dunno. Never done a jailbreak a’fore.” She eyed Aliya. “Maybe we can just ride up, announce who yeh are, n’ demand the prisoners be released?”

Aliya stared at the imposing building. Until now, their course of action was comfortably blurry in the undefined future. Now that it was staring right at her… “And if they don’t believe me?” It would’ve been more credible if she’d traveled with a guard retinue, like Malkov had. But there’d been no way to pull that off without revealing her absence to the council and other nobles back home.

Zadé’s hand dropped to the sword at her hip. “Then we’ll have ta convince ‘em.”

Aliya eyed Zadé’s flask of whiskey, tempted to ask for a few sips of liquid courage, but if they ended up in a fight with an entire prison worth of soldiers, she’d need her full wits about her.

Taking a deep breath, she nudged her horse’s ribs with her heels. “We may as well get on with this.”

Zadé gave her a subdued smile. “That’s the spirit, Princess.” Flicking her reins, she followed, dropping back and to Aliya’s left. “Show no fear.”

The gates of the giant portcullis loomed in front of them. Locked.