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Tease.And I was loving every moment of it.
“We better hurry back then,” I said, giving him my sexiest smile.
Except I was ignoring crucial facts. Our looming mission approached, and danger awaited us, which meant we might not ever get to fulfill that promise of pleasure. I pushed aside those dark thoughts to get through the next part of my plan.
Shortly after, we burst in on Grimm and Teeny as they conversed quietly.
“Sorry to intrude,” I said. “But I have an idea to present.”
Their gazes swept from me to Shadow.
“You’re not coming with the rescue party,” Grimm said without even looking at me.
Like hell, I wasn’t. Who was he to give me orders anyway? I was a free woman now. But I didn’t have time to argue that point, so I got straight to it.
“I don’t think it’s safe traveling via land,” I said to the tune of Grimm jamming his hands in his vest pockets. “Hunters patrol the mountains, looking for me. Four attacked the panthers and me on our journey to the dragon king. An assassin murdered the dragon prince while we stayed as the king’s guest. I think it’s safer to travel to the slave camp via the tunnels beneath the resistance.”
Teeny glanced up at the roof, and I could almost hear the clogs in his brain turning as he mulled over the idea.
“Absolutely not,” Grimm snapped. “They’re dangerous.”
“Has anyone ventured into the tunnels to check?” I countered, refusing to give up on the idea.
“Of course,” Grimm replied. “That was our first port of investigation when we commenced the resistance. For the first few months, we ventured down there—until a collapse killed three of our men.”
My chest solidified with horror. There was that word again.Collapse. Ringing loud and clear like those doom bells again. But I wasn’t finished arguing my case.
I pulled out my mirror from my vest for more emphasis. “If I can witness my stepmother’s actions in my mirror, then what can my she see of ours? I’m certain she knew about the rescue mission you planned, and that’s why she sent the poisoned apples to prevent it.”
Of course, I wasn’t entirely sure that was true. But I’d never make the mistake of underestimating her again.
“If that is the case,” said Grimm in a way that told me he prepared to deliver me his big fat no, “then she might also be aware of the tunnels.”
Fuck. Stubborn, old dwarf!He was just as bad as Shadow.
“What if we split up?” I proposed. “Send out a dummy team as a diversion to draw her attention away from the actual rescue squad?”
Grimm’s brows furrowed as he thought on this for a moment…a lot longer than he normally considered an idea, giving me a flicker of hope he’d change his mind.
But in the end, he delivered his final verdict. “We can’t spare the men. Last night, I dispatched four men to an herbalist in Terra to order an antidote potion for the afflicted.”
Terra? Outsiders were not welcome there thanks to the strict rule of the governing priestess. That meant the resistance members would have to sneak in. If caught, they faced punishment and imprisonment.
Fine.If that was Grimm’s decision, I’d accept it, even though I disagreed. Sure, I could probably convince the panthers to come with me through the tunnels alone, and wee could meet up with the resistance at the slave camp. But we were safer in larger numbers, especially against a force hundreds of times bigger.
Of course, that wasn’t my only reason for agreeing to follow Grimm. Despite his annoying stubbornness and refusal to submit to most of my ideas, he had rescued Rumi, sheltered her, and had trained my horse to bring me to the resistance. If it weren’t for him, I might have been executed already. I owed my life, the life Rumi had sacrificed for me, to Grimm and his resistance.
And for once, the old Snow actually agreed with me. Shock. Horror.
“Very well,” I said to Grimm. “We’ll meet you at the dispatch point.”
“Snow,” Grimm said in a cautious tone. “Don’t get any ideas to leave on your own.” He moved to the door and opened it, calling out, “Guards. Post men in the tunnels to prevent Snow and her men from leaving.”
Clearly, I was only a figurehead. There for show. To rally support for the cause. I didn’t get a say.
“We’ll follow your orders, Grimm,” I replied bitterly.
I didn’t wait for his answer. Instead, I spun on my heels and marched out, taking Shadow with me.
Whatever awaited us outside the resistance’s walls fell on Grimm’s head. This was his decision, not mine. I’d tried to warn him, but he hadn’t listened. Maybe I was being overly cautious. Maybe he was being too hasty. I supposed we’d find out soon enough because they weren’t leaving without me.
