AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I definitely wouldn’t tell them that I’d given the Moon Oracle the artifact. They’d probably kill me once they had that information. And even though I’d told them a million times that I had no idea where it was, they expected me to find it and bring it back.
I laced my fingers together behind the back of my neck and took several deep breaths to steady myself. If telling them that the Moon Oracle had the artifact was a death sentence, and I couldn’t show them where the artifact was, I only had one choice: escaping. Then, once I was far enough away from here, I’d regroup and plan my next move.
The Royals weren’t stupid—my doors had to be locked, so that route was out. Plus, even if they were unlocked, I’d have to make it through the palace and off the grounds without being caught. The enforcers they’d posted outside of my room were probably still there. And they had their enforcers and security all throughout the palace grounds, which were overflowing with powerful magic.
The cuffs around my wrists rubbed against my skin as I let my arms fall to my sides. Breaking in had been hard enough with all of my magic and help from several other fae. How was I supposed to break out if these cuffs were suppressing my magic?
I sat down on the edge of my bed again and tried squeezing my hand out of it. The harder I tried, the tighter the cuff became until it nearly cut off my circulation.
“Shit.” I stopped trying to pull the cuff off, and it loosened again. A deep red mark dented my skin.
I had to do this the old-fashioned way, then. Back when I was a teenager and everyone was growing into their shifted forms, I got a lot of shit for not having one. But not having to lean on turning into a wolf or a demon or a bird forced me to develop my fighting skills and strength.
My heart raced as I walked to the windows. I looked down…way down. At this hour, the few people who were awake looked like small figurines. Jumping from here without a spell to slow me down was asking to die before I could even heal myself.
I rushed across the room to the other set of windows, which had a view of the courtyard below. It was the same situation—nothing for me to hold on to.
I whipped around and peered into the closet, which was cracked open. I hadn’t taken a good look inside yet.
I pushed it all the way open. It was literally the size of my apartment, filled with nice clothes hung up and folded on a display in the middle. I ran my fingers over the fabric of a blouse. It was beautiful, much finer than anything I’d ever owned. I bit my bottom lip and let go, leaving the closet.
A small sliver of light shined out of the bathroom, so I went inside. The Royals must have needed to fill up space, because the bathroom was also larger than my apartment. White tiles gave the room a clean, modern touch. I took a short detour to look around. It was fully stocked with toiletries that I’d only seen while sneaking into wealthy fae’s homes, massive fluffy towels, and even a robe.
I sighed, going toward the window. All of this nice stuff was probably part of their game. I wasn’t big on material things, but this bathroom was getting to me. A huge clawfoot tub tempted me from across the room. Some days, after a long day at the café, I had to cram myself into my tiny bathtub that hardly got any hot water. The idea of filling that all the way up and sinking inside, surrounded by bubbles…
No. I was a prisoner. I was aprisoner. This wouldn’t lull me into a false sense of security.
The bathroom window was small, but not so small that I wouldn’t fit. This side of the building had more window ledges, enough for me to possibly climb down them. It was risky. I had no idea if my legs could span the distance between the ledges or if I could slow my fall by grabbing onto them.
But it dropped down into an alley, and hopefully, the rooms below with the windows weren’t filled with fae. I had to do it.
I took a deep breath and tried to pull up the window. Nothing happened, so I tried again, grunting with the effort. It was sealed closed, which made sense at this height.
I’d punched through windows in the past when I was desperate, but I didn’t like to make a habit of doing so without something to cover my hand. The towels were perfect, but I paused. I didn’t want to be an asshole and ruin something someone else could use. I doubted the Royals donated things like that to the poor, but maybe if the Forsaken Lunars overthrew them, they’d find someone who needed them.
Punching through the glass was probably a bad idea, anyway. I was strong, but the glass was thick. I hadn’t heard any noise coming through, even though the grounds and the city were always loud. Using a heavy object was much better.
Even though the room was nice, it didn’t have much in the way of huge objects that could punch through glass—just a bed, a side table, and a lounge chair. I chose the chair and swung it as hard as I could. It thumped against the glass but didn’t make a crack. My wrist tingled as if I’d tried to use my magic, even though I hadn’t. The window was probably enchanted, then. Shit.
I leaned against the wall and sank down until I was squatting, my heels against my butt. The windows were out, and the doors were probably locked.
Probablylocked, at least. The Royals were keeping me alive, so trying to open the doors was most likely not going to kill me instantly.
I stood up and went back into the bedroom. I hadn’t tried this other door, which I had assumed was another exit. If it was somehow unlocked and enforcers were there, I’d just tell them I needed something.
I inched toward the door, my hand hovering over the knob for a beat before I gripped it. Nothing happened, not even a slight itch. I turned it, and the door clicked, drifting open.
This was too easy.
I peered through the crack in the door, and my shoulders relaxed. It wasn’t the hallway—it was another room. I pushed it open more and groaned.
The Royals were sitting around a coffee table, as if they had been waiting for me to find them.
“Come sit down, Arden,” Flint said. “We knew you’d come.”
Chapter9
Lex
