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The maze-like building was enormous. I had little chance of finding my way to a stairway before guards showed up to haul me off to prison. All I knew was that the doors on my right would lead to rooms facing the outer grounds. And those rooms might have windows.
I listened by a door. When I heard nothing, I turned the knob and peeked inside. A woman’s wide eyes stared back at me. I slammed the door and ran. Even through the heavy wood, her shouts echoed down the corridor.
Footsteps pounded up ahead.
I had no choice but to try another door. I opened one a crack. It was empty. I darted in and locked it behind me. A desk dominated the space, and there were two windows on the opposite wall. The workspace was covered in books, quills, and piles of paper. I dove under the desk and waited for the rush of footsteps to pass, willing my body to be strong and my heart to slow. When it was quiet outside the door, I jumped to my feet.
The two windows had levers. I tried the first, but it wouldn’t budge. Rust caked the handle, flaking away as I pulled, but it held on stubbornly.
I tried the second window’s lever. It too was rusted. I finally felt it move as it broke off in my hands. I wanted to throw my fist into the window, but I forced myself to slow down and think.
A door slammed nearby. Then another, louder. I had no time to decide. I could only act. I grabbed a book off the desk and smashed it into the window, sending a cascade of glass to the ground below. I scraped the book along the lower edge of the window to break off the rest of the jagged shards.
Someone shouted right outside the door.
I climbed onto the windowsill, my breath catching in my throat. The distance to the ground was farther than I’d expected.
The doorknob rattled. Then came furious pounding that shook the whole room.
I dropped my legs off the ledge and gripped the sill, slivers of glass digging into my palms. The door crashed open behind me. I didn’t look back.
My only choice was to let go and fall into the open air.
ChapterTwelve
My feet slammedinto the ground and I fell flat onto my back, gritting my teeth to keep from screaming in pain. I sat up, surprised to see that the book I used to break the glass had fallen to the gravel beside me.
Guards leaned out the window, shouting to others below. Dark figures swooped in on me from both sides.
I reached for the book, then leaped to my feet, wincing as the pain in my left heel paralyzed me. I tried to run, but all I could manage was to limp toward the outer gates, trying to withstand the pain shooting through my foot.
The fence loomed ahead. I was almost there.
But as I came to it, I ran straight into the arms of a Law Enforcer.
He caught me by one arm and I smashed the book into his head. He grunted, then spun me around and grabbed my other arm, pulling them both tight behind me until my shoulders burned. Then he jerked the book from my grasp. I struggled and kicked, but he deflected my blows as if he knew exactly what I’d do next.
“Stop fighting me or I’ll hand you over to the real guards,” he hissed.
I froze out of shock rather than trust. The darkness had hidden his face, but nothing could disguise Cael’s irritated voice.
The guards still ran toward us.
“I have her, men! There’s no need to exert yourselves,” said Cael.
They slowed and stopped several feet away.
He forced my head down until my neck felt like it would break, then led me away, scolding me loudly enough for all the guards to hear. I was sure he was enjoying every moment of it.
He shoved me toward a gate. “Open up!” he ordered the guards on the outside. “This trespasser will be behind bars tonight.”
The anger and authority in his command almost convinced me he meant it, though I knew better. I wasn’t stupid enough to think he cared about me, but he’d lose his promised reward if I ended up in prison.
The gate opened without delay and Cael pushed me forward into the street. I had nowhere to look but the ground as I limped along with my arms twisted hard behind my back.
Cael kept up the appearance until we were well away from Academy Square. He didn’t release my hands until he led me into a dark alleyway.
I turned to face him, rubbing my neck and shoulders. “Did you have to be so rough?”
