AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll take her to my suite,” Amara said. “Only the steward knows which one I’ve been assigned—I don’t think most people at the Guild even know I’ve returned yet—so I won’t have any visitors.”
Airlie looked uncertain but eventually nodded her agreement. “If someone does discover she’s missing and raise an alarm, I’ll try to get to you first.”
Amara quickly described which suite she was in—a description that meant nothing to me—and then hurried me away. It took painfully long to cross the palace and Guild, but thankfully most of the corridors were empty due to the midday meal.
When we reached the suite, and Amara firmly closed the door behind us, I shrugged out of the cloak with relief. Ember jumped out of my arms and started exploring the room, apparently unbothered by the tension.
“Do you think we’ll be waiting long?” I asked uneasily.
She sighed. “I hope not. I’m already nervous enough about this dangerous plan of yours. And I don’t want to give Drake or Airlie a chance to overthink it.”
“They’re good people,” I said, although I hadn’t known them long. “They won’t abandon us.”
Amara sighed again but nodded. “If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have agreed in the first place. I wish Evermund were here.”
“Talking of people who aren’t here,” I said, trying to sound casual and failing.
“Nik’s gone,” Amara said, without my having to name him.
“Gone?” My heart rate picked up. “What does that mean?”
Had he tried to get to me in prison and been stopped? Had he already been cast out—maybe even from the entire kingdom this time?
“Relax,” Amara said gently. “He’s fine, or he was when he decided to leave.”
“He just…left?” My brows drew together as I tried to make sense of her words. Nik had known I was in trouble, locked away without charge, and he had just left? There was no way that was true.
“He was very angry when he heard what had happened, and he grew even more furious when his father refused to relent,” she said slowly, as if picking her words with care.
I relaxed slightly. Nik must have known he didn’t have the strength to rescue me alone. Had he left in order to remove the temptation of trying anyway?
That thought didn’t sit right, though. Amara and even Airlie had remained to fight for me, but Nik had walked away? I didn’t believe it. And Amara clearly knew something more than she was saying.
But she was just as clearly remaining silent on purpose. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and keep asking until she explained everything, but I couldn’t. She was already risking a lot to support me, and I couldn’t repay the debt by haranguing her, however desperately I wanted answers.
“What about Phoenix?” I asked. “Is he all right?”
She glanced toward Ember who was sniffing one of the curtains. “I thought he was with you this whole time, although I can see now that doesn’t make much sense. A falcon doesn’t belong in a cell.”
“You haven’t seen him?” I bit my lip, trying not to let my concern grow.
“Don’t worry,” she said, watching the expressions move across my face. “I believe you can make this plan work. And afterward—”
But before I could hear what was going to happen afterward, a knock sounded on the door. We both froze.
“Amara?” Hayes’s familiar voice called through the wood. “Are you in there?”
Amara strode to the closest cupboard—a tall wardrobe—and silently pulled open one door. I remained motionless for a moment, taken too much by surprise to follow her lead. But when she gestured a second time for me to climb inside, I finally responded.
Scooping up both Ember and the discarded cloak, I bundled us into the wardrobe.
“Just a minute!” Amara called as she shut the door on me.
It was dark inside, except for the small bits of light that seeped in around the doors. I could hear perfectly, though, and was able to follow Amara’s footsteps as she crossed the room to open the door.
“Hayes,” she said in her usual calm way. “You were looking for me? I heard Their Majesties were greeting a new delegation. Are they finished?”
“Not yet, I believe.” He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “But I couldn’t put off talking to you any longer.”
