AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At the scrape of wood on stone, Tes peeked through the crack again. Her father had stood. But why? She peered at him carefully, but even so, she almost missed his fingers sliding over an indentation along the bottom edge of his desk. A very—terribly—important indentation. Barely more than an arm’s reach away from Tes, the secret door cracked open.
Tes’s heart slammed in her chest as she pressed her back against the wall and considered the best tunnel to make her escape. More than a few branched off here. To her right, she could flee toward the throne room or follow another side path to the royal bedchambers. Or she could risk running left past the cracked door. Those passages reached the secret exits sooner, after all.
She ducked to the right. A full escape might have been tempting, but it risked too much. The door to the study could open at any moment, and her deception would be done. Her father would know she was alive. Not that she was safe from being discovered, of course—if she didn’t move quickly, he might get close enough to detect her regardless. She had to think while she moved.
If the king intended to show Aony the tunnels, where would he most likely go? Most of the courtiers would have scattered to private sitting rooms or other intimate meeting places, so if spying was the goal, it would be toward those. The throne room would be empty, making it the least likely destination. Why reveal the existence of secret passages only to show nothing of importance? Tes dashed toward the tunnel that would eventually lead there.
As she rounded the corner, voices trailed behind her in the darkness. “I’ll not be giving you a key before the wedding, but being allowed in here should assure you of my true intent.”
“I am honored, Your Majesty.”
Gods, they were close. Tes’s lungs burned as she skidded around another corner, but at least her movements remained silent. She sent thanks to the gods for soft shoes and to Ria for her amazing work on the dress. One sound could spell disaster.
Humbling when a single scuff or rustle could end one’s life.
Finally, Tes made it down the long passage that ran alongside the throne room. She turned down a smaller side tunnel that ended at a set of steps, the narrow spiral leading down to more tunnels behind the kitchens. There would be no reason for her father to come here even if he did give Aony a tour of his favorite observation points.
“I’ve learned more than you could possibly imagine from this spot.”
The sound of her father’s voice echoing from around the corner brought a shiver to Tes’s limbs. She squeezed her arms tight across her chest and did her best to control her breathing. If the two of them approached, she could flee down the stairs. This, too, wrapped around to an exit eventually. She wasn’t trapped here.
“Do you wish for me to spy for you, Your Majesty?” Duke Aony asked.
“No. I am aware that you intend to betray me.”
Tes blinked at the casually spoken words, and from his silence, she suspected the duke was at a loss, too. “What do you mean, Sire?” Aony finally asked.
“You want to claim the throne through your sister,” the king stated. “And you would harm her to gain it. My Lora, returned to me, andyouseek to use her. To betray us.”
A gasp. “I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“You’re right. You won’t.” The scrape of a knife leaving a sheath caused Tes’s muscles to lock in reaction. But the wet squelch of a blade sinking into flesh had her shoving her fist over her mouth lest a gasp give her away. It surely would have at herfather’s next words. “My guards watched you leave my study. Thanks to my head mage, multiple courtiers will see you wander into the city. A mystery after that, hmm? What will your sweet sister do without a protector?”
Tes held her breath, but a sick gurgle was the only answer to be heard.
The warmthof Ber’s soaking tub turned inexplicably cold, his body practically quaking with the shiver. Had the heating spell given out? But no. Warm water still swirled around him. It was an inner chill that had flashed through him, as sudden as an immobilization spell. His gaze flitted around the room in search of danger. Magic.Something.But it was as empty and comfortable as it had been when he’d entered after his training session.
Another chill slithered down his back, and he suddenly knew—Tes.
“What is it?”he sent at once.
“He killed Aony,”she whispered into his mind.
Ber stood, water sluicing off him as he climbed the shallow steps out of the pool.“Were you captured?”
“No, but my father is very close to me.”The quiet starkness of her voice had Ber toweling off more quickly.“I must keep my energy small and difficult to notice. Just…just wait. Please. I’ll meet you in our rooms as soon as I can.”
“Tes—”
His stubborn wife stifled the mental connection before he could argue. Cursing, Ber shoved his fingers through his wet hair and strode into his dressing room. No matter what she said, hisTes was in danger. He would kill the king in front of the entire court if he had to in order to save his wife from harm.
He tugged on the first clothes he found and tied his hair back with a bit of leather, but it still felt like it took an eternity. How far away was she? How deeply did he dare to look? Their link wasn’t a spell to be easily detected, but Ber wasn’t mage enough to know how it might affect Tes’s energy patterns. He needed to be subtle.
Hurrying through to the main room, Ber did a quick scan to make sure no one had entered. Empty. Even so, he didn’t seek his wife’s location. Not yet. He would wait until he reached the relative safety of the secret passages to pause and locate her. Then he would know which direction to go.
He lifted his hand to unlock the door, but before he could, it opened on its own. He froze, though he recognized immediately who it was. Sure enough, Tes sealed the passage behind her and then practically leapt upon him, her arms wrapping around his neck. He let himself tug her close, and at the feel of her trembling against him, he kept his questions to himself and simply held her.
No matter how much he longed to ask.
