24. Raelyna
RAELYNA
I was insane. That was it . . . the only logical conclusion I could come to as I moved through the shadowed corridor of the tavern, guiding two spies out of my family’s establishment.
I was literally committing an act of treason for two males I’d known for, well, not long enough to commit treason, that’s for sure.
What on Aurelia was I thinking?
I rounded another corner, slipping into a dark closet in the back of the hallway. “This way,” I whispered, making sure to keep my voice low as the two towering males followed into the tight space after me.
Shutting the door behind them, I turned, only to realize the flaw in this plan as two very cramped, towering males had unamused gazes fastened on me.
Their broad shoulders were nearly touching the walls on either side of the storage closet.
It would have been comical had the situation been different.
“Sorry,” the word squeaked out of me. “I just need to—” I gestured to the shelf behind them as I tried to shimmy my way between the two men.
They didn’t budge.
“For the love of the stars,” I muttered as I tried to no avail to scoot past them. “Could you put your towering muscles to good use and move out of my way?”
“Did you hear that, Blackwood?” Axel spoke in a low tone.
“Yeah, I heard, Pierce.” Callum’s answer was an amused rumble. “Seems like she likes our muscles.”
I let out an audible groan at their commentary as I stood trapped between the two of them.
A hand quickly wrapped around my mouth, and my eyes darted up in surprise as I found Callum’s amber eyes fastened on me. “Careful with that mouth, starlight. We are trying to avoid getting caught after all.”
“Otherwise, this would be an unfortunate position for you to be caught in.” Axel took that moment to chime in, and I rolled my eyes.
“Just shut up and move, both of you,” I whispered, my voice low as I shooed my hands toward both males.
“Move where, exactly?” Callum’s voice was a light tease as he gestured around to the enclosed space. I huffed, looking up at him as I crossed my arms over my chest, regretting it in the next moment as I watched his gaze drift from my face, down my body slowly, then back up.
“You did not just check me—” I didn’t finish the sentence as I found myself distracted by the intensity of his lingering gaze, my cheeks heating.
“You going to finish that sentence there, starlight?” Callum teased, a dimple forming on his cheek as he stared down at me with a satisfied grin.
“Just move,” I said when words finally deigned to come to mind.
Only, it was Axel who moved, taking a slight step back, which allowed me to squeeze between them.
My body brushed against Callum’s as I scooted past, and it took everything in me not to pause as the front of my body brushed against hard lines of honed muscle packed beneath combat attire, sending a shiver coursing through every fiber of my being.
The male dared to shoot me a mischievous grin as I moved past him. I stopped in front of the shelves at the back of the storage closet, the lines of cleaning supplies mocking me as I closed my eyes and counted to four, praying to find some composure.
“Is your plan for us to stay in this closet forever?” Callum’s voice was a low whisper against my ear, and my eyes flew open at his words. “I can hear the guards getting closer, and they seem like the type of people who will check everywhere . . . even the storage closet.”
My head turned, and I pinned him with the most annoyed glare I could muster before cursing under my breath and moving forward.
I heard his low chuckle from behind as I found the latch under one of the lower shelves and pressed in with my nails.
Underneath, I felt the switch move, then I heard the faint click of the spring.
Thank the stars.
The shelf silently cracked open, and I felt the moment when both spies behind me shifted, blocking the door as I opened the secret passageway further and spun, gesturing grandly toward the dark, damp corridor covered in cobwebs.
“Your escape passage awaits.” I faked a mocking bow as I stepped back, waiting for one of them to go first, because there was no way in Aurelia I would be the first to venture into the carved out corridor.
“Fine, I’ll go first,” Axel grumbled, and I shifted over, making space for him to pass into the darkness. I turned toward Callum, waiting for him to enter next, only to find his frame still blocking the doorway.
“Well,” I asked finally after a moment of stifling silence stretched between us. “Aren’t you going to go?”
“I’m not letting you go last,” he answered, his voice low as he held my gaze, his eyes observing me.
“Why not?”
“If Lucanus’s guards realize there’s a passage, you’d be the first target, and that’s not happening on my watch,” he stated.
“Fine, if you insist. Although it’s truly not necessary,” I replied after a moment, then I stalked forward into the darkness, stepping ahead just enough to ensure there was space behind me for Callum to enter.
The cold wrapped around me instantly, my skin prickling from the chill, and I wondered once again what I’d gotten myself into.
I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself as I tried to keep warm.
I heard the latch click shut a few seconds later, trapping the three of us together in the darkness.
“Well, this is fun.” Axel’s voice sounded from in front of me, and I looked in his direction, only to find I couldn’t see anything.
“We clearly have different ideas of fun,” I grumbled under my breath as I batted away another cobweb.
“What, you don’t sneak through secret passages to escape guards on a daily basis?” Callum’s voice rumbled with a chuckle behind me.
“No,” I retorted. “Not all of us are psychotic.”
“There you go again with that tongue of yours.” His voice snaked into my ear, and I shivered from the proximity, even as I jabbed my elbow back, connecting with his ribs in a movement that had me rubbing my arm as he laughed.
A few agonizing moments later, a flame flickered to life behind me, and I spun, watching as Callum instructed the fire to light a path forward for us.
“Just follow the corridors,” I said quietly as Axel began brushing cobwebs away and stepping forward. “There’s only one exit from here.”
“How do you know of this passage?” Callum asked, his voice low as we moved through the inside of The Wall.
“The Tilted Tavern is run by my family. It’s been in our family since The Wall went up, from what my father told me, just as his father before him did.
My father showed me this escape when I was young, telling me that if we ever needed a way out, this would bring us far away from the tavern . . . to safety.”
“Have you ever had to use it?” Cal asked, and his tone was more concerned than before, a near demand of a question.
“No—never. Well, not until today,” I answered as we moved through the space.
“And you didn’t question why your father showed you this passage? Why something like this may have been created?”
I frowned as I took another step, making my way through the corridor. “Honestly, I didn’t. My father showed this to me shortly after my own Marking Day. Most days I forget it even exists.”
“You never asked more about it?” he probed as we continued away from the tavern.
“No,” I answered. “I never felt a need to. Not until my father died . . .” I trailed off as we walked further through the passageway, my body shaking slightly from the chill.
“Watch your step,” Axel stated from ahead, my eyes drifting to the floor as I stepped over a large section of cracked cement.
“This path was built into The Wall by my family centuries ago. I didn’t think anything of it until it was too late,” I admitted as we moved further from the tavern.
A pang of worry coursed through me as my thoughts flickered to my mother, still back at the Tilted Tavern.
I hated leaving her . . . And perhaps I shouldn’t have, but I knew that the guards who’d arrived at the tavern wouldn’t harm my mother, not with the respect she still garnered from my father’s service in the RSG, despite the rumors circulating surrounding his death.
“We’re nearing the exit,” I whispered into the silence minutes later, knowing this would deposit us into a back alley, long forgotten in the Nox District.
“Will this door open the same?” the question was posed from ahead of me.
“Yes.” The word fell from my lips. “But I will need to open it. This escape was built long before technology was here. The locks are an old-fashioned style, but they were warded to open only to those of my bloodline.”
A huff of a laugh sounded behind me. “So, that’s why you said you don’t need to go in between the two of us.”
I spun on my heel, shooting a smile toward the spy who towered over me. “Yep,” I popped the ‘p’ as I replied. “But if chivalry isn’t dead and all of that, then I have no quandaries at all with one of you being the first out of this door, because it’s not about to be me.”
Axel stopped ahead of me, shifting to the side as I spotted the outline of the exit. Stepping forward, I pressed against the small latch keeping us trapped inside The Wall, waiting until I felt another spring, and then the door was cracking open.
“After you.” I gestured to either of the males, and Axel once again stepped forward, only motioning for me to follow once he’d confirmed the coast was clear.
My body melted at the warmth that touched my skin, even in the evening air. Ensuring the door was shut, no longer visible in the dark alley, I spun around to see two very disgruntled spies regarding me carefully.
“Well, let’s go,” I said after I brushed the remainder of the cobwebs from my shirt, shaking from the feeling that spiders could be crawling on me.
“Why, exactly, would we follow you?” Blackwood asked, his eyes trained on me, his hand on a pistol by his side.
“Um . . . are you looking for a reason other than the fact that I helped you escape the RSG?” I questioned.
“We’ve escaped. We can take it from here.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you’re not in the clear yet,” I replied. “Also, maybe a thank you would be nice?” I added with annoyance.
Both males huffed a laugh as they regarded me.
“The guards will go section by section along The Wall until they’ve found you. And unless you have some secret way out of Solis, you’re not going to make it very far with the barricades they set up along the streets. Not to mention the surveillance drones that will soon pick up around the Quarter.”
I watched the two males exchange a silent conversation, clearly debating their options before turning to me.
“And what do you propose?” Blackwood asked, amber eyes narrowing as he tugged his dunewrap up against his nose.
“Follow me,” I replied before blending into the shadows and leading the way.