Chapter Five Xander #2
“She is injured pretty badly. Worse now,” I say, changing the subject and sitting up in my chair, resting my elbows on the table. “We should send Tienne to her.”
Grayson moves from the wall and pulls the chair to my left out, sinking into it with a weary exhale. “You sure? She’ll expose the alternate way in.”
“That’s only if Bella is paying attention,” I counter, head turning to look at one of the hidden doors carved into the stone.
It connects to a series of tunnels that run both beneath the castle and behind some of the walls.
I thought they might be servants’ passages, ways for them to get around without being seen.
But Grayson thinks their origins tell a different story.
One that speaks to a time before The War Of Five Kingdoms. When shifters, dragons, sirens, and mages alike might have walked the Mortal Kingdom freely.
Just because war wasn’t recorded doesn’t mean that there weren’t skirmishes or disagreements between kingdoms, and royalty would have needed somewhere to hide that would protect them from everyone else.
“What else is there for her to do but pay attention?”
I huff out a breath, drumming my fingers along the table.
“She is dehydrated. I suspect that something is wrong with her magic, as she hasn’t shifted at all since being shot with the arrow.
I don’t know all of what the shifters can do, but if expedited healing is no longer on the table, I don’t imagine she will be able to focus much on who is coming from which entrance. ”
“It’s still a risk.”
“I know.” Every choice I make, from who I decide to speak to publicly to when I risk venturing in the tunnels to who I trust, isn’t made lightly.
It’s why I created those three rules. Never show weakness, never deviate from a plan, and never let anyone get close.
My experiences hadn’t been earned but forced upon me.
I was nothing but a pawn to the king, and for so many years, I wasn’t able to fight back.
I endured, because of my mother, because I didn’t know better.
It was Grayson who challenged me to become more than what King Dolian wanted.
He didn’t create the idea of the resistance, but he gave me the encouragement I needed to believe that I could return the harm the king had done tenfold.
The rules make sure I stick to that goal.
I am long past hating my father for what he did. Now I just want to strip him of everything he loves. I want him to suffer, as he had made my mother suffer. I want him dead.
“But I need to ask her about the princess. To ascertain just what kind of threat she might be. Bella can’t die before I get that chance.”
“Who’s Bella?” The familiar voice comes from behind me, her hand patting my shoulder as she passes, the scent of sugar following.
Tienne pulls the chair to my right out and sits, hands releasing her dark brown hair from the messy braid it’s in.
She was a child when she started working in the kitchens, following her mother’s footsteps.
I had already been an apprentice in the guard for over two years when our paths finally crossed.
She found me in the training yard, working off my anger from a particularly horrific meeting with the king.
I was curt to her and when she left, I assumed I would never see her again.
But she returned a short time later, fresh rolls and strawberry jam in hand, and forced me to take a break.
It was the first time someone outside of Grayson had shown me kindness for the sake of it.
“The newest prisoner,” Grayson answers for me when I accidentally let the silence linger for too long.
More people filter in, all nodding their heads in greeting as they either pull up chairs to the table or find a place to stand.
I refocus myself, standing from my chair and leaning my hands on the table, waiting until the door to the tunnels closes.
“Welcome. Did anyone have issues getting in?”
A chorus of denials respond, and my shoulders relax a little more. I take in our small but mighty group, pride swelling in my chest. It’s an emotion I’ve so rarely been allowed to feel, but I humble myself beneath the weight of it.
“Good, then let’s get started. Is there anyone here for the first time?” I already know the answer, a few nervous glances bouncing my way as a handful of people raise their hands. “You’re welcome to introduce yourself if you’d like.”