Chapter 8
SPARTA
Slipping away from Jenos was the most challenging part of their escape. But it’d be easier to leave from her rooms rather than Lerek’s. So they’d decided to meet in Sonah’s bedchamber, the supplies they’d need hidden in the chest at the foot of her bed.
Sonah opened the door of her room and Jenos immediately stepped into her line of sight, a worried frown on his kindly face as he took in her pale countenance and trembling hands.
“Lady? Is everything all right?”
“Jenos,” she started in her breathiest voice, “would you fetch the physician? I am not feeling well.” She threw in a coughing fit to sell the ploy. “Please, hurry.”
“At once, lady,” Jenos rumbled and strode off.
When he’d rounded the corner, Sonah turned back and motioned Lerek forward.
He had a large sack slung across his chest, his thick wool cloak hiding his simple tunic and leather jacket.
He wore the same grey breeches she’d seen the previous night.
Sonah reached out and pulled his hood to cover his copper-brown hair.
If they were stopped, he’d look like any other Spartan at first glance.
Snatching her cloak from Lerek’s hands, she quickly fastened it and tugged up the hood. With a jerk of her head, Lerek moved out of the room, and Sonah closed the door silently.
They headed down the opposite hallway Jenos had taken, moving swiftly on silent feet, ducking into an alcove to hide from a couple of roving guards. When the hall was clear, they scurried down a few flights of stairs and through corridors leading to the servants’ quarters.
“Wait!” Sonah hissed when Lerek was about to head right into a group of maids carrying empty plates toward the kitchens. She grabbed the back of his cloak and hauled him back, her arm pressed to his chest as she peered out.
“Now,” she whispered, her shoulders hunched as she hurried around the corner. Hidden in a deep recess of the stone wall near the arched doorway leading to the kitchens, an old wood door was the only thing standing between them and freedom.
Sonah pushed the door, cringing when it groaned. She stopped to look over her shoulder, waiting a beat to be sure they hadn’t been discovered. When no one came running, she tugged on Lerek’s sleeve and they slipped through the door.
Not bothering to close it, they ran in a crouch, hugging the stone wall to their right. They followed the wall until they reached a dip and dropped down.
“Where—”
“There’s a ladder a few yards ahead and we can climb up to the top of the wall,” Sonah panted as they moved.
“And then?”
She didn’t answer until they’d reached the ladder. Taking a closer look at it, Sonah worried it wouldn’t bear their weight. Well, maybe hers. She looked from the ladder to Lerek, then back again as she chewed on her lip.
“And then, Sonah?” Lerek prodded, grabbing hold of her arm and giving it a shake.
“Then we drop on the other side,” she hissed.
Without looking at him, she clambered up the ladder. Behind her, she heard Lerek’s muttered curse before he climbed up. Sonah looked down over her shoulder when she heard a gasp and the crack of wood.
“Lerek?”
“I’m fine,” he whispered.
Turning back, Sonah climbed and crouched at the top, waiting. She scooted back so he’d have room to step up.
Sonah’s chest squeezed. Looking down into the black abyss on the other side of the wall, she frowned.
“How far down is it?” Lerek gasped at her side.
She looked up at him to see him scowling down at the endless darkness beyond.
“I… I think not far?”
He shot her a look of disbelief. “What’s that mean? Is it a foot? Two? Ten?”
“I’m not good with distances,” she mumbled. “Or numbers.”
He scoffed.
“Do you have a better idea?” she seethed. “I’ve had a day to scout out an escape route. This is the best I found. It’s not far down. I don’t think the drop will kill us.”
“You don’t—” Lerek sputtered and then cursed under his breath.
“Ready?” Sonah asked a second before she lowered her legs on the other side. She looked up at Lerek’s alarmed expression and pushed off from the wall.
Her heart rose to her throat as she fell. Seconds later, her feet landed. She fell to her knees and cried out, falling awkwardly onto her right side, her thigh smacking against the cold grass and bracken.
“Come on!” she called up to Lerek, even as her feet and knees ached and her thigh burned from the fall.
She moved back when she heard Lerek’s movements above.
With a loud oomph, he landed and rolled, knocking into her.
She fell back onto her bottom, trying to stop her momentum with her hand stretched back.
She cried out when her hand twisted and a razor sharp pain shot up her forearm.
“What the fuck, Lerek!” Sonah clutched her bruised wrist to her chest as she glared up at Lerek’s shadowy form. He bent close and helped her up, mumbling apologies.
“Now what?” he asked when they were both upright. Sonah looked around, blinking to adjust to the dark now that the torches on the other side of the wall no longer lit their way.
“We continue down this slope and it’ll lead us to the gate near the stables,” she answered as she turned to start down in that direction. Lerek followed close behind.
“We’re going to steal horses?”
Sonah’s face twisted and she exhaled in frustration. “No. That would almost certainly ruin our escape. We won’t be able to get horses until we’re out of Sparta.”
“How long will that take?”
Sonah muttered to herself about patience and the uselessness of spoiled princes.
“I don’t know, Lerek,” she said through gritted teeth. “I told you, I’m not good with stuff like that. Just follow, all right?”
A long time passed as they continued down the mountainside. They took it slower when the decline steepened, ducking low so if they slid, they wouldn’t go careening to their deaths.
When they finally stepped onto a cobbled stone path, Sonah breathed a sigh of relief. She looked back at the prince and flashed him a quick smile.
“See? Not so bad.”
“Aye,” he whispered, smiling back at her.
Shouts reached them a few minutes later and Sonah grabbed Lerek’s cloak and ducked behind bushes near the large stone steps leading back up to the castle.
They crouched low, huddled together as a group of soldiers rushed past, torches held high.
Sonah waited another minute to see if anyone else followed.
Satisfied no one was near, Sonah darted out of cover, Lerek close behind.
As they neared the gates to the castle at the bottom of the mountain, Sonah turned right.
“We’re not going through the gates?”
“Go ahead if you want to get caught,” Sonah sneered. Without a backward glance, she continued, feeling along the stone until she found what she was looking for. The grate in the wall was old and worn but still intact. Turning, she motioned for Lerek to come closer.
“Can you pull this out?”
“With what?” he asked with a quizzical frown.
Sonah pulled a face. “With your hands.”
Lerek scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, can you try?”
“Gods, Sonah! When we get out of here and are somewhere safe, you really need to fill me in on what happened to you since Metilai!”
“Agreed. Now get this open.”
Lerek shook his head, then grabbed hold of the bars and tugged, his feet sliding on the dewy grass. When the grate didn’t budge, he braced his feet against the stone and tried again.
“Here,” Sonah said as she reached for the sack around his shoulder. Rummaging around, she frowned until she caught something and grinned.
“Aha!” she held up a long iron bar with a hooked end at him in triumph.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a fire poker, Lerek,” she said. Gods, was he really this coddled? To not even know what a fire poker looked like?
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “It’s dark out.”
Sonah twisted her lips, thrusting the poker at him. “Use this. I brought it for protection but maybe we can use it to loosen the bars.”
Lerek snatched it from her hands with a scowl. After a few awkward attempts, the grate gave and yanked part of the way out of the stone. Lerek repositioned his feet against the wall and gave it another pull, flying onto his back when the grate gave way.
Sonah gasped excitedly, and grabbed Lerek’s cloak. “I knew you could do it! Now, let’s get the fuck out of here!”
“We can’t find them, Your Majesty,” Captain Athanasi said with a scowl.
Daris swore and glanced at King Altos.
“Fuck!”
The curse was uncharacteristic of the king, especially in front of his men. His face turned a deep scarlet, and his eyes narrowed as he looked around, his gaze landing on Daris.
“They can’t have gone far,” he snarled. “Find them. Put the prince in a cell and bring Sonah Yahn to me.”
“Aye, Sire,” Daris said and made to turn when the king grabbed his arm.
“Do it quietly,” King Altos seethed. “I don’t want the duke getting wind of this.”
Daris looked at him for a long moment before giving the king a curt nod. Altos released him and Daris strode away, his men following.
When he was a good distance from the king, Daris said over his shoulder, “Jason, you and Michael head for the Champion’s Gate. I doubt they’d be stupid enough to go out that way, but you never know. Trojus, you’re with me.”
He turned as the men moved off. When Captain Athanasi came out of the doorway, Daris stopped him.
“Have your men watch every stableyard in the city. If they’re on foot and have already made it out of the city limits, they’ll be easier to catch without horses.”
“Aye, Commander,” the captain said.
Daris’s pulse raced as he descended the staircase and strode across the grand foyer. At that hour, there were few courtiers still milling about, their hooded eyes and slurred speech testament to their evening’s revelry, so he and his men were largely ignored.
He knew the whispers of Sonah’s departure would circulate soon enough, despite King Altos’s wishes. While Sonah had kept to her rooms, the servants were very aware of who she was and their tongues would soon whisper in the ears of those servants in the pocket of some of these courtiers.
He hoped they’d be back before those whispers found the duke and duchess.