Chapter Fifteen #2
Princess Terila and Rin were sitting next to one another.
She looked epically out of place in the middle of the forest, all big violet-gray eyes, too many curves, and ethereal white blond hair.
But she’d braided the latter and was dressed more plainly than Tor had ever seen, in a tunic and hose just like the rest of them.
He was still incredibly confused, but he had his priorities, so he pushed those concerns aside for the moment.
“What do we know?” he demanded.
“It’s likely that the High King, the High Queen, and the baby arrived nine days ago,” Nawila reported.
“We were left behind to cover their escape from Nexa. After they were safely away, Pama and I went to Vayrin to let Sir Rinil know what had happened.” Her eyes flashed to his, and Tor realized they’d gone to tell his best friend about his death.
“The events seemed suspicious, so we split up.
Pama and I came here, and Sir Rinil and Princess Terila went to Lotar to see if Princess Adexa was there.
“From what we could discover, the royal family arrived about four days before we did. We didn’t attempt to enter the castle.
We picked up enough gossip to know that there was an increase in the number of guards, but there was still traffic in and out, though it was monitored even more strictly than normal.
There were a few complaints about slower times for deliveries or someone being questioned for what the townsfolk thought was totally unnecessary reasons, that sort of thing. ”
Bitterly, Tor conceded that all of that could be explained away by proper protections for a royal family on the run. Why was the man always ten steps ahead of them?
Nawila continued. “Yesterday, the castle went into what I can only describe as a lockdown. Someone arrived by carriage, and if I had to guess, given what we’ve learned from King Stronex, I would theorize it was Princess Adexa.
” She frowned. “Up until then, everyone was being pretty close-lipped, which could simply be trying to protect the royal family. Whatever happened yesterday, no word is getting in and out, and it’s clear from the behavior of the townsfolk that this isn’t normal.
People are being turned away, and the demeanor of the guards is such that no one is overtly protesting. ”
She made a face. “And quite frankly, there hasn’t been the scouting I would expect if it were an external threat that was being guarded against right now. So it seems a lot more like they’re trying to keep someone from getting out than that they’re worried about someone getting in.”
Tor’s jaw clenched. Was his whole family now trapped in King Nostex’s castle?
Nawila shot him an apologetic look. “We have the advantage of being here and appearing to have arrived unnoticed, but we can’t mount a full frontal assault on the castle.”
Certainly not without announcing what they were doing.
Tor swore. “I feel like we can’t wait for Bavil and Larexa, but we might have no choice.
” He eyed Stronex. “If there was you, me, and three other Extraordinary people, and just for the sake of argument four of them had the Fealty of at least five thousand people, could we get into the castle quickly?”
Stronex looked as though he had many questions, but he took the question seriously.
“Perhaps. Nostex has always favored a fully fortified castle. With enough of us, of course we could break through in time, but would that serve our purpose? The magic has always seemed to favor the ruler whose land we’re on. ”
Tor nodded. “Yes, that tracks with everything I’ve learned so far.”
He still didn’t understand, but it seemed to reinforce what the exiles had told him.
Rin looked like he was counting in his head.
“We left Terila’s parents amassing an army in Vayrin, but as I understand it, King Forex recently denounced you as a traitor. How could we have four people with Fealty helping us?”
“That’s part of the really long story,” Tor said with a smile he didn’t really feel.
“If we’re waiting for all these Extraordinary rulers, we seem to have time,” Rin pointed out.
Tor opened his mouth, not sure whether he was going to argue or agree—it was a really long story and it technically involved treason—when another voice spoke up.
“I can get you into the castle.”
They all turned to look at Pamuna. She shifted from foot to foot at their scrutiny, but she didn’t back down.
“How?” Tor demanded.
“My parents used to… work for King Nostex, and he valued… discretion. There is a secret entrance that has never been guarded, to my knowledge.” Her flush deepened.
“I can’t guarantee that that’s still the case right now, of course, but even if there were some guards, I don’t think it could be as many as at any other entrance.
I wouldn’t think that King Nostex would be anticipating an attack from that direction. ”
This was clearly a heavily edited version of Pamuna’s past, but after she’d rescued Cala, Tor was willing to bet that whatever had gone on before, she was with them now.
Besides, the whole castle was basically one big trap. She was proposing leading them to the one place they wanted to go which they already knew was full of guards.
“We certainly have enough warriors that we should be able to get through a secret entrance.” He eyed her. “How familiar are you with the castle?”
She made a face. “Not as well as I would like given what’s happening right now, but better than someone who’s never been there before.”
Tor nodded. “I’ve been a few times, but I wasn’t paying that much attention, if I’m honest. I’m aware of the basic layout of some sections of the castle.”
The same was true for Rin, Nawila, Stronex, and Pel. The guards had never been.
“I should be able to get us to a room where we can regroup,” Pamuna told them. Her hands were twisted into a tight knot, the knuckles white. “I could guess where he might be keeping them, but I don’t know for sure. He has a lot of trophy rooms.”
Tor made a face, horrified at the idea that his family was being strung up like trophies.
“Where’s the secret entrance?”
“Farther east of us, a bit closer to the river.”
Tor didn’t doubt that Nostex used that entrance for illicit things. Just what had Pamuna and her family done for him?
“We’ll need people to stay behind with the horses. I know we might need to make a quick getaway, but we don’t want to risk anyone stumbling on the horses too close to a secret entrance.”
They couldn’t be sure how many people knew about the space, and if Tor were Nostex, he’d at least make sure his guards patrolled the area regularly, even if they didn’t know why—although he supposed that might interfere with the secret use of the tunnel.
He eyed Stronex.
“Does your castle have a secret entrance?”
A dark eyebrow rose on Stronex’s face. “Does yours?”
Yeah, all right, fair enough. He was just going to assume from now on that every castle had a secret entrance.
“You want to go in now, I presume?” Stronex asked.