Without hesitation, I sprinted for the far side of the room. One of the guards gave a shout, but they were as slow to respond as I had hoped they would be. Partially due to surprise, I was sure, and probably also due to the mistaken belief that I had dashed into a room with no other exit.
I flung myself into the small wooden box nestled into the wall, only just fitting inside. I gripped the brake with both hands, pulling it loose. As I began to sink down, faster than I had expected, I saw the astonished faces of the two guards disappear from view.
Chapter 28
I plunged toward the ground two floors below so fast that I felt my stomach whoosh up into my mouth. Clearly, I was significantly heavier than the food the counter weight usually balanced. The opening into the kitchen appeared, but the top half of the box still opened only onto a wall when it jerked beneath me and came to a shuddering halt. The wood creaked ominously as I bounced hard against the wooden bottom.
I hadn’t made it all the way down, but I thought there might be enough of an opening for me to squeeze through. As I moved to slide out, however, the box jerked again and began to move back upwards. I gulped and scrambled in the small space until I crouched on my feet, head bent and shoulders, along with both my hands, pressed against the top of the box. I grunted and strained with my legs, pushing upwards with all my strength.
The wood creaked and groaned, and then splintered apart. I plummeted down, fast, landing hard on my rear, and the top of the box shot upwards, now carrying almost no weight. I heard the guards curse, but I didn’t wait to see their next move. My plan had worked better than I could have hoped, the wood obviously starting to rot with the years of disuse. But it was only the first of the obstacles that had to be overcome.
Clambering to my feet, I shoved my cloak into one of the large empty fireplaces and ran from the room. I pulled my hair down around my face and slid my hands into the bundle of cord. As I neared the part of the palace where Lily and Jon were being held, I slowed, checking around each corner first. It wouldn’t do to be discovered too early.
Finally, I reached the corridor where Lily had said I would find them. Sure enough, three guards loitered around a door half way down.
Are you ready? I asked Lily. I’m here.
Ready!
I took a deep breath and knocked a candle sconce on the wall with my elbow. It rattled loudly enough for my purposes, and I ran along the passageway past the opening to the corridor with the guards. I stopped just out of sight, pressing myself against the wall.
“Hey!” shouted one. “The prisoner!”
“Impossible,” said another.
But the third one spoke over the top of him, “I saw her, too.”
“Here, I’ll show you.” I heard the rattle of a key as the disbelieving one spoke. I held my breath. This was the moment when everything needed to work perfectly.
Inside the room, I knew Lily had thrown herself against the wall on the inside of the door. I could picture it all happening in my mind. The confused guard would be flinging the door open and scanning the room. Inside he would see Jon and the other guard, but no Lily since she was blocked from view by the now open door.
I heard the guard inside call out a muffled question, at the same time as the guard with the key called out, “It was her! She’s escaped somehow. Quick! After her!”
I heard the pounding of two sets of boots and took off running as fast as I could down the corridor. I ran heedlessly, my knowledge of the castle’s layout exhausted. All that mattered, though, was that the two guards continued to pursue me, and that Jon and Lily now had only two guards and an open door between them and freedom.
The second the two guards had taken off, Jon would have leaped up and incapacitated the guard in the room. Hopefully by the time the guard in the doorway realized what was happening, and that he was needed in the room rather than in pursuit of me, Jon and Lily would have been able to attack him together.
I ducked through a small indoor courtyard and burst into another corridor.
We’re free! Lily’s jubilation rang through my mind. You did it! Now all we need is to get into the city, find each other and find somewhere to hide while we come up with the next plan.
That’s all, hey?
I slammed a door behind me, but it was being pulled open before I was more than four steps away. I was losing my lead.
I don’t know if I’m going to make it out, Lil.
What! Where are you? We’ll come for you.
No! I snapped the word as I tried to push some extra speed from my now exhausted legs. Cole can’t force me to marry him unless he has you and Jon. You’re the ones who need to get away.
He could still kill you!
But he won’t. Not right away, anyway. He’ll be hoping to recapture you. Make sure he can’t!
As I projected the final word, a hand landed in the center of my back, and I sprawled forward across the floor, a heavy weight falling against me. I tried to push up and crawl away, but strong hands gripped me.
“Oh no, you don’t. I don’t know how you managed to get out before, but we’ve got you now.” The two men still assumed I was Lily then.
“I demand to see Cole,” I gasped between shuddering breaths, my lungs burning. Anything to prevent them returning to the room they had been using as a prison and seeing that both prisoners were now gone.
“He’s not going to like it that you tried to run,” said one of them, dragging me to my feet and pushing me roughly down the corridor.
I stayed silent, keeping my hands tucked against my dress in the hope they wouldn’t notice the strangeness of my apparent bindings. When they shoved me through a small side door into the throne room, I tripped and nearly fell, but one of them caught me by the arm. He pushed me forward to where Cole still sat on the throne, talking quietly with a man beside him.
“The door never opened, we swear it,” said one of the guards. “But somehow this one escaped. We ran her down half way through the east wing, though.”
Cole stood up and strode over toward us. “Lily, Lily, Lily. Don’t tell me you still have some surprises left in you after all. But where is the oh-so-tiresome Jonathan? I cannot believe you have escaped without your ever-faithful swain.”
I spat at the ground at his feet, since it seemed like the sort of defiant thing Lily would do. He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Really, was that necessary?” Then his eyes narrowed, and I saw his gaze fasten on the gold cord looped loosely around my wrists. It moved up to my dress. “What is this?” His eyes flew to my face.
He yanked me away from the guards and turned on them. “Fools! This is Sophie! Where are Lily and Jonathan?”
They looked at him in bewilderment.
“Go!” he screamed at them. “Check on the prisoners!”
Both men lumbered around, still clearly confused, and raced out of the room.
Cole turned on me, his face white with fury. “How have you managed this? By what magic have you switched places with your sister?”
I shrugged. “My sister is long gone and her betrothed with her. You may have caught me, but you no longer have any leverage over me. I won’t be telling you a thing, and I certainly won’t be marrying you.”
Before he could reply, the two guards who I had left behind in the dining room came rushing in, their faces red.
“We’ve lost her…” one of them started to say before trailing off as he looked with confusion between me and Cole. “Wait. Is that…?”
“Yes, idiots!” Cole’s volume had dropped, but the menace still lingered in his tone. “This is the girl you were meant to be guarding. And now I find that somehow she has helped the other two to escape.”
“Escape? But how is such a thing possible? She didn’t even know where they were being held. I swear we did not take her near that wing.”
“And why does she look like the other one?” The second guard seemed to be struggling to catch up.
“Obviously it was part of the ruse that
allowed the others to escape,” Cole snapped. “Believe me, one way or another, I will discover how it was done. But in the meantime, I want every guard out searching the palace for the prisoners. If they are not found, you will pay the punishment.”
Both men paled and hurried from the room. The guard who had been talking to Cole earlier made as if to follow them, but Cole signaled for him to stay. I felt a small stirring of pride that I had unsettled him enough that he wanted backup.
He must have seen something of the emotion on my face, because he shook my arm, hard. “Don’t think this is over, Princess Sophie. I am not so easily defeated.”
I remained mute, so he towed me over to the throne and threw me to the ground at its foot. Sitting down, he gestured for his remaining guard to come and stand over me, sword drawn and pointed down in my direction.
I pulled myself slowly into a sitting position, rubbing at several new bruises I could already feel forming. That was twice I had ended up on the stone ground in the last few minutes.
I reached out for my sister in my mind. Sorry, Lily.
No, I’m sorry.
Don’t worry. I tried to keep my tone positive. You’ll find a way to rescue me, I’m sure of it.
No, they…
Before she could finish the sentence, two guards strode through the double doors on the far side of the throne room. Between them they dragged my sister, her feet barely touching the ground.
She looked up and met my eyes…they caught me, I’m afraid. I’m so sorry, Sophie.
Chapter 29
I leaped to my feet. “Lily!”
“Ah!” Cole also came upright. “Well done.”
What happened?
She looked dejected and guilty as they half carried her forward. We had nearly made it out of the palace grounds and were taking turns scouting a short way ahead. I was distracted, worrying about you, and stumbled straight into a group of guards. I bolted, to lead them away from Jon, but I couldn’t outrun them. She paused. He’s going to be so furious that I left him behind! And you, Sophie. You should be furious with me, too. I’ve ruined everything!
I sent her an internal glare as she arrived in front of the throne. Don’t be ridiculous. This situation is not your fault. All of the guilt belongs with Cole. I glanced at the guards who tightly gripped her arms. And maybe some on these henchmen of his, too. Who in the kingdoms are they?
She glanced at one of them and frowned. Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t think they’re Marinese, though.
“Where’s the prince?” asked Cole.
One of the men shrugged uncomfortably. “We haven’t seen any sign of him. The others are still out looking.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed, but then he shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. There is nothing he can do, and Lily is the important one.” He turned to me. “I told you I would not be so easily defeated Princess Sophie. And you have now worn out every shred of my patience.” He gestured at the guards, and one of them grabbed both her arms, holding her firmly in front of him, while the other drew his sword and placed it at her throat.
“No!” I leaped to my feet and lunged forward, but the man who had remained behind with Cole held me back.
“Carefully now, Princess,” said Cole. “You wouldn’t want to go startling my guard here.”
I froze.
“We will be married immediately,” he continued.
I swung around to stare at him. “Immediately? But Dominic is still the heir.”
“We will be married now, to ensure you don’t get any more foolish ideas. You will be able to claim the throne soon enough.”
I gaped at him, my mind racing. This couldn’t be happening. Everything had gone wrong, and now it was all moving too fast. I couldn’t marry him. But when I looked at the sharp blade pressed against Lily’s throat, I knew I couldn’t refuse him either.
Don’t do it, Sophie! But I could feel Lily’s fear, as sharp as my own.
Cole seemed to have lost all caution in the face of our nearly successful defiance. It was a dangerous move since he didn’t know that Dominic had dissolved our betrothal. I suspected Lily and I weren’t the only ones afraid—I could sense the fear lurking beneath the surface of his actions. He didn’t understand what had happened, and he no longer trusted his ability to keep us secured.
“But how?” I asked, searching for any way to delay him. “How are we to be married?”
He eyed me coldly. “Surely you didn’t think I had come unprepared? In Marin, I befriended an official from Palinar, one stationed in the duchy with a small liaison role before the curse hit. He has accompanied us and stands ready to perform the ceremony. He is eager to assist in freeing the kingdom from the curse of the Beast and his family.”
The thought of Dominic brought tears to my eyes. If only I could have found a way to save him. Would I ever get to see him again, or have the chance to tell him how I felt? What would happen when Dominic’s coronation window closed? Would he remain a beast forever as I feared?
My stomach churned. If he came after me, it wouldn’t matter. He would be dead.
And yet, still I wished he was here with me.
Cole was shouting orders for the official to be brought to the throne room, but I was only listening with half my mind. A strange flash outside the window kept distracting me. I remembered the flashes I had seen earlier while driving through the city, but this one was different. This one actually looked like a human form.
There! I saw it again. This time I felt sure it had been a person. How many guards did Cole have with him? My heart sank. He would not allow us the opportunity to escape again. And Jon would be hard-pressed to assist us, even if he remained free. Not when he was alone and had no way to communicate with us.
The official eventually arrived, and I noticed that he looked nervous at all the drawn swords and angry-looking guards. Perhaps he would refuse to conduct a ceremony so clearly done under coercion? But Cole clapped him on the back and murmured something in his ear. His face cleared, and my hope withered.
Cole had the official stand in front of the throne and arranged the two of us at the bottom of the three steps that led up to it. Lily he positioned to one side, within my eye line, still held by one guard, another holding the sword to her throat. He pulled a ring from his pocket, and I shivered, feeling it already like a prison chain around me.
Dominic! I cried in my heart, my eyes filling with tears. It should have been you.
As if called into existence by my desperate wishes, a deafening roar shook the throne room. Everyone started and looked toward the double doors. They had been flung wide and, standing between them, stood Dominic. Fury radiated from every line of his body, and death was in his eyes.
“Guards! Stop him!” shouted Cole, a tremor in his voice. And then chaos broke out.
The guard who had been holding the sword to Lily lowered his blade and moved to stand between Dominic and Cole. A group of guards poured in from the small side door and rushed to join him. My stomach churned to see Dominic facing them all alone, growling and striding forward, a sword gripped in each hand. But a moment later, a small crowd poured in behind him, most of them dressed in the official uniform of the Palinaran guard.
Before I could even begin to wonder who they were, or where they had come from, Lily seized the opportunity afforded by the absence of the second guard and bit down hard on the arm that encircled her shoulders. The guard yelled and pulled his arm back while Lily kicked him hard in one shin. He stumbled backwards, and she launched herself forward.
I thought she was coming for me, but Jon appeared instead, sweeping her into his arms. He must have come in with the wave of Palinaran guards although I hadn’t seen him.
Meanwhile, the Palinaran guards clashed violently with Cole’s men, attempting to pull them away as they tried to swarm the prince. Dominic’s swords flashed, clearing a path ahead of him, his focus never leaving Cole.
My stomach churned at the sight of him, overwhelmed with both love and fear. Ho
w could he be here? How was it possible?
“Dominic!” His name fell from my lips involuntarily, just as he broke through the last of the guards. He faltered, his burning eyes turning to me, and for a moment no one else existed in the room but us.
Sophie! Behind you! Lily’s scream ripped through my mind just as rough arms jerked me backwards, and something sharp pricked my throat.
“Stay back!” yelled Cole, dragging me off my feet and immobilizing me with a dagger at my throat.
Dominic paused, but I could see his whole body shaking with contained fury, and his growls rolled over one another, deep and threatening. His menacing gaze remained fixed on Cole, but his words could only be addressed to me.
If he harms you, I will kill him.
His face was the last thing I saw as Cole dragged me backwards out of the room.
Chapter 30
Cole seemed to recognize that he couldn’t drag me all the way out of the palace alone. Instead, he took one quick look around the antechamber we had entered and then tugged me over to a slim door. Moving without hesitation, he yanked it open, thrusting me into the darkness inside. His shove had unbalanced me, and before I could recover, he had joined me, pulling the door closed and pinning me back against him.
The bite of metal on my neck stopped my struggles, and he leaned forward, breath heavy, to whisper in my ear. “If you make a sound, any sound, I will slit your throat. Don’t doubt me.” He sounded angry enough to mean it, too. “In fact,” he added, “if that door handle so much as rattles, you’ll be dead.” He clearly had not forgotten our earlier seemingly magical escape.
Sophie! Sophie! Has he hurt you? Where are you?
I swallowed and tried to form enough coherent thoughts to respond. He hasn’t hurt me—yet. But he’s threatening to kill me if anyone even approaches us. I don’t even know where we are. It’s very dark. And it feels small.
I could sense her confusion. You mean like a cupboard?
Yes! I must have been shaken indeed not to recognize our location myself. I think we might be in a cupboard. In the antechamber of the throne room. I suppose he’s hoping you’ll all assume he’s run for it.
Beyond the Four Kingdoms Box Set 1: Three Fairytale Retellings (Four Kingdoms and Beyond Box Sets Book 3) Page 52
