Prisoners of Scythia Shifter Box Set

by Lisa Daniels

  A small note was attached.

  Leave tonight.

  I stared at it for several moments. Was this from Leland? But something about the wording was wrong. It seemed more like instructions to go than a request to be ready to leave. Unless that was his way of letting me know that I needed to go on my own. An image of our last encounter made me think that could very well be the case.

  “Maybe he plans to create a diversion and it’s up to me to get out and figure out what to do. I mean, he did say that it might be a while before we could eat, and in my current state that’s really not an option.”

  I put the note down and opened the wrapping around the package. Inside was a man’s outfit and a small sandwich. Looking down on it, I ran my hand over my mouth, trying to figure out the best thing to do next. Given how little time was left, it was possible that my father was trying to give me a glimmer of hope to see what I would do. It would not be the first time he had done something of that nature. With as much trouble as I had made for him lately, it would not be at all surprising for him to be so spiteful at the end. And if this was from him, it was guaranteed that the sandwich would be poisoned. There was every chance that this was a setup to somehow harm me. I hadn’t eaten in several days, which I knew was impairing my thinking and ability to figure out what to do.

  Looking at the food, it was difficult to fight that urge to eat. But if it were poisoned, that would be the end of all hope. Deciding it wasn’t worth the risk, I flung it out the window to prevent any weakness. If everything was set up so that I could escape, that meant I just needed to reach the kitchens. I would be expected to eat, and the poison would slow me. As slow as I was now, I believed I could make it to safety, and then to food.

  Next, I took the outfit and began to look at it. I had never found out how to dress like a man, it not being necessary for a princess. Scratching my head, I figured it couldn’t be that difficult. I removed my outfit and picked up the pants. Frowning at it, I sat on the bed and slid it over both legs. Maybe that was how they did it—I never really paid attention to men getting dressed the next morning. As often as not, they were gone by sunrise.

  Except Leland, an unbidden thought went through my mind. He had spent that night focused on me, then had come back to check on me a couple of days later. The visit had been short. There was also something about the way he acted when he left that was concerning, but I hadn’t really stopped to think about it. I pulled the shirt on next, then spent time fussing with it. Going over to the mirror, I tried to make myself look like a young male servant. The clothes fit all too well, making me roll my eyes at how easily I could pass as a young man. With another look at the mirror, I realized the only thing that was really wrong was my hair. Taking a deep breath, I knew what I needed to do. I went to the bed and pulled out the daggers. Stashing them around my person, I put the nicest one in a small pouch attached to my pants. I then retrieved the strange object and hid it in a small bag that had been included with the clothing.

  I moved back to the mirror. Quickly pulling the dagger from its sheath, I couldn’t help but feel that the practice had yielded a bit of familiarity with it. Much better than I had been that first day, at least. Trying not to think too hard about what I was doing, I grabbed my long braid. Holding it away from my head, I brought the dagger up to it. My first attempt to cut it ended up being more like sawing it from my head. It definitely wasn’t a clean cut, but I did not care. With my outfit, most people would not expect me to look clean cut—I was a servant. A male servant. The braid in my hand, I moved over to the window. I could leave it in the room, but once people entered, they would notice a long braid left behind. The best thing to do was to get rid of it. Drawing my arm back, I threw it out the window. For a few moments, I watched it sail away from the tower before it rapidly plummeted to the ground below me. It didn’t take long before I lost sight of it in the night. That was the last of it.

  This plan had been thrown together with little thought or time, but what were my choices? Sure, it could be a setup. But it could also be a real opportunity. Someone had given me a chance to leave. If it had been my father, he would not have likely considered the fact that I would be willing to cut my hair or figure out how to dress like a male servant.

  I preferred to hope that it was someone else. Someone who wanted to see me succeed. Now it was time to figure out just how far this person had been willing to go.

  If I hurried, maybe I could be well away from the place before the morning. Closing my eyes, I said a silent prayer to any deity that would listen. I then tucked the note into a pocket because if someone had actually risked himself to help me, I didn’t want to leave any trace behind for others to find.

  I went to the door and tried the knob. To my surprise, it clicked, indicating that it was unlocked. Carefully pulling the door open a crack, I peeked out to see how many guards were there. Amazingly, there were none.

  I began to fling the door open, but it moved in a way that was hard to control. Wobbling as it swung inward, the door began to twist. I moved out of the way, and it went crashing into the stone wall, the sound echoing down the hallway.

  In my haste, I had forgotten that I had removed one of the hinges. I had no idea how many guards had been cleared so that I could escape, but I had no doubt that the slamming door could be heard on the next floor down. It was only a matter of time before people came rushing up to check out the sounds.

  I tried to run, but my legs were too weak. Cursing myself, I realized too late that I should have prepared some water. Instead, I needed to get as far from my room as possible.

  My body felt like lead as I tried to get a couple of doors down. There weren’t many rooms up here, but anywhere was better than where I had been. I had no sooner gotten into the room than I heard guards hurrying up the stairs. They stormed past the room where I was trying to hide.

  Knowing that I was in no shape to rush down the stairs and try to remain unseen, I opted to follow them back to my room. I braced myself against the wall as I neared the open door. One of the guards turned to look at me.

  “Quick, boy, run back down the stairs and tell them that she has managed to get out of her room. We need as many guards as possible to get up here and find her.” I stood there, staring at him. “Hurry, you fool!”

  I gave a nod and turned to leave. Willing my legs to support my weight, I neared the stairs and started to head down them. Several times I nearly collapsed.

  When I reached the next floor, I gave a quick salute to the guards. “She’s gotten out. They need you upstairs. She couldn’t have gotten far.”

  Four guards exchanged a look, then like a single unit, they turned and ran up the stairs.

  I looked after them, wondering how it could possibly have been so easy. Then one of my knees bent, and I nearly collapsed to the ground. Shaking my head, I knew that I had to keep pushing a little further. Every guard I saw I sent further up the stairs. It was almost like a magic spell that sent them racing away from me—the more that went up, the fewer there would be between me and the passage.

  Just a little further. Just a little further. It was my mantra as I moved to the next floor down. After sending the guards up, I hurried as fast as my shaky legs would go to the passage door. There was a ruckus on the stairs, but I was so close. I didn’t bother looking to check if anyone could see me. Flinging the passage door open, I fell through it, the door closing behind me.

  I collapsed on the ground, the cold stones not as uncomfortable as I would have expected. Sure, my body hurt from the impact, but I was out of my room. There weren’t many people who knew their way around the passages, and there was one area where I knew I would be safe.

  To my horror, I found that I was too weak to stand. Refusing to accept this as the end result, I began to crawl along the passageway. As risky as it would be, I would have to try to make it to the kitchens.

  If I could just make it that far, I could get enough food until I was strong enough to move normally. A coup
le of days at most. That was all I needed.

  I made it half of the way there before collapsing, my body unable to keep going.

  Chapter 8

  Melt Down

  I woke to the sound of metal and shouting. It sounded like it was coming from just outside my bedroom, so I tried to remember why anyone would be making so much noise outside my room. Were they coming to force me to prepare for the wedding? If so, why were they screaming?

  Next I realized that I wasn’t in my bed.

  The events from that night flooded back to me.

  I rose too fast and just as quickly fell to the floor, my head spinning. I placed my hands on either side of my head and tried to stop the dizziness. My body still felt really weak and my mind fairly hazy, but I knew that I couldn’t stay where I was. It was only a matter of time before one of the people who knew about the passages figured out where I had gone.

  I was trying to pull myself into a standing position when I heard a voice in front of me. It was almost accusatory, and it sent shivers through my body.

  “Here you are.”

  I tried to place the voice. It was familiar, but I couldn’t think straight. My reaction was to turn and run, though my thought had not consulted with my body to make sure that it was capable. I began to pitch forward, then I overcompensated, and my body fell to the side.

  Suddenly, my body was flooded with a warm sensation. The voice was next to my ear, “Just what do you think you are doing in your current state?”

  “You can’t force me to go back. I would rather die than marry that man.”

  My words were met with silence. I tried to push the warmth away and managed to get free. “I’m not lying.” I whipped the dagger out of the sheath. “Don’t come any closer.” I tried to hold it out to keep the person from approaching. It was quickly pulled from my hands. To my surprise, I felt its weight as it was placed back in the sheath.

  “Don’t be foolish. I promised to take you out of here. I’m not about to take you back up to your prison.” The warmth surrounded me again and lifted me from the ground. “However, I am not yet in a position to leave either, so as unfortunate as it may be, I will need to take you to my current lodgings.”

  “Leland?” My voice sounded small as I whispered it.

  “I told you I would come back. Why didn’t you wait?”

  “I’m supposed to be married to the Prince of Evinough tomorrow. Or maybe the day after. I’ve lost count of the days. But I knew that they would be coming to prepare me for that. And once that happened, it would be nearly impossible to escape.”

  “And you never told me this. Why did you keep that to yourself after I promised I would help you escape?”

  “You have friends to take care of. You don’t need to worry about me. I always manage to come out alright. I have always managed it…” I couldn’t see too much in the darkness. Usually I had a torch or something to help me through the darker passageways. Judging by the lighting of this passageway, it was probably still night.

  Still, Leland’s dark eyes flashed in the darkness. “Are you going to keep up that pretense? Because we can go round and round for the rest of the night, until you pass out from fatigue.”

  As much as I wanted to say otherwise, my current situation proved he was right. Instead of acting like a fool, I decided I should express my appreciation, both for what he had done and what he was going to do. “Thank you for giving me the clothes. And the sandwich. The clothes certainly helped, but I was too afraid it was a trick to eat. But if—”

  “What are you talking about?”

  From his voice alone, it was obvious that he had not been the one to provide the escape. Still, my brain hadn’t quite come to terms with that. “The clothing that you left with the note. The one telling me to leave tonight.”

  “I didn’t leave anything like that for you.”

  I looked up into the eyes that were searching my face for an explanation. Of course he hadn’t. Leland hadn’t known what was happening. “If you didn’t leave them, then who did?”

  I felt his shoulders shrug. “I couldn’t say. Is there anyone in the palace who you think would want to help you escape?”

  With a frown, I considered it for a brief minute. “Only Mrs. Teasdon would pity me, but I don’t see her doing anything so risky. She would be executed for it.”

  “If she cares about you, she might be willing to risk it. It would certainly be easier to prove it was her if she drugged the guards like I’ve been doing, but—”

  “The guards weren’t drugged.” The image outside my room was coming back to me. “They weren’t there.”

  The dark eyes stared back at me for a moment, then Leland started to laugh. It was loud at first, but he quickly closed his mouth as it echoed around us, his chest shaking as he stifled the sound. The last thing either of us wanted was to be found in the passageway.

  “Oh, this is certainly an interesting turn of events. She’s not quite so tough and unyielding as she pretends. I might have been right about her. I cannot wait to make Bryce eat his words. This is just too perfect.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  His teeth flashed in the dim light as we passed by a window, and I could see that smug smile. “Oh, I will tell you later.” The smile slid from his face and he looked down at me. “Right now I’m so angry at you that I have no desire to explain anything until you explain a few things to me.”

  With a groan, I leaned my head back. “I don’t owe you anything. If you want, you can put me down right here, and we can split up and go our separate ways. You go take care of your friends. And I will go take care of myself.”

  “As tempting as that offer is, I believe you have already proven that you are far too dismissive of your own limitations. To people who don’t know you, it would appear that you are stubborn, conceited, and cold. That you don’t want to owe anyone. But that isn’t it, is it?” His eyes were looking over my face.

  It made me uncomfortable because it felt like he could see who I was. He was seeing past everything I had tried so hard to be, the kind of person that would have easily escaped by disregarding the consequences to those around me. But apparently he could tell that was not who I was. Turning to look away, I responded, “I am all of those things. So save yourself some time and go about your business. You stand to gain nothing by insisting on helping me.”

  He chuckled, but didn’t make a move to put me down. “You are certainly foolish.”

  I pushed on his chest, “Alright. I’ve had enough. Put me down.”

  “No.”

  “You had better put me down right this minute.”

  “Or what? You are going to tell the guards to make me? You are going to scream and give away your position? What are you going to do if I don’t do as you say?”

  “Something I haven’t done since I was 9 years old. Something I will definitely regret later.”

  “And what is that?” His voice was almost mocking as he asked.

  That was when all of the events from the last week really hit home. My body felt weak, exhausted, and achy all at once. I was emotionally and mentally drained.

  For the first time in a decade, I burst into tears.

  Whatever he had expected, Leland was not prepared for tears. “Oh, dear gods. My little Jada, I did not mean to make you cry.” He pulled me close. I covered my hands with my face as the sobs started to shake my entire body. The sounds echoed around us. “Shhh. It’s okay.” He moved one hand out from under me. Squeezing me against his body with one arm, he began to stroke my head with the other. “It’s okay. You aren’t alone anymore. You don’t have to do everything for yourself. If you want, you won’t ever have to be alone anymore.”

  The feel of his arms around me was so inviting, I found it difficult to continue trying to escape. Turning my head, I pressed my face into his chest. Leland stopped walking and sat down against the outer wall of the passageway. He murmured and held me in his lap as I cried. It was the first time in so lo
ng that anyone had tried to comfort me that I found it impossible to stop crying.

  At some point, I drifted off to sleep, the tears still trickling down my cheeks.

  Chapter 9

  Accepting a New Reality

  When I woke, my surroundings were entirely unfamiliar. A voice near my ear whispered, “It’s okay. You aren’t alone.”

  “Leland?”

  “Yes, my little Jada.”

  I closed my eyes when he said my name, almost as if it held some sort of power over me. An arm moved around me and pulled me into a warmth that made me feel safe. I leaned my head against the solid warmth, and the arm gave me a little squeeze. The voice asked, “What do you need?”

  “Where are we?”

  “Exactly where I said we would have to go. Unfortunately, I cannot yet leave here, so we are in my… accommodations.”

  “You mean your cell.”

  “Yes. My cell. But what it lacks in charm and comfort, it makes up for in lack of guards and people looking for you. Ever since you went missing, very few guards have come to visit me. It is nice to have so much privacy so suddenly. And it’s thanks to you.” He gave the top of my head a quick kiss.

  As he put a finger under my chin, a strange voice spoke from the darkness, “Leland.”

  Immediately he released my chin and pulled away a little. “Yes, Braxton?”

  A well-dressed figure appeared in front of the cell. If I hadn’t already been acquainted with all of the royalty on the continent, I would have thought he was a prince or king of one of our neighbors. “I’ve brought you some food and a bit of wine. Though I recommend going easy on the drink in her current state.”

  My eyes finished adjusting to the darkness and I realized that I was looking at another shifter. A very sinewy and handsome shifter. “My gods, are you all handsome?” The words were out before I had a chance to filter them.