Once they arrived at Kit’s room, Vin ordered Kit’s guard out of the way so that he could set up shop outside of her door, but the princess didn’t wait for them to negotiate. Instead, she opened the door for herself and went in, barring it behind her.
“Katrinetta!” Avinia flew at her, followed closely by Seph and Isla. The four of them stood with their arms around each other for several minutes, despite the confrontation happening on the other side of the door. “How are you?” Avinia took a step back and looked her cousin over. “Are you well?”
“I’m fine.” Physically it was true. Kit glanced over her shoulder, just as she heard Galter demand his men be left at their station. Taking her cousins by the elbow, she led them away from the door, and Seph followed. “Have you heard from Cassius?”
“No, he was sent for this morning, and he hasn’t returned.” Isla was biting h
Wrenbrook seemed almost as deep as it was wide as Kit followed Eli through secret passages, down winding stairwells, and through labyrinths so dark at times she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. With Jate and Landon directly behind her, and Reeve following several steps behind them to make sure they were not being followed, she felt relatively safe for the moment. But the closer they got to the dungeon, the more Kit’s stomach sank as she thought about what she might discover there. The possibilities of an angry mob attacking her for the sins of her mother, or the guards alerting the queen of their insurrection, were both possibilities.The odor of mildew infiltrated her lungs as the floor evened out and they stopped descending. Then, another smell caught her attention. It could only be described as human waste mixed with the body odor of hundreds of people who had not been clean for some time, with notes of decay and rot. Kit tried not to gag; she didn&r
The darkness thickened around them as they went even deeper into the dungeon. “This is the first level,” Eli said in a low voice. They went around a corner and scores of prison cells came into view, all of them occupied with one or more captives, most of them men, and many only skin and bones. Some were chained to walls, others were free to roam around their small abodes. None of them were clean. Waste and garbage littered the ground everywhere Kit looked. It was wretched to say the least.“What could they have possibly done to deserve this?” she asked as eyes darted in their direction, followed by a shout or two.“Nothing,” Jate said behind her. “No one deserves to be treated this way.”“Unfortunately,” Eli said without turning his head, “it only gets worse from here.”At the end of the hallway, two more guards stood chatting. Kit heard them telling off-color jokes before they notice
The one who’d sworn his allegiance to the queen charged at Landon as the others gave a roar and moved forward as well. Landon overpowered him easily enough, knocking the sword from his hand and forcing him backward until he was nearly within reach of dozens of arms straining to lay their fingers on him. The guard held his hands up and waited as the others attempted to succeed where he had failed.Eli took on two of the guards at the same time, but neither was a match for his sword. Within seconds, one was bleeding from his right arm, and the other had a large gash in his side. They, too, dropped their weapons easily enough.One guard flew at Jate with his sword pointed at his gullet as another advanced from the other side. Jate blocked the quicker of the two but barely swung his weapon around in time to stop the second. Kit held her breath, wishing she’d taken the sword earlier after all so she could be of some help. Jate was kept busy with one man, then th
Opening the door to the cell had created an anxious moment for Kit. Even though the prisoners seemed to understand that they needed to wait to go out the back, Kit was alarmed that they might all rush the exit, their thirst for freedom overwhelming the logic that they’d still be trapped inside of Wrenbrook if they attempted to go that way. But when Eli swung the cell door open, no one made a move.In fact, the prisoners were as still and under control as Kit had seen them since she’d first laid eyes on The Wilderness. After a quick hug from Terrowin, whom she’d have to speak to later, when they were all safe, Kit began to make her way to the back of the cell where her former guard led her. She assumed he was taking her to Cassius. Along the way, she saw other familiar faces. Dullen’s red hair had grown down past his shoulders, and he was even thinner than he had been when they’d first met. He stepped forward and took Kit’s hand, briefly. Hi
Seeing the floor swallow him up was so unsettling, Kit forgot she was supposed to be counting. By the time she remembered, Landon and Reeve were behind her with Cassius. “You’ll be fine, Princess. We won’t let any harm befall you,” Reeve promised.Kit smiled at him, but she had no idea how that might be possible if she was falling through the ground, and he was here. “Be careful,” she warned. All three of them nodded, and then she positioned herself on the lip of the hole and slid down so that she was sitting on the edge.“We’ll see you soon,” Landon assured her.Kit didn’t pull her eyes off of the opening to acknowledge him. Instead, she counted to three, crossed her arms over her body, and moved off of the edge of the floor into nothingness.The drop was far steeper than she had imagined it would be. At first, she wasn’t even touching the floor of the shaft as she sped down into what seem
Kit stood to get a better view of the lights, though it didn’t help much. She sank back down on the hillside, wishing she could safely make it over to Cassius, but the prisoners were still coming out quickly, and an older gentleman was over beside him now, lending a hand. Cassius looked about as well as he had when they’d first found him, which wasn’t good, but at least he wasn’t worse.Watching the stream of people for familiar faces had Kit feeling anxious. Eventually, she saw Landon and Reeve come out, but it was taking a long while for the other men she was waiting for to emerge, and the thoughts that something might be wrong bubbled to the surface.As if reading her mind, Eli reached over and took her hand. “They’ll be fine, Kit. Give it a few moments.”She nodded but didn’t pull her eyes away from the open door. Having just found Terrowin, Dullen, and Hins again, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing
Avinia had quite an entourage with her, including several wagons’ worth of food and water, clean clothes, a few weapons, and Armant with medical supplies. She’d enlisted some castle servants to drive the wagons, and as soon as they reached the remaining prisoners, they also helped the physician as he began to assess wounds and care for the sick and injured. Bea, his nurse who was also a faithful member of the revolt, was there to help as well.Kit wasn’t sure who to go to first. Both of her cousins, along with their husbands, dropped down from their horses, and Kit could see Avinia’s eyes searching for her through the crowd. But she also wanted to run to Drake and Danyen, who were bringing up the end of the line, along with Gavin, Asher, and a few of the other remaining Representatives.The men would have to wait. Avinia rushed over, embracing Kit quickly before she backed up. “You smell terrible.”“Thank you. I just sli
“Are the two of you at peace now?” Kit asked Eli and Cassius.“I suppose so,” Eli began. “If he wants to go off and get himself killed, there will be one less person to share you with.” He smiled at Cassius, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and the larger man reached around Kit and popped him in the arm.“You’d better not get yourself killed. Any of you.” Kit looked around and saw all seven of the men she’d chosen nearby, five of them already saddled and ready to go, the other two done arguing. While she hadn’t made Drake’s appointment official, she would, as soon as she knew the outcome of the battle at hand.Kit’s hip was still aching from where she cut it on the door earlier. Normally, she’d be able to mount Belle by herself, but with her leg torn up, she decided it would be easier to ask for help. Turning to Eli, she asked, “Will you give me a boost?”&ldq