Chapter 225

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 her lower lip, a sign she was worried.

Kit nodded. Keeping her voice down, she said, “Mother says he admitted to inciting a revolt.”

“What?” Seph shouted, and the other three immediately hushed her.

“I know it isn’t true because she said he confessed to supporting that other woman, the one Grandmother mentioned who tried to claim the throne before I was born. I believe she’s holding him in the dungeon. Vin and his cronies beat him up badly. We need to find him.”

Avinia’s face was pale as her hand covered her mouth. “Poor Cass.”

“I know. I can’t imagine how many of them it must’ve taken.”

“But why do you suppose she chose him?” Seph’s voice was a sharp whisper now. “I always thought your mother approved of Cassius.”

“I did as well. I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter now. Once we find him, we’ll be able to find out what truly happened.” Making her voice as soft as possible, she continued. “Do you know where Eli is?”

No one answered, but the door to her sleeping chambers creaked open, and through the sliver, Kit could see one familiar eye. A smile lightened her face despite her heavy heart, and she crossed quickly, pushed the door open, and found his arms. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes and let go of the faint possibility he might truly be gone. “She said... you were dead.”

“She thinks I am.”

“And Vin confessed to killing you.”

Eli said nothing to that remark, but Kit could feel him shaking his head, the rough whiskers of his recently unshaven face scratching her cheek slightly.

Kit let go and took a step back. “We need to find Cassius.”

“Where did your mother say he was being held?”

“All she said was that he was in the dungeon—and that they’d get more information out of him.”

The three ladies came in and closed the door, slipping the bar into place. “Why do you think she’d choose him, Eliason?” Avinia asked.

“I have no idea.” He placed his hands on his hips and stared at the floor for a moment. “If he’s in the lowest reaches of the dungeon, it won’t be easy to get him out.”

“Perhaps we can bribe the guards,” Isla offered.

“It’s not them I’m worried about,” Eli replied, looking up at her. “It’s the other prisoners. I’ve only seen it once before, from a distance, but that place is hell. Men are forced to fight for food, water.... There’s no privy, no bathing facilities whatsoever. The sick are left to rot alongside the rest of the population. Once a week, bodies are dragged out and sent down a chute, behind a second locked door at the far end of the large holding tank they call The Wilderness. Getting down there won’t be hard, but getting out will be.”

The conditions sounded brutal to Kit. She couldn’t imagine trying to survive in a place like that. “What sort of men are they?” she asked. “That is, what crimes have they committed?”

“Most of them have done no wrong, or what little crimes they did commit should’ve never landed them there. Murderers, thieves, rapists, all of them are condemned at once, as you know, and taken to the chopping block. These men may have taken bread for their families or gotten in a brawl at a pub, but for the most part, many of them simply owed more in taxes than they could afford to pay. Or they’ve been suspected of being disloyal to the crown.”

“So why are they still there?” Isla asked, her nose wrinkled with disgust. “Why haven’t they been set free for doing their time?”

“Because the queen cares very little what happens to them and would rather let them end each other or starve than actually deal with them,” Eli explained.

“These men are not our enemies,” Kit said, that feeling of sickness hitting her in the gut again as she contemplated their lives. “In fact, they are the very people we fight for.”

“They will not see it that way, and there will be no chance to explain.” Eli’s tone was grave.

“Why not? If I go down there myself, tell them how dreadful it is that they’ve been held there for so long, and then set them all free, how can they be angry at us for that?”

“There will be no stopping the revolt if you take that action,” Avinia reminded the princess.

“Won’t the guards stop us? They could lose their heads for allowing that,” Seph said, a worried look on her face.

“We won’t tell them our plans, only that we wish to find Cassius. You can get us that far, can’t you, Eli?” Kit asked.

“Yes, but Seph’s right. The poor bastard she used to hide the Yewforian flag last night has already been beaten severely from what we’ve heard.”

Kit understood then that the person her mother spoke of earlier was real, even if he hadn’t implicated Cassius. She felt sorry for him, but there was nothing she could do to change what had already transpired. “We shall free him, too, if he’s down there. The rest of the prison guards can simply come with us.”

“And where will we go? Out the back door and then where?” Isla wanted to know.

“Where does it lead?” Kit asked Eli.

“The chute for the bodies comes out down by the river, on the other side of the village. It’s about a three mile walk from the castle. We could all go out that way and then camp out in the woods, waiting for our reinforcements.”

It sounded like a decent plan to Kit. “Would it be possible for some of the others to ride out with supplies and meet us there? I wouldn’t want any of the Representatives I care for to be trapped inside of the castle if my mother catches wind of what we’re about. She could end up taking more victims.”

“I could do that,” Avinia said. “We could get a group together and go out the back way under cover of night and meet you down there. Everyone who is looking for the duke is far and wide now, spread out.”

“But the military is on the lookout for attackers since Seph’s flag hung for so many hours,” Isla reminded her. “They might assume you are riding out to meet them.”

“Tell them you are looking for Cassius,” Kit suggested. “If you’re caught, tell them I told you my mother said he was out looking for the duke and hasn’t been heard from. Perhaps that will be enough to get you past. We won’t need much to make it through the night, but I was thinking more of the poor men from the dungeon. They may need food, clothing, medical supplies.”

“Armant should go with Avinia.” Eli was thinking aloud.

“Will he?” Kit asked. She’d assumed he was with her, but she didn’t know for sure.”

“I think so.”

“All right, it’s settled then. We should go soon. I don’t want Cassius down there any longer than necessary. Who will go with us to the dungeon to retrieve him?” Kit asked Eli.

He rubbed his hand across his chin. “We’ll take Jate, Landon, and Reeve. That will leave Danyen and Drake to help the ladies. And possibly Gavin, Asher, and Zane, though I’m not sure if they will want to help.”

“I will be discreet when asking then,” Avinia nodded.

Kit noticed that Eli had selected her own seven best choices as certainties and was glad he was able to see who she would’ve chosen since, if all of this ended as planned, they would be ruling the realm together soon. “You can get us to the dungeon unseen?”

“I can.” Eli was sure of himself, and Kit was relieved. “You should put on your riding habit, though. It’ll be easier to make it through the tunnel if you’re not wearing a gown.”

“All right.” Kit managed a small smile. She was stunned that he hadn’t tried to convince her she couldn’t go, but she certainly wasn’t about to bring it up now. Perhaps he saw her determination and knew it would do little good to argue.

“We’ll help Kit get dressed. Can you make it to Jate’s room without being seen?” Avinia asked Eli.

The confidence wavered only slightly. “I will.” He was still dressed as a member of the Queen’s Guard, and Kit wondered if that would be a help or a hurt down below. She assumed it wouldn’t be a welcome sight to the prisoners, but perhaps it would be helpful if they were caught.

“I’ll see you soon.” Kit took a few hurried steps to him and pushed up onto her tiptoes as his lips came down to meet hers. The danger was all around her now, becoming more apparent by the second, but as long as she was with Eli, she was certain she’d make it through unharmed.

He pulled away and gave her another reassuring smile before crossing to the secret passage in the wall and disappearing. She hated to see him go but knew he’d be back soon enough. Then, the real danger would begin.