Chapter 56

Once Eli had faded from her sight, Kit took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was gone—that he’d never been hers to begin with—and went to check on Jecob. He was losing a lot of blood, even though Armant seemed to be taking his time and cutting carefully, suturing up every blood vessel as he sliced through. It was slow going, and Kit had no idea how many hours it might take him, but she had a feeling he would be there a long time.

“Is there anything I can get you?” she asked the physician, peering over his shoulder in fascination. She’d always admired medical work even though she knew she’d never be allowed to practice because of her station.

Armant didn’t recognize she was speaking to him at first. When he did, he looked up and said, “Oh, no, thank you, Princess. It’s tedious work, but I’m hoping to spare his life.”

Kit nodded and decided she should go. If her mother were to find her out of her chambers, she would be in trouble deep. Since everyone else was concentrating on the patient, she slipped out into the hallway without saying more, looking both directions and seeing only a few kitchen hands down the way, and they weren’t paying her any mind.

She’d almost made it to the room that housed her secret tunnel when she heard Blankka’s voice. The girl seemed to be talking to herself as she came down the hall, muttering something about “if he knew what was good for him.” Seeing as though Blankka wasn’t present when her mother told her not to leave her chambers, Kit thought perhaps she might reveal herself, but then she heard Blankka say something about “dreadful duties” and her gut said not to trust her, so she backed into an alcove, hoping to be overlooked.

Blankka rounded the corner, but she wasn’t alone after all. She was with a woman from the kitchen, an older one Kit couldn’t name. The servant was walking beside her, nodding her head. Eventually, Blankka stopped talking enough for the woman to state, “It shouldn’t be much longer, dear, and then you’ll have her trust. When you do, the queen has promised you a station. It will be worth it then, dear.”

“I suppose so,” Blankka said, and they continued upon their way. Kit tried to understand what she’d heard. Had her mother promised Blankka she’d make her a noblewoman if she could prove herself trustworthy to the queen? Why would she do such a thing? Kit felt uneasy, and she decided perhaps she should be more careful about what she said in front of the beautiful blonde.

Once the two women were gone, she ducked out of her hiding place, checked the hall, and seeing it clear, ran to the room where she could access the secret passage that led to her own chambers. The room was empty, and it only took a moment for her to find the secret button in the wall. She pressed it, and the wall opened slightly. Kit squeezed in, closing it behind her, wishing she had a light, but she’d made it through the passage in the dark before, and she could do it again.

She’d counted; that’s how she’d always done it. There had been no need to tell Eli that she used to access the tunnel often when she was younger, particularly when she was sent to her chambers to think about her behavior but wanted a bite to eat or some fresh air. She knew precisely how many steps it took to reach the other hidden door, despite the fact that her feet were bigger now than they had been when she was a little girl and had first started this trick. Now, she counted to 976 and began to feel for the triggering mechanism. A few more steps, and she’d found it.

The door creaked open, and when Kit stuck her head out, she wasn’t too terribly shocked to see a scolding face staring at her. “Avinia,” she said quietly, as if she hadn’t just come out of the wall. She brushed some cobwebs out of her hair, stepped out, and closed the door.

“I believe you had strict orders not to go to the infirmary.” Her cousin’s arms were still crossed in front of her.

“Who says I went to the infirmary?” Kit replied, raising her chin in deviance.

“Where else would you have gotten blood on your dress?”

Kit looked down to see some of Eli’s blood had stained her gown. It wasn’t much, but it was enough, particularly on the light colored fabric. “It must’ve come from the hallway. From when we walked inside.”

Avinia shook her head. She knew Jecob had not come in the same way they did. “Isla and Blankka are both out looking for you.”

“Well, let them look.” Kit whirled to stare her cousin in the face. “I had to go check on him. How could I not? If it weren’t for me…”

“He’d be dead for sure. Headless. They’d be digging a grave for him in the prisoner’s cemetery.”

“Didn’t you hear him? He was begging for her to take his head instead.”

“If he lives, he will be thankful for what you did and for what your guards did.” Avinia’s words caused Kit to raise her eyebrows. What did she know? “They acted so quickly in transporting him to the infirmary.”

Avinia didn’t know what Eli had done then. Good—no one else needed to have that information. “I should like to take a bath, please,” Kit said, deciding it would be nice to relax.

“Would you like for me to fetch all that warm water on my own?” Avinia seemed quite defiant all of a sudden.

“I don’t truly care how you get it. Ask the guards to help, if you like, but I am exhausted and would like a soak.” She didn’t mention that she couldn’t get Eli out of her head and thought perhaps she needed to soak until the water was cold and could clear her mind or else do a bit of self-exploration.

Avinia still did not look pleased, but she went about the task of bringing enough water to Kit’s room to fill the enormous tub in the adjoining room. The princess knew it was no easy task and appreciated the fact that she had a tub large enough to soak in. If she could make it possible for the water to get here on its own, she would, but there was no well and no pump in her chambers, only a drain pipe beneath the tub for when she was finished. At least they didn’t have to bail the water out.

Kit took a seat by the window that looked out over the courtyard. It seemed hard to believe she’d stood on that balcony with Jecob only two nights ago. At the time, she’d thought of him as a project, a man she could potentially learn to love if he could be less competitive and more kindhearted. Now, as Avinia and some of the guardsmen brought in bucket after bucket of hot water, she found herself wondering what kind of a life the man would have after this. He would likely return to Eastbury and be a burden to his family. Was it worse to be dead?

“I couldn’t find her anywhere….” Blankka’s voice rang out, and Kit turned to look at her, weary of playing games. “Princess! Where have you been?”

“In this chair for as long as I can remember,” Kit replied, turning her face back to the window. She prayed Avinia was almost done. She was ready to submerge herself.

“Blankka, come and help,” Avinia commanded, even though the servant girl was still mumbling under her breath that she was certain she hadn’t seen Kit sitting there when she’d gone looking for her. Isla came back shortly as well, but she said nothing, since she was aware that her cousin could sneak out. She only gave her a stern look. Not as sharp as Avinia’s had been but not friendly either.