I stop at the end of a familiar alley. My makeshift little home is still tucked into the corner where I’m shocked to find it undisturbed. Bittersweet memories claw to the surface of my mind as I step towards the barrier of garbage and rugs I know as the Fort.
Kitt is suddenly beside me, his arm brushing mine as he looks over the mound. “This is where you slept.” It’s not a question.
“Home sweet home,” I whisper, surprised at how strained my voice sounds.
And then my face is suddenly in his hands, and his voice has taken on a soft sort of sternness. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you had to live like this.” He sighs as his eyes search mine. “Thank you. Thank you for showing me this. Loot. My people.” He pauses. “You. Thank you for entrusting me with the details ofyou.”
My throat bobs when the guilt slams into me again, forcing me to fight to keep my voice steady as I say, “No, thank you for trusting me, Kitt.”
ChapterForty-Seven
Paedyn
“What is takinghim so long? Plagues, it’s freezing out here.” My teeth are chattering thanks to the uncharacteristically cold night, and my thin shirt does little to keep the cool breeze from kissing my skin.
“Patience, Princess,” Lenny mutters beside me. I’m shoving him with an annoyed smile before the words have even finished rolling off his tongue. He suppresses the urge to shove me back and I give him a wicked grin, tempting him to do just that.
And right as I think things are about to get interesting, the door swings open.
“Sorry to interrupt your brawl but it’s quite chilly out here and you two should really come inside before you catch a cold.” Calum’s voice is laced with amusement as he steps aside to let us into the house.
My house.
We make our way to the study and down the hidden stairs to the basement below. I’ve been here several times since the night I first ventured back to my home, and I’ve grown numb to the sight of my father’s study. I’m less haunted, but still far from healed. I suppose even trauma grows tired of its endless tormenting, if only for a little while.
A deep, taunting voice greets me when I make it to the bottom of the stairs. “There she is.”
I wave at Finn from where he sits, ankles crossed over a table and arms behind his head. He smirks in response, and my gaze drops to Leena who is currently residing on the floor littered with maps.
Aside from being different Resistance leaders throughout Ilya, I’ve come to learn that each of them has a purpose, something they contribute to the cause. Leena is a talented artist, and all our detailed maps are thanks to her, whereas Finn thrives in designing the leather armor and masks. Lenny is their eyes and ears in the castle while Mira is a Silencer, making her obviously valuable.
Leena grins when she sees me and leaves her work behind to join us, Finn following to sit in the circle of chairs. “No Mira today?” I ask, looking around the large room filled with tables covered in documents and cots covered in messy linens.
“No Mira today,” Calum says quietly. “She’s tending to her mother back home.”
I’m debating asking questions I probably shouldn’t be asking when Calum quickly redirects the conversation. “So, Paedyn, what do you have for us? Anything?” I can hear the same desperation in his voice that has been there every time I’ve visited and had to admit my failures.
But not today.
“I found the tunnel. Well, actually, Kitt led me right through it earlier today.” I’m practically breathless, finally exhaling the words into existence. They all lean in, eyes wide as I tell them about my plan and the impossibility that it worked.
When I finish, it’s Finn who breaks the silence. “I knew you’d wrap the future king around your little finger.”
“I’m proud, Princess,” Lenny says with a lopsided grin.
With that, I delve into an explanation of everything I’ve seen and exactly where the passage begins and ends. “After entering the tunnel through the last cell on the left, about halfway through you’ll see a fork in the road. The path to the left leads to the door by the training grounds, and the path to the right leads all the way to the Bowl and the room underneath the box.”
Leena is greedily scribbling down the information, taking in my every word and transferring it onto paper. In a matter of minutes, they know where the passage is, where it leads to, and how to find it.
“There’s only one problem,” I add, spinning the ring on my thumb anxiously. “You need a key to get into the passage, and it just so happens to always be on Kitt.”
Finn snorts. “Easy. Undress him.”
I throw him a look before turning back to Calum. “I can get it. At the ball, I’ll grab the key and give it to Lenny. Since the Trial is the next day, Kitt won’t have time to realize the key has gone missing before then.” I chew on the inside of my cheek before adding, “I hope.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Lenny says with a yawn.
I pin him with a stare. “Anyone who will be going through the tunnel and into the box needs to enter at the door by the training grounds. So, Lenny, you’ll need to let them in since the door only opens from the inside, and from there, you can head down the tunnel towards the Bowl. Understood?”
