The door wouldn’t open.I gripped the handle, tugging at it, but no luck. It was locked.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
So much for being prepared, Lilypad.
I didn’t know I needed a key to get down to the sand pits. I also had no idea where I’d get a key. Did every guard have one? Just certain guards? I couldn’t very well wander around asking everyone in sight if they could let me in. The guard was going to be back soon with the water and realize I wasn’t there. I didn’t have time for this.
Sweat dotted my upper lip, my palms growing clammy. This would be the only chance I had at escaping. If they caught me, they’d lock me away until Jasper found me a husband. A few guards rounded the corner, and I flattened against the door, smiling and nodding as they passed.
“Just taking a little stroll,” I said. “Good day to you.”
They both nodded and continued walking. Okay, so no one knew I was missing yet. I spun back around, thinking about one of my lessons with Wayfinder. He’d shown me how to pick a lock, and I’d spent the entire lesson telling him I had absolutelyno use for a skill like that. I would love to have a stern talk with Past Me right about now.
I swallowed and felt in my hair for one of the silver pins the serving maid had used this morning. I felt the cool hard metal and slowly drew it out of my hair. Once I opened this door there would be no going back. I would seal my fate, one way or another. I hesitated just a moment, the pin hovering right outside the lock. If someone in my court broke into our prison cells, broke out prisoners, I’d have them arrested. Now, I would be the criminal.
I jammed the pin into the lock. I might be a criminal, but at least I was fighting for my people, doing everything I could to make my way back to them.
The hallway was empty, but I heard shouts in the distance, calls for my name.
They knew I’d run away. But they didn’t know where. Didn’t know my plan. I thought back to all the questions I’d asked Jasper about the sand pits this morning and prayed to blood and earth he was as dumb as Driscoll always claimed he was.
I crouched down and stuck the pin in the keyhole, thinking through the steps Wayfinder had laid out. I squeezed my eyes, racking my brain. He’d said something about pushing it in straight and then to the left. Then I’d made a snarky comment along the lines of, “Have you tried knocking first? Oh, right, you can’t because you’re a criminal.” I think at some point during that commentary he’d told me what to do next, and now I was blanking. I wiggled the pin back and forth, the voices echoing down the corridor, growing louder. Footsteps pounded on the ground, and my hands started to shake.
“I just went to get the bitch some water,” the guard said.
“You idiot,” another guard yelled.
“Do you think she’s escaped? Lord Jasper is going to throw us in the sand pits for this.”
I lifted my elbow, jamming my pin harder into the lock, moving it around. This definitely was not what Wayfinder had taught me, but since I tuned out 90 percent of his lesson, I was going to have to wing it.
“C’mon,” I whispered. “C’mon, lock.”
“Hey!” a voice shouted.
I turned my head to see two guards standing at the end of the corridor, one of them holding the water skin that was no doubt for me. I grunted and turned my focus back on the lock as the guards raced toward me.
I pushed with all of my might, and something clicked. The guards were almost on me. The door swung open, and I dashed inside, slamming the door shut and hoping they didn’t have a key.
Fists pounded on the other side of the door.
“She’s jammed the lock,” one of the guards yelled.
I definitely had not meant to do that, but it actually worked out in my favor. Except now I wasn’t sure how to get Shadow and Penn out of here. Not that we could just waltz through Jasper’s home anyway. Maybe Penn would have a plan.
Always having to save you, Lilypad, aren’t I?
I bit my lip. I should have had a plan. This was my rescue mission. I couldn’t depend on others anymore. I took a step forward, the stench of urine and waste hitting me.
I’d forgotten how ghastly this place smelled. Stairs led down into complete darkness, and moans rose up from the belly of the prison. I swallowed, feeling for each step with my foot before I descended. The guards still banged on the door behind me, jiggling the handle, but it didn’t burst open like I kept expecting it to.
Thank the bloody earth for those annoying pins the serving maid had insisted on jamming in my hair this morning. I got to the bottom of the stairs and my slippers hit gritty sand,everything still cloaked in darkness. I’d forgotten to bring a torch. I bit my cheek, mind working fast. I supposed I would have to wander aimlessly and hope I didn’t fall into any of these pits, since there was a very real chance I’d never make it back out.
You don’t go into a mission unprepared, Lilypad.
I hated that Penn’s voice had penetrated my thoughts like this. I figured once I escaped from the thief, he’d be out of my mind, but it was like running away from him made him even more present.
I took a step forward just as a loud bang reverberated from the top of the stairs. They were going to break that door down any second now.
