When their stolen moment had ended, and harsh reality bombarded Aerity’s senses once again, she sat in the chair watching Paxton as he stood and stretched his arms. He gazed down at her, making her feel too warm all over again.
His face was serious, and she knew he was worried about what they’d do next. She watched as he leaned down into the chest to retrieve his tunic. But to Aerity’s confusion, he stayed leaning down for longer than was necessary.
“I think there’s something here,” she heard him whisper.What was he talking about? The chest was empty.And then she heard a scraping as Paxton pulled.
Seas almighty! He was lifting the bottom of the trunk!Aerity ran to peer in.
“A tunnel?” she asked. Aerity leaned back as Paxton grabbed the torch and held it over the chest. Old wooden rungs embedded into the dirt wall went down a man-sized hole. They looked at each other, eyes rounded. “I think we’re above the cellars,” she whispered.
“I want you to stay here while I check it out.” He stood and gave her his bow and quiver. “No part of the castle is safe now. But if there’s nobody in the cellar I will call you and we can try to find the tunnel where the others are.”
“And then what?” Aerity asked, putting the bow over her shoulder. “Be stuck there forever? It’s not actually a tunnel, Pax. I don’t even know why they call it that. They say it’s simply one long room. A dead end.”
Paxton sighed.
“We’ll figure out something. At least if I can find the others, we can tell them what we know.” He handed her the torch. “I need it to be dark, so if there’s anyone below they don’t see me.”
When he turned toward the chest, fear gripped Aerity’s heart and she grabbed his arm, pulling him back for one more kiss. Their mouths sealed, his perfectly tender against hers, until Paxton pulled away enough to whisper, “Don’t be afraid. Listen for me. If anything happens, run.”
Aerity nodded, reluctantly releasing his arm. She watched as he climbed down into the hole and lowered himself one rung at a time. Her heart sprinted furiously. It felt like forever before he climbed back up and gave her a silent nod to follow.He pointed to the torch holder on the wall. Aerity snuffed the torch in the holder and felt her way in the dark back to the chest. She climbed down, pulling the chest lid closed and letting the bottom fall back into place over her head.
She was breathing too hard until she felt Paxton’s hand around her ankle and heard his firm voice say, “It’s all right. Take your time.” When they got to the bottom they were sandwiched together. Paxton fiddled with something in the dark, and Aerity felt movement of air. He’d opened a compartment of some kind. Her hands felt him kneel.
“Crawl out behind me,” he whispered.
She did as he said and found herself exiting an old cupboard in the pantry behind the wine cellar. Faint light filtered in from the staircase beyond the cellar. Around them were sacks of potatoes and grains. Paxton jumped to his feet and searched until he found another old trunk in the corner like the one they’d seen in the room above. They rushed to it and lifted the lid.
Low laughter rang out from somewhere above, making Aerity jump. Paxton wrenched up the base of the chest and motioned for Aerity to go first. She glanced behind them to be sure they were still alone before lowering herself. It was musty and dank as she made her way down into the dark. When she hit the bottom, she heard Paxton above her and all went pitch-dark again as he closed the lid.
She crouched and felt a wooden panel with her hands. Paxton deftly landed on his feet next to her.
“Harrison told me of a secret knock,” he whispered. “So they don’t attack us.”
One-two, one-two, one-two-three-four, one.
Paxton then pushed on the panel as someone from the other side pulled. Aerity squinted into the bright room and heard Vixie whisper, “It’s Aer!”
She was yanked through the doorway by her wrist and wrapped in a tight hug. Then another set of arms was around her: Wyneth’s. They moved aside so Paxton could come in and shut the panel.
“Blessed seas!” Wyneth sized her up.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Vixie exclaimed.
“Neither can I.” Aerity kissed her sister’s cheek and embraced her again.
“What’s happening up there?” Harrison asked. “How did you get away?”
“Were you possibly followed?” asked one of the soldiers.
“Nay . . .” Paxton explained their escape.
Furball gave a lowrawrof welcome to Aerity and came up on his hind legs beside them. Aerity jumped back and then laughed, reaching out to scratch his wiry stomach. She then looked around the room in confusion. There were only seven people down there besides her and Paxton. Four soldiers, Harrison, Wyneth, and Vixie. But bedrolls and things were strewn everywhere.
“Where have the others gone?” Aerity asked.
Paxton stopped and looked around, his eyes quizzical as well.
“Funny story, that,” Harrison said.
