“But—” Vixie began as Paxton cut her off.
“Please, Princess.Pleasedo not argue.”
She pursed her lips tightly, but something in the sincerity of his voice seemed to deflate her. “All right. Fine.”
“I’ll take you,” Harrison said.
Wyneth, Vixie, and a lumbering Furball followed Harrison, and Paxton looked at Lief.
“We need to decide a strategy while we search for Aerity,”the coldlands man said. Paxton nodded and began walking. “I say we clear the castle of staff, send them north so they’re out of the way, and then we fill the castle with as many soldiers as can be spared. Rooftop, balcony, windows, and parapet lined with archers.”
“Aye,” Paxton said, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Aerity, still in disbelief that he couldn’t find her. He led them back to the office where that same guard stood. “This is the last place I saw her,” Paxton said. “I’d like to have a look.”
The guard moved aside with a wave of his arm. Paxton and Lief went into the silent office. An eerie sort of presence filled the room, perhaps an ancient power of some sort. It was strange to be in the room where kings of Lochlanach had held countless meetings and made centuries of the kingdom’s decisions. Paxton looked under the desk and opened the largest cabinet doors. He shook his head.Where are you, Aer?
A light series ofbangssounded and Paxton stilled to listen. “Did you hear that?” he whispered. It sounded close, but faint. Perhaps knocking from somewhere else within the castle? Lief stopped and inclined his head toward the wall to listen.
BANG.
Outside the window the night lit up in a display of bright orange.
“Great skies!” Lief ran to the window with Paxton just behind him. The naval yard was under attack. Another boom sounded, this time farther away, in the opposite direction, perhaps at the royal gate?
“They’re early,” Paxton said in disbelief. He’d been duped.They must have left mere hours after him. He gritted his teeth in anger. And where the curses was Aerity?
The two men ran from the room as a closer boom shook the floor, rattling the windows. Screams rang out inside the castle now.
“Get below!” Paxton shouted to terrified staff members who ran into the halls. “Take your weapons!” He stopped and faced Lief. “Listen. They think I’m one of them. I can stay. But there’s no time to get the military inside the castle. The people in the tunnels are going to need a strong leader, someone who is ready to strike when the time is right.”
Lief narrowed his eyes and leaned into Paxton’s face. “If this is a trick, you will be the first one I kill.”
It bothered Paxton to the very center of his being that this man didn’t trust him after all they’d been through. Paxton held up his palms within striking distance. Lief leaned away, eyeing his hands.
“If I were a traitor, you would have been the first one I would have killed by now.” Paxton dropped his hands. “All I want is to keep Aerity safe and to defeat the Kalorian army. I was sickened by what I saw while I was with them. You havenoidea.”
Lief’s jaw rocked from side to side. “Can you truly say you will be fine with letting Aerity go when we defeat them? That you will not stand in the way of our union?”
Paxton huffed hot air from his nose, livid at the thought. “Nay. I willnotbe fine with letting her go, but neither will Istand in the way of her responsibilities to the kingdom.”
The floor shook beneath them again. Harrison came sprinting up the hall.
“Any word on Aerity?” Paxton shouted.
Harrison shook his head, panting. “Nay. I’ve no bloody clue where she’s gone! Their fleet is upon us, every sea vessel fights. I think our navy can overcome theirs, but the land battle is a different matter. The royal wall has been damaged and the gates compromised. We thought we had more time. We weren’t in place yet. Soldiers are running amok with no direction!”
Curses!Paxton grabbed Harrison’s shoulder. “Tell your men to be on the lookout at the garden entrance. And then gather as many soldiers as you can spare and go below into the tunnels with the staff. Be sure to get Mrs. Rathbrook. If the prince’s men overtake the castle, I can get exact counts of how many we’ll be up against within the castle walls. I will alert you when the time is right to come aboveground and strike.”
“When they least expect it,” Harrison said, nodding. “Perhaps when they’re celebrating.”
“Exactly,” Paxton agreed. “Be patient.”
“I will,” Harrison said.
They both looked at Lord Alvi’s frowning face. The man let out a low growl.
“So be it. We go below.” Lief stalked away, and Paxton shook his head at Harrison.
“I cannot deal with his hostility. And where in the bloody seas is Aerity?”
