Aerity walked to the desk and sat, her hand shaking as she opened the top drawer and slid out a piece of parchment, quill, and ink. Once she wrote this, things would forever change in Lochlanach. The people would never trust her again if they thought she was willingly uniting with the enemy, handing them over to his rule.
“A seamstress is on her way,” Martone said as he tore another drawer open and rummaged through it.
Aerity’s eyes flitted to Paxton, who made a show of opening her wardrobe and pushing gowns aside while sneaking a look at her. She could see the calculating thoughts in his eyes as he tried to come up with a way out of this. She needed to be alone with him to tell him of the passageway.
Aerity turned her head enough to speak quietly over her shoulder.
“Sir, if you would be so kind, will you please relay a message to the prince on my behalf? It is important, so I need it to be conveyed by someone worthy of the prince’s trust.”
Martone stood taller. “What is the message?”
Her mind desperately cranked out a weak idea. “Please tell him I am also writing letters to the other three kingdoms. I need to know if there is anything he wishes me to include. They’ll need to be issued straightaway to keep the other kingdoms from interfering in our plans.”
Martone paused, then nodded. He looked at Paxton and pointed to Aerity, as if he was to keep an eye on her. Paxton nodded his head. Her hopes soared.Blessed seas!
Martone stomped his way out of the room and pulled thechamber door shut harder than was necessary. Before Aerity could even stand all the way, Paxton was in front of her, grasping her shoulders and hissing.
“You arenotmarrying him!”
“Sh!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bookshelf, whispering. “There’s a passage!”
“Wha—”
She reached for the books and pulled, releasing the old lever.
“Great seas,” Paxton whispered. Before she could get it open all the way he was pressing her inward and pulling the door closed. They were immersed in darkness and Aerity’s heart was thumping so loud he could probably hear it.
“I forgot flint!” she whispered. “We won’t be able to see!”
“You’ve got me, aye?” he whispered back.
There was the dry sound of his hand against the wall, and then the scraping of the torch being pulled from its spot. A tiny spark of light, the scent of smoke, and then the flame was crackling, filling the hall with flickering light as he pulled his hand away.
Aerity beamed up at him.
“Let’s get as far from your chamber as this passage will take us.” He held the torch high in one hand and grabbed her hand with his other, then led them forward. Aerity’s skin was alight from the hot thrum of blood through her body. She’d never been more nervous.
“I never knew this was here until I tried it today,” shesaid. “I’ve no clue where it leads.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
“They’ll know you’re against them now,” she whispered. They turned a tight corner. “Martone will return any moment and they’ll know. It’s only a matter of time before they find us, and then—”
“Sh, Aer, we can’t do that.” He stopped and turned, holding the torch above their heads. His other hand went around her waist and pulled her until their chests were together, their pounding hearts pressed tight. She leaned her face against his shoulder and breathed him in, feeling his cheek rest on her forehead. The comfort of him was just enough to slow her heart.
“Let’s keep going,” she whispered.
He obliged. At the end of that long stretch he pointed to another lever on the wall. “It definitely connects with other rooms. This is good. But I think we should go farther.”
“Aye.”
They walked and turned for what seemed like forever. Aerity’s sense of direction had never been keen, so she had no idea where they might be at that point. But with every lever they saw and every corner they turned, she felt greater optimism. Finally, the hallway ended in a small room with a chair and chest. There was a lever in that room with an outline like her bookshelf.
They stood staring at it. “What room do you suppose it is?” she asked.
Paxton shook his head. “I believe we went east toward the front of the castle.”
“Guest quarters?” Aerity guessed.
