“A tunnel? How do you know of this when you have been here less than a month?”
“One of the guards is too old to do much except simple tasks, but he was here when Krol took over the castle. Krol decided to keep him after the man said he knew everything about the castle. Most of the guards think he’s off his rocker, but I got the old guy to talk one night while he was sleeping.” Her cheeks blushed as if she’d admitted to committing a crime.
Not in Bosse’s mind. She probably used another spell on him. “Go on.”
Speaking faster, she said, “Anyhow, I know which direction you’ll be facing when you exit the tunnel, but I don’t have a safe passage route for you from there. I’ve seen you battle often from where I hide above the arena. You and your wolf are resourceful. You’ll find your way once you are free. I’ll fill you in and point out which way to go, but you must get out of here before daylight.”
He hadn’t missed that she’d failed to answer his question about the two of them leaving. Did she intend to stay?
A chance at freedom gave his heart a burst of hope he had never felt in this place. He would not leave alone, though. “Come with me so you will be free, too.”
Shaking her head, she said, “I can’t leave yet. Krol has someone I must locate and take out of here.”
What could she be talking about? “Is this person worth your life?”
After a tiny hesitation, she said, “Yes.”
Could it be a mate or lover? An unexpected flash of jealousy rolled through him. Why? This woman was not his. He would never have a mate, much less a human one. Still, he demanded, “Who?”
She backed up, gutting him with the speed of her pulse. He’d scared her again, but the hardheaded female still spoke her mind. “You don’t know her, and I haven’t found her yet, but she is definitely here.”
A female.
That quieted his ridiculous reaction. He blamed his reaction on the dreams of his cookie fairy that had come to him time and again since seeing her face. He struggled to keep from tearing out of here, but he would not leave this woman to face Krol. “I will help you find this woman and take both of you with me.” Not the best plan since he wasn’t sure he could get two women to safety as well as himself.
“No.” She clenched her jaws and argued, “If you fail to leave now, you will only cause both of us to remain prisoners here.”
Shoving fingers through his ratty hair, Bosse thought of any way he could to change her mind and take her with him. He had enough humanity left not to take advantage of her offer and leave her a prisoner.
She put her fingers on his arm. Those soft fingers dragged a sigh from him. Until she stepped in here tonight, he had not been touched in forever. He’d thought he was immune to women after they’d screwed him over.
Evidently not.
Now was not the time to be distracted.
Whisper shouting, she pleaded, “Don’t fight me on this. You’ll only waste valuable time and all my efforts.”
He had to make her understand. “I can’t leave without you. They’ll know you helped me.”
“No, they won’t.”
“That monster next to me...” Bosse cast a long look at Beast before returning to her. “Did you also make him sleep through this?”
“Yes.” No explanation, just an absolute confirmation.
Shaking his head, he pushed harder. “That one will know your scent and that you were here this evening. He will tell the castle alpha just to get an extra meal.” Bosse wasn’t sure anyone could make sense of what the almost-human side of that rhino shifter said. The few words he’d heard at all were babbled, but Beast would hurt this delicate woman if he could.
“He will not smell any scent from me,” she assured him in an exasperated voice. “Not tonight.”
How could that be?
Inhaling sharply, Bosse tested the air again. He truly could not smell her human scent, not even the spicy smells. How had she managed that?
Was she a witch, or did she possess gypsy magic?
He admonished himself to let it go. He judged only Krol. As far as he was concerned, this angel was a wise woman.
Moving around frantically now, she hoisted the bag toward him. “I put food, water, matches, and a knife in here. It was all I could get my hands on. Traveling in human form will be easier for you.”
