Bitch.
Hurrying to change into her sleeping shirt, an oversized one she’d found in the servant supply area, Alifair laid back on her bed, trying to think through all she’d told Bosse. With no wristwatch, she had to guess the time. Recounting from the point she’d entered his cage to now, she estimated he’d be in the tunnel by now and maybe even deep into it.
Bosse should get another hour or more before some of the guards woke up and figured out that he’d escaped.
She wished she’d had more information on that tunnel and the route to Italy, but he had proven capable of remaining alive for the last couple of years by his intelligence as much as his strength. Krol had something awful planned for Bosse in a few hours. He had reached the point where he wanted to watch him die in the most brutal way. He would be—
Guards started shouting in the main hall.
No!This was too soon. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest.
Bosse might not reach the tunnel exit before the guards rushed out of the castle to search for him. She had no idea how far the passage ran. Her heartbeat raced like mad. What would happen to him?
Had she set Bosse up to die right now?
The deep voice of a guard shouted from outside her door, “Get up and into the main hall!”
She debated what to do but had only one option. If she stayed in her room, Krol would wonder why she had not been out with everyone else. She raked her hands through her hair to mess it up and grabbed her cloak to wrap the covering cockeyed around her body as if done so in a rush.
As ready as she could be, she ran out of her room.
What if Krol asked everyone if they knew anything about this?
He was a lion shifter capable of catching any lie.
When she reached the main hall, she ran to the other female servants huddled together. Many were dressed worse than her.
Guards raced around the castle, looking more chaotic than in control.
Krol stood at the bottom of the stairs with his flying monster at his heel. Frightening yellow eyes turned toward her group. She could swear it stared at her. Its beak opened, exposing crooked fangs that could tear a body to pieces.
Possibly sensing where his creature stared, Krol turned to the females.
She had no trouble looking shocked like the rest of them because she couldn’t believe the guards had roused so quickly. What had gone wrong?
Krol asked, “Did any of you go to the cage area tonight?”
One trembling hand lifted. Alifair didn’t know that woman. She only knew Linota’s name. The hand-raiser was barely a woman, maybe twenty, and short with thin blond hair. “I t-t-took food to the g-g-guards.”
His stare made them all begin to tremble. Alifair hugged the cloak around her like a bath towel, barely covering her arms.
“Did you see anything odd while down there?”
“No.” The girl started bawling. “I just took the food and b-b-brought the plates back.” She cried harder by the second.
Another woman closer to forty asked, “What’s wrong, sir?”
“One of the animals has escaped.”
Time to put on a show. Alifair slapped her hand to her mouth and thought about Bosse being captured, which allowed her to tear up. She spoke in a terrified and squeaky voice. “Is it loose in the castle? Will it kill us?” Tears ran down her cheeks. Good thing since most of the other women were crying.
Krol snapped back, “No. It appears the animal found a way out.”
“Was it that beast?” another female asked in a shaky voice.
“The wolf shifter.”
Guards ran over to Krol. One spoke quickly in a low voice.
