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“You piece of shit.” He groped for the keys at his belt, threw the key in the lock, and flung open the door. I danced back, avoiding his sloppy right hook, then I spun again, darting behind him, where I unhooked the keys from his belt, flew out of the door, and slammed it closed with a triumphantclang.
“What—” Heat blazed across his face. He grabbed the door and rattled it.
Hip cocked, I jangled the keys. “Next time, just ask me to dance. It’s far easier.”
“Give me those keys!” He thrust his arm through the bars and took a swipe in my direction.
“When you next see your sister—I forget her name—tell her Lark sends his regards, and she’s welcome tocomeby anytime the desire takes her.” I dashed up the steps and slammed the door on his roar.
Oil lamps spluttered along the wide corridors. Voices rattled somewhere far off, through walls, in other rooms. I hurried on, light-footed and fast.
The palace’s layout was sprawled up a dramatic bluff with Dallin’s Great Ocean to the north, and endless flower meadows and the local town to the south. The palace itself was all towers and terraces, gardens and courtyards, each interconnected by marble pathways. I knew these paths and corridors like the back of my hand, especially the staff corridors, hidden behind false panels and tucked behind heavy velvet drapes.
The palace guards rarely ventured along them.
I eased one such panel open and slipped into the hidden, narrow walkway behind.
One problem dealt with. Perhaps the easiest: escaping the dungeons. Now I had several options, none of which included the easiest option of running away. I’d learned, long ago, I couldn’t run fast or far enough to escape my fate. The alternative was to run headlong into trouble.
Find the king, have him declare me innocent, and then locate Draven before he could spread those nasty little rumors about me. With those fires extinguished, I’d turn my attention back where it belonged… destroying the Court of Love.
Although… My pace slowed, thoughts slowing with them, clinging to a new idea.
The queen’s death could be an opportunity. It wasn’t how I’d planned to do things, but I could use it. Ihadto use it.
The cards shuffled in my mind. Games I’d played for so long they were sometimes difficult to separate from reality. The queen was dead, the king would be distracted, the prince… was a problem, now that he’d made an appearance. But I’d deal with him, now he’d shown me who he was. Yes, this could all work out in my favor, if I played it right.
I veered toward the servants’ quarters and spotted Ellyn kneading bread at the long working table. She wasn’t alone, maids often weren’t. I lingered in the shadows behind a cupboard and waited for a moment when nobody was looking. I grabbed a potato from the nearby bucket and tossed it toward her. It bounced once on the table. She snatched it up and shot me a warning glare.
“Ellyn, fetch the spices?” the housekeeper called.
I slunk back, hidden from view, and waited for her nod. Moments later, we met outside the kitchens.
Ellyn wiped her hands on her apron and swept her mousy hair from her damp face with the back of her hand. “What are you doing here?” she whispered. “I heard you were arrested, Lark.”
“For a friend, you don’t appear that concerned.”
She rolled her eyes. Someone yelledhot paninside the kitchen, followed by a loud clatter, drawing Ellyn’s gaze. We stepped back some more, where the cacophony from the kitchens wasn’t as loud.
“I hear so many rumors about you I never know what’s true,” she whispered.
I flashed her a charming smile and leaned against the wall. “Tell me some of these rumors.”
Ellyn frowned. “You broke out of the dungeon, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly, I had a key.” I showed her the key. And then grabbed her hand and placed it in her palm. “Keep that safe. A very angry guard will be needing it soon.”
She scowled but dropped the key into her apron pocket. “I’m not even going to ask. I can’t be seen with you. They’ll have my hide. I have to go—”
“I need a favor,” I blurted, stopping her from turning away.
“Of course you do.” She puffed her bangs from her forehead, leaned a shoulder against the wall, and glowered some more. “You always want something. What is it now?”
“I often drop in to see you, no ulterior motive. Just the other day, I brought you flowers.”
“The palace is surrounded by flowers,” she huffed. “Don’t think I don’t know how you steal fruit or saffron, or flowers to bribe the next poor sap who’s caught your eye.”
“I am wounded.” I gasped and pressed a hand to my chest. “You wound me, dear Ellyn. And I thought we were special friends.”
