“The dungeon has regular patrols,” Trew said, following the same line of thought. “Getting down there without being seen will be a challenge but reaching her cell without raising an alarm will be nearly impossible.”
“And we’re running out of time.” I moved to the window, staring out at the grounds. “The Day of Mercy is coming. Lord Alfred’s circling closer, getting more suspicious. My father’s war machine will leave soon for Syllavar. We still need to search the westtower. Still need to plan how to rescue all the prisoners before they die.”
“Multiple fronts, all of them critical. All of them competing for the same limited time we have.”
I pressed my forehead against the cool window glass. “We can’t do everything at once.”
“No, but we can prioritize.” He came to stand behind me, his warmth a steadying presence at my back. “We’ll question the woman in the dungeon tonight. The information she may have could change everything else.”
I turned in his embrace, looking up at him. “I’ll send Pherin to gather the others. We need to plan this properly.”
Understand,she said. With a peep, she flew through the cracked-open window.
“I appreciate you looking at the memory and for telling me the truth about my father,” I said. “Even though it complicated everything.”
“I’ll always tell you the truth, Minx. You deserve nothing less.”
I rose on my toes and kissed him, pouring everything I had into the contact.
He kissed me back with the same intensity, his fingers tightening on my waist.
We lingered there, my hands on his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat beneath my palms, waiting for our friends to arrive.
A knock rang out on the outer door, and we hurried into the sitting area.
Trew strode over to let them in while I smoothed my skirts and tried to look like I hadn’t just been thoroughly kissed by a rebel king disguised as my bodyguard.
Kerralyn slipped inside first, her face flushed from rushing. Lexie followed a short time later, then Derren dressed in a guard uniform. He glanced back at the corridor before closing the door.
“Pherin fluttered around my face, and I had a feeling you needed us,” Lexie said.
“I only have a short time before someone notices I’m not at my assigned post,” Derren said.
“We’ll speak quickly,” I said.
Trew wove fresh wards, and he and I sat on the sofa. Kerralyn took the place on my other side while Derren claimed a chair beside the fireplace. Lexie settled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
Pherin returned through the window and landed on the back of the sofa.
“We need to update you on what we’ve learned,” I said, speaking low and fast.
While Trew toyed with the tips of my hair, I hurried through the abbreviated version.
“One of the two women at the top of the stairs might be the woman in the dungeon,” I said. “Eva, she was called. She helped me escape when I searched the cells. She may have been imprisoned since my mother’s death.”
“Fates,” Lexie breathed. “For sixteen years?”
“She might know everything,” Kerralyn said. “About your mother, what happened, and the veil.”
“Which is why we want to question her tonight,” Trew said, tightening his arm around my shoulders.
Derren shifted, stroking Lexie’s back. “Your father’s paranoia has accelerated since the assassination attempt. Security has been doubled everywhere. From what I heard, he acts…”
“How?” I asked.
“As if he’s… Well, a few think he’s losing his mind. He’s talking to himself, whispering things, and he sleeps with the torches lit and four guards in his bedroom.”
“Really?” I couldn’t fathom this. I had no idea what it meant, but I couldn’t analyze it now. I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my knees. “We needed to come up with a plan to get Trew and I to the dungeon, and it needs to be clever.”