Prologue
Freedom is not far away, but luck hasn’t been on my side. Damn the skies.
Climbing the stone walls of the castle in this weather was a bad idea. Walking the tops of the rampart was a death wish. But I had no choice — it was now or never. Faskon is due to arrive here in a day, and I cannot afford to be here a moment longer.
I am already on the precarious path to my freedom, and it takes every ounce of concentration to keep my balance against the wailing winds, sleet and hail pouring from the sky. If that weren’t enough, a commotion must have broken out in the main keep as there was a rush of guards headed towards the heart of the castle.
At first, I was naive enough to think I might be the reason for the chaos — perhaps they had discovered my escape and were searching for me? But it didn’t make sense. I’d just given my blood the past week and King Bibi never asked for me otherwise so he wouldn’t have cared whether I was in my room or not.
It had to be something else.
I hadn’t prepared for such a disturbance, but in a way, this worked in my favour. The guards were distracted and fewer of them were manning their usual posts.
A foot slipped, and I was on the floor again. Get a grip Sairandelle. At this rate, crawling might be faster.
Having managed several more yards on my hands and knees, I froze. I was only a few steps away from the spot where I was meant to descend when I sensed something was off. Whatever — or whoever — it was, was being incredibly discreet, but there was no doubt that a presence lingered below on the other side of the wall.
I was faced with a dismal choice: go back the way I came and find another route, or climb down as planned, knock my unseen enemy senseless, and make a run for it. I was nimble and could hold my own in a fight in the best of conditions, but if my opponent were well trained, I may not stand a chance.
I’d decided to go back when suddenly a scurrying of footsteps was heard. Bam!
I was knocked off my feet, and the world turned to black.
When I woke up, I wasn’t on the ground. I wasn’t on the wall. I was in an unknown bed in a place that smelt entirely unfamiliar.
But one thing I knew instantly. I was no longer in Bibeska.
My heavy eyelids shut, and a slow smile settled on my face. I had no idea where I was but that was tomorrow’s problem.
What mattered was, I was out.
