The door opened. She stepped into the corridor. She could see the exit but wasn’t sure how to get out. As she stared at it, she felt her spirits begin to droop. Mariet had given her as much help as he could, but he expected Evan to figure it out from there.
She heard the scrape of metal as the door was opened. Evan ducked back inside her cell and closed the door. She withdrew the key and tiptoed to the back wall. Heavy guard boots echoed down the corridor. He stopped in front of her cell, staring at her with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.
“I thought you’d be out by now,” he said.
Evan blinked at him in surprise. “You—what?”
He ran his hand over his shaved head. “You found the key, right? I don’t have one for your cell.”
Evan recognized the guard, or at least she recognized the nervousness emanating from him. She had met him on the dock when she and Caspian were searching for a ship. “You’re Mick, right?”
He nodded. A faint sound behind him made him jump. He spun around, looking for the cause, sighing in relief as a rat scurried across the floor. “Look, we don’t have much time. I’m not stationed in this area, so if we get caught, I won’t have clearance to help you. Hell, I’ll probably be thrown in with you.”
Evan wasn’t sure if she could trust him. Either he was here to help her, or Calix had guessed Mariet’s plan and sent the guard to draw out the truth. She thought back to Venus and the things she had said about the guard when they’d first met her. Venus trusted him, and right now that was good enough.
Evan walked to the front of the cell and held up the key. Mick snatched it from her fingers. She felt herself deflate, but then he put the key in the lock and opened the door. He ushered her towards the door, and she scarcely had time to let her hopes soar before they reached the end of the corridor.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the whimper.
Evan turned, looking into the cell directly beside the door. In the corner, concealed by shadow, was a small figure in a long threadbare shirt and nothing else. He was covered in a layer of grime, his thick black hair was matted, and he looked pitiful.
“Let’s go,” Mick said, pushing past her.
“Wait,” she said. “We need to help him.”
“I told you, I don’t have keys.”
She hesitated, looking down at the boy. “You’re Layne, aren’t you?”
He raised his head, his eyes finding hers. They were hazel, with a yellow ring in the middle. Just like Nolan’s. She forced a smile. “My name is Evan. I’m going to help you. I just have to find some keys. I’ll be right back.”
She turned away from the boy and stepped into the corridor. There were two burly guards sprawled on the ground. She checked them for keys, but found none.
“What happened to them?” she asked.
Mick grabbed her arm and hauled her past them. “Mariet gave them a sleeping draught.”
“But they’ll know it was him as soon as they wake.”
“That’s why you’ve gotta take us with you when you leave.”
Evan pressed her heels into the ground. “I’m not leaving without the boy.”
Mick swore. “The Captain is the only one who would have keys to the royal cells.”
“Royal cells?”
Mick nodded, as if explaining something to a child. “They don’t keep you with the regular prisoners.”
“Then that boy…” Evan trailed off.
“Prince Layne Pikeson,” Mick said. “Heir to Malonuppis.”
Evan let the words sink in. Would that make Nolan the King of Malonuppis? If so, why was he smuggling and why was the prince stealing?
She thought back to her lessons with her tutors about the Mer kingdoms. Malonuppis was in the southern hemisphere and pretty close to land. The ties to Poseidon’s bloodlines had faded long ago, and the Malo kingdom had basically integrated with humans. The major kingdoms largely ignored the remnant of the Malo kingdom.
At least, that was what she had been taught.
Evan had always felt the Tritons had a skewed view of the world because of the way they placed such a high value on their ties to Poseidon. Now she saw that the view was even narrower than she thought. They had dismissed an entire kingdom. Calix, on the other hand, had not dismissed them. Evan realized the boy’s imprisonment was more than punishment for stealing: Calix was keeping the boy as a prisoner of war.
Her thoughts were stopped short as Mick halted in a doorway. She hadn’t been paying attention to where he was taking her. She looked around, her eyes searching for something familiar. “Where are we?”
Mick clamped a hand over her mouth. He tested the knob behind them, but it was locked. There was panic in his eyes. She listened, hearing the boots moving towards them. It was a faint sound, almost as if they were trying to be quiet, but she heard them nonetheless. They were approaching the intersecting hall where she and Mick stood.
She searched the hall, but there was nowhere to run. They could turn back and maybe find a door to slip through, but they wouldn’t make it far before someone happened upon them. She knew Mick was having the same thoughts when he drew his sword. Running was useless. So is fighting, she thought.
The first man reached the corner and turned down the hall. Mick closed his eyes and swung his sword. It was met in the air with a loud clang. A foot came up and kicked him in the stomach, forcing him back. Evan saw the swirl of a black coat as the man who had kicked Mick pivoted to strike him down.
She screamed.
The man faltered. He hadn’t noticed her, but now he did. He stopped his attack on Mick and burst out laughing. “What are you doing out here? I’m on my way to rescue you.”
Evan met his eyes. “Nolan? You’re dead.”
He held out his arms and shrugged. “You didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easily, did you?”
A sob caught in her throat as she threw herself at the smuggler. She wrapped her arms around his waist. He laughed with her as he enclosed her in his embrace. After a moment he asked, “I guess I shouldn’t kill this guard?”
“No!” Evan said, pushing away from Nolan. “He’s on our side.”
“Good,” Nolan said. “I can’t afford to get blood on another set of clothes today.”
He sheathed his sword, and Evan realized it was the cane he always carried. Nolan gave a small bow to Mick and said, “Nolan Raines. The pleasure is yours.”
He pulled a red-haired girl around the corner and hooked his arm around her. She had a bag strapped over her chest and wires dangled to her knees. Ova nodded her head towards Mick, but her face lit up when she saw Evan. “Princess Evannia, I’m so happy you’re okay. I mean, I knew you’d be okay, because you have to be. For Triton.”
Nolan rolled his eyes. “That’s enough, Ova. The Princess has a big enough head as is. No need to inflate it further.”
Mick’s eyes darted about, ignoring their banter. He said, “We’re too exposed. We need to get out of here.”
“Agreed,” Nolan said. “As soon as I find Layne, I’ll be on my way.”
Evan inhaled sharply. “I know where he is. We didn’t have a key to get him out. Mick says only the Captain will have it.”
“Keys are overrated, Princess. Now take me to my boy.”
Thirty-Two
As soon as they entered the royal cells, the prisoner was on his feet. All signs of the whimpering little boy were gone, and Evan wondered how she’d ever thought he looked pitiful. Despite the dirt covering him and the thin shirt he wore, the boy looked regal.
Evan felt herself curtsy without meaning to. It was ingrained in her to greet royalty in such a way, and her body reacted involuntarily to the majestic way he held himself.
The boy ignored her greeting, his eyes glued to Nolan. “I knew you’d come.”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Nolan replied, his voice strained with emotion. “I only regret it has taken so long.”
The boy dismissed his words with a wave of his hand. “The fault is m
ine. You warned me to guard my identity.”
Nolan nodded. “I was afraid the Proteans would be more than eager to have you as a hostage. Your father would pay handsomely for your return.”
Prince Layne scoffed. “My father has no love for me. And he certainly doesn’t have time to spend with me. You are more of a father than he has ever been.”
Evan looked between the two. They were clearly father and son. Nolan had said so. No, Evan thought, he has never called him his son. He always said “boy.” And yet, looking at them there was no way to unsee it. Whether Prince Layne knew it or not, Nolan was definitely his father.
“Step back to the wall,” Nolan told Layne. “Duck low and cover your head with your arms.”
Layne nodded and did as instructed while Ova unpacked a bag and started stuffing things inside the cell’s lock. Evan asked, “What are you doing?”
Nolan smiled. “Something unlawful, Princess.”
Ova turned to Nolan and smiled. “Ready.”
Evan, Nolan, and Mick retreated to the corridor. A moment later, Ova jumped outside and slammed the cell door closed. There was the briefest pause, then an explosion rocked the floor beneath them.
Mick was horror-stricken. “They’ll know we’re here.”
Nolan was positively beaming. He pulled the door open and went to Layne’s cell. The boy was covered in a fresh layer of dust, but was otherwise untouched. Nolan put his arm around the boy and led him away from the cells. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
“Wait,” Evan said. “My sister is still here.”
Nolan furrowed his brows. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder and asked, “In there?”
She shook her head. “She’s not in here. She must be in the lower levels.”
“With the guards?” Nolan asked.
Evan nodded.
Nolan smiled. “Dex and Myrthe are already freeing them. Dunno how many are down there. I may not have room to take them all aboard the ship.”
“We’ll make do,” Evan said.
They jogged down the hall. Evan knew it was only a matter of time before they were caught; in fact, she was amazed they hadn’t been found already. Yet she still smiled. She caught glimpses of the others running beside her. They all wore matching expressions of joy.
The group reached the end of the hall and descended a level. Evan could hear a rush of whispers below them. Nolan stopped them, pressing them back against the wall. He whistled so softly that Evan wasn’t sure it was on purpose.
The whispers below ceased. A return whistle came from below, faint, but there. Evan watched the tension melt from Nolan as his shoulders relaxed. “It’s us, Dex.”
Evan heard a laugh from below and the whispers resumed. They waited in the stairwell for Dex’s group to join them, Evan leaning against the railing. Her insides were coiled into a knot as she mentally checked off the names of those lost to her, those she desperately hoped were okay. She would find out soon.
“Weird trick,” Nolan said, pointing at her hands gripping the railing.
They were changing, shifting color, size, shape. What am I?
She shoved her hands under her arms as she crossed them over her chest. Before Nolan could say more, Dex’s head came into view, a goofy grin spread across his face. “Got ‘em, Captain.”
Nolan asked, “How many?”
“Around 20.”
Nolan cursed, looking at his own group. “We can’t fit thirty people on our ship.”
“Let’s worry about that on the dock. They’ve sent up the alarm,” Myrthe said, pushing past the others.
She was splattered in blood. Evan placed her hand on Myrthe’s shoulder, but Myrthe shrugged it off. “I’m okay, Princess. It’s not my blood.”
“Let’s get to the dock,” Nolan said. He whispered to Dex, “Get Layne out first. Leave the soldiers if you have to.”
Dex nodded and continued up the stairwell, a line of people trailing behind him. Nolan and Evan stayed where they were, eyes locked as they warred with each other in silence. Evan understood his logic for saving the soldiers to fight if needed, but it didn’t mean she had to like it.
At the end of the line, Judas stopped in front of Evan. His face was sunken and dirty, making his striking blue eyes too prominent. Evan smiled at him, but he returned a grimace.
Evan’s heart jumped into her throat. “Where’s Celia?”
Judas looked at her, his eyes empty. He opened his mouth to speak, but his lips floundered as if he couldn’t seem to form the words.
Another person stepped up beside him and said, “Calix came for her this morning.”
Evan’s eyes found Declan’s as he stared down at her. She turned from Judas to the Captain of the Royal Guard, the man who loved her mother, the friend she thought was dead.
“Declan,” Evan breathed.
Saying his name was enough to release the flood of emotions that had been pent up inside her since the night of the Protean Ball. She fell against him, tears flooding from her and running down his chest.
“I thought you were dead,” she said.
“I’m here, Princess.”
After a moment, Nolan said, “I’m sorry to break this up, but we need to move. The guards will be on us any minute.”
“Let’s go,” Rafe said.
He stood behind Declan, supporting him. Evan blinked, taking full stock of them. Rafe was holding him up. Declan’s foot was a twisted mess. He was holding it off the ground to avoid putting pressure on it, but his face still contorted in pain.
Evan looked at Rafe. He held Declan up with his right hand, but his left was gone. A bandage covered in dried blood was wrapped around the stub where his hand should be. She covered her mouth, feeling sick. She was the cause of all this.
Declan cupped his hand under her chin. “Let it go, Princess. We’d do it all again to keep you safe.”
Nolan grabbed Evan’s elbow and steered her up the stairs. She followed wordlessly. This was all too much. She was supposed to be at home, protected in her castle, not rescuing her guards from an enemy kingdom. Not seeing her friends maimed while trying to help her.
They were running through the dock now. She was so lost in thought, she wasn’t sure how they’d gotten there. The Triton guards were lining the area ahead of her. They’d managed to get some weapons. Now that Evan looked, there were unarmed Protean guards on the ground around her in various states of injury.
Evan stopped, her eyes meeting one of the injured Protean guards. She looked around at the carnage and anger seethed inside her at the ease with which Calix was willing to throw away the lives of his citizens.
“Do not kill them,” Evan yelled. “Stop them from hurting us, injure them if you must, but do not kill them.”
“Evan, what are you doing?” Rafe asked.
He and Declan had come up behind her. Rafe was confused, but when Evan met Declan’s gaze, she saw that he understood. The corners of his lips tipped up as he gave her a nod.
“As you say, Your Highness.” He hobbled towards his men and called out, “You heard the Princess! These men are only doing what is required of them. We shall not take their lives for doing their jobs.”
Nolan strode towards her. “The ship has room for one more, Princess. Let’s get you out of here.”
Evan shook her head. “Take Declan.”
Nolan scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Get on the ship.”
“I’m not leaving without my sister.”
“You expect me to take some half-dead codger to Triton instead of the heir to the throne?”
“The Queen will be just as happy to see him.”
Nolan’s brow quirked up as he turned to eye the guard. He turned back to Evan and asked, “While I’m returning him, what will you be doing?”
“I’m going to get Celia.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
Evan sighed and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. “I don’t know.”
Nolan put his hands o
n his hips and stared at the ceiling. Finally, he shook his head and said, “I want you to know I really hate you for making me do this.”
He turned and stalked towards the ship. Evan watched him usher Declan and Rafe onboard before having a quick conversation with Dex. Evan couldn’t make out the words, but she could hear the exchange become heated. Finally Nolan pushed Dex back into the ship and closed the door. He turned to the guards still standing on the dock and gave them instructions. Evan watched several of them scatter through out the room.
Nolan rejoined Evan where she stood in the middle of the dock. “Let’s get to it, then.”
She looked to the ship as it pulled away. “What did you just do?”
He scraped his tongue along his teeth while he chose his words. “You saved my life. You helped me find my boy. It’s my turn.”
“Nolan, you don’t have to—”
“Give it a rest, Princess. The ship is already gone.”
Evan pressed her lips together and nodded. He was right; words were empty, when there was no other option.
“What’s the plan?” Myrthe asked, stepping up beside them.
Evan hadn’t realized she was with them until now. She barely knew Myrthe, but somehow her presence was a comfort. Evan said, “There’s a tunnel along the wall that leads to the kitchen. The chef is a friend. Hopefully he’ll know where Celia is.”
“If he doesn’t?”
“We’ll figure it out,” Evan said. “It’s all we can do.”
Thirty-Three
Evan, Nolan, and Myrthe stood in the kitchen surrounded by guards. They were captured as soon as they entered the tunnel. Evan wasn’t sure what had happened, but she knew the presence of guards in the tunnel meant Mariet was in trouble.
“I bet you wish you were on the ship now,” Nolan whispered.
Evan sighed. She did indeed wish she were on the ship. At least then she wouldn’t have gotten Nolan and Myrthe captured as well.
One of the guards stepped in front of Evan. He was dark of hair and eyes, with a hooknose and thin lips. Evan hadn’t noticed him before, and wondered if his ordinary looks helped disguise him in plain sight.
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