I'd been put on a tough spot. Fucked without all the fun of foreplay. And by a prince, no less.
Hate was not a new emotion for me. I had so much hate in my heart it likely pumped black blood through my veins, but the hatred I felt for Rafe in those moments after he'd left was a bright and vicious thing, and matched only by the desire to wrap my hands around his neck and tell him everything. See what he thought of me then.
Oh, he'd still hate me, but at least the lofty prick would know I was the least of his enemies.
I paced my cell.
The queen's death, like the queen herself, was most inconvenient.
And then there was the problem of Quinton, the lord from the Court of War, and the things he'd said moments before I'd had his delicious cock in my mouth. Things that could not be left to fester. Niggly little truths like that had a knack for escaping and growing into larger problems.
Four years I'd been weaving my lies. Four years, day and night. The death of the queen and the wagging tongue of one sexually frustrated warlord would not be what brought me down.
I had to get out of this cell.
"Hey!" I banged on the bars and rattled my cell door. "Guards!"
Someone would be nearby. They wouldn't risk leaving me here alone, forgotten…
"Hey!"
There would be a way to escape, there was always a way. Whatever the cost, I'd pay it. And I had multiple debts owed to me. Multiple angles to play.
But I could do nothing behind bars. I was nothing behind bars.
The dungeon door groaned open and a guard stomped down the steps, armor clattering. The same guard who'd punched me on the terrace. "Quiet, yah hear!" He was tall, slim, with a flash of short red hair and sharp green eyes.
"The king. I want to speak with King Rowan. Bring him here."
He narrowed his eyes and studied me as though he hadn't heard a word I'd said.
"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" He sauntered over and he raked his glare from head to toe, then recoiled, as though he'd tasted something foul. He clearly did not like me and was full of swagger and masculine bravado that seemed a little heavy-handed, unless…
"Have we met?" I asked, squinting a little. He did seem familiar. I was sure we hadn't been intimate, though. His eyes narrowed. "Before you struck me on the terrace, that is?"
"Yeah, we've met, fool. You sullied my sister."
"Ah." The red hair, the freckles, yes… I remembered his sister. A fun little thing. She'd told me her brother was a guard and that was how she'd gotten inside the palace walls. She'd demanded I pleasure her, and I'd been bored at the time. I'd had to cover her mouth to keep her from screaming as I'd tongued her to climax. "She rather sullied herself behind the parrot—"
He spat. Sticky, warm spittle landed on my cheek. "I hope they cut off your dick when you're swinging from the noose."
I wiped my cheek. "Well, at least I have one."
"What did you say?" He squared up to the bars.
The poor man. "Deaf too, and so tiny a…package." I glanced at this crotch. "How unfortunate. Fate can be cruel. And you don't even have the intelligence to make up for such a cruel hand you've been dealt."
"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 triumphant clang.
"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 Levi sends his regards, and she's welcome to come by 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 The 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 pathways. I knew these paths and corridors like the back of my hand, especially the staff corridors.
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 Quinton 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. I had to 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, Levi."
"For a friend, you don't appear that concerned."
She rolled her eyes. Someone yelled hot pan inside the kitchen, followed by a loud clatter, drawing Ellyn's gaze. We stepped back some more, where the fracas from the kitchens weren'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 skin. 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."
She snorted, but her smile was warming. "What do you want, Levi?"
"Oh, just a little thing… Nothing, really…"
"Spit it out."
"See to it the king's aides are delayed from tending his chambers?"
Ellyn narrowed her eyes. "The king? Why? What are you doing?"
A kitchenhand passed us by, carrying a tub of sloshing potatoes. I caught Ellyn's shoulder and tucked her behind the corner, out of sight. "Nothing insidious. You know me, this is all a misunderstanding. I just want to speak with him, alone. We're practically friends."
"If you're friends, just knock on his door." Her frown cracked the patch of flour on her cheek.
She'd likely heard what I'd been accused of. By now the whole palace probably knew. The longer this went on, the harder it would be to salvage the remains of my reputation.
"I need your help," I whispered, leaning closer. "You know I'd do the same for you."
"Would you?" Her eyebrows lifted.
Would I? "I'd certainly consider it." I grinned. She knew I had done the same for her.
She smacked me on the arm. "Why can't I say no to you?!"
Her frown softened when I tucked a lock of her unruly curly hair behind her ear. "Because you're a good friend, and I don't deserve you. And because you owe me?"
She sighed. "That's true. All right, fine. I'll delay his aides, but you can't stay long."
"I don't need long." I turned, heading back down the corridor. "Levi," Ellyn called. "Be careful. It feels different this time."
"I'm always careful," I called back, and slipped into the hidden side passage.
The smile died on my lips. She was right. I'd been in difficult situations before, most I'd laughed off.
It was different this time.
I rubbed the stump of my missing finger and hurried on, steps silent. Only the spluttering lamps betrayed my passing.