The lock clicks softly and a winning smile spreads across my lips.
Music thunders through the floors, the stone trembling with drums and strings, with the echoes of stomping feet. Laughter rings out, high and shrill, chasing the perfume of spiced wine and roasted meats that drift up even here. There is a drunken joy in the air.
It is, after all, a night I thought existed only in fairytales and dreams. And only the most perfect distraction.
Sam and Nath abandoned their watch by my door hours ago, the revelry below much too hard to resist. They all but left one guard, Orlo, with the strict warning; "Do not speak to the prisoner. Do not look away from him for even a second. If he escapes, your life will be forfeit."
However, as the music grew louder, the tapping of Orlo's feet felt more urgent. I'd feigned sleep, slouching over books I couldn't read and I could almost hear his thoughts as he watched me through the bars.
