Chapter 80 - I have an idea

EMMA

I have to squirm to get through the small opening. The bars press against my chest and shoulder blades as I squeeze myself through. The coldness of the metal seeps through the fabric of my clothes. The pressure creates bruises on my skin, but I push through the pain.

I cannot stay here. Having blue eyes is a death sentence. The only place that is safe from werewolves used to be the sanctuary on the lake, but I can’t go there either.

I need to find a way to my brother.

“We have to hurry. We need to get you out of here before they come and get you.” Miles whispers when I get out of my cell.

I move to my mother’s cell instead. “We need to get my mother out first.” I wrap my hand around the metal and kick the bars, but my strength is winding down quickly. My muscles are aching with the exertion I put into getting myself out. I pull on a bar with two hands and the bend is minimal.

My mother gets up and places a hand over mine. “There is no time, sweetie.”

“But—“ My mother is a target as well, she cannot stay here.

She looks me in the eye and her eyes turn black. There is a sharpness to her incisors. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll find a way.”

My mother is a werewolf. I knew, but seeing it for real is something else. It makes me lean away from her with caution. I swallow the guilt as I trust her judgment. She has powers that I’ll never understand.

I back away from her cell and Miles guides me away. I follow him in the darkness. I try to listen to the sounds around me. There is still the familiar drip of water and there are coughs in the distance. Some of the other cells must be occupied as well.

A female laugh sounds in the distance. It bounces off the walls in a clear melody. “Stop it.” The voice says with laughter that sounds joyful and genuine. The contrast to the grim and ominous dungeons is stark.

“You know you’re my favorite.” The familiar voice of Callum comes through next, but the words coming out of his mouth are definitely from someone else. No way that the charming lilt exists in the scowling, brooding guard who doesn't have a grain of sunshine in his bones.

“Do you say that to all the girls?” The female voice says and there is a teasing curve to her words.

We turn the corner and notice how Callum fills the doorway of the guards’ office. His back is turned towards us and his frame blocks a significant amount of light.

“Only you,” Callum says with a laugh that is deep and magnetic.

I nearly trip over my feet when I hear him laugh. How many times have I tried to get him to smile? I’m kind of jealous of the guard that she gets to see his friendly side. I think it’s the people-pleasing side of me that is envious.

Miles gestures to me to be quiet.

“Oh, please.” The female guard calls with a flirt in her voice. I can just imagine her playing with a lock of her hair and batting her eyelashes at Callum.

Miles ducks and steps soundlessly past the window separating us from the mysterious guard. I follow his footsteps and I barely breathe. I know that my steps are not as soundless as Miles's. The fact that I can hear the press of my feet to the ground should probably shock me more.

“Are you going to be there Friday?” Callum asks when I walk close enough for them to hear.

The female guard hums. “Maybe.”

Callum chuckles when I pass. I can see him reach out to her, but I can’t see her face. “Are you going to make me chase you?”

I follow Miles down the hall and the last thing I hear is the female guard laughing.

“You are holding us up, Lieutenant…” her voice fades in the distance.

I’m still a little in shock by this new revelation. Is Callum really able to be that charming? Is there warmth to his icy heart?

Miles guides me out of the dungeons. He avoids the guards with precision. We arrive in what looks like an old and abandoned part of the palace. Miles is quick to guide me up an empty stairs and into a bedroom. I immediately recognize the bedroom where I first stayed in.

“Is he taking the guard on a date?” I whisper to Miles. I can’t help, but be curious about the dating life of my personal guard.

“We were talking about training.” Callum’s voice sounds behind me and I flinch. That’s the definition of stealth.

“It sounded more like you were flirting with her,” I grumble and take a breath to slow down my hammering heartbeat.

“It’s called a distraction. I don't plan to date her,” Callum wakes through the doorway after me and closes the door.

“You cannot do that. She will be waiting now for you to ask her out.” I cross my arms as I give my most scolding look to my guard. “You should get her flowers and take her to that little restaurant in the second ring where they make handmade ravioli.”

I’ve never been, but I’ve always thought it looked like a perfect place for a date. They have wooden benches and little lanterns giving off a subtle light. I imagined myself going there with Hadrian one day.

Callum crosses his arms and his charming smile has been replaced by a scowl when he looks at me. “She’s not waiting for me to take her on a date. Things don’t go that way here.”

“She’s a woman, we all want romance,” I mutter with a pout.

Callum scoffs and shakes his head. “I’m not Hadrian. I don’t spend an hour lighting a hundred candles for your date.”

I tense when Callum mentions Hadrian. “What?”

Callum rubs his forehead. “We don’t have time for this. We need to get you out of here.”

Miles nods and rubs his hands together. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

Callum freezes. “What do you mean ‘what’s the plan’?” He slowly directs his scowl to his brother. “You said you had it figured out.”

Miles rubs the back of his neck. “Well, not completely.” He starts to pace around the room. “We can figure this out.”

Callum grumbles and I take a seat on the bed. I eye the white interieur as I try to think of a plan.

I cannot stay here. The army will find me if I stay in Sanguinem. They will kill me right there on the spot when they see my blue eyes.

The bed and the white lacquered nightstands are still the same. It reminds me of when Justin left me the silver daggers and that note.

*Come find us. 92 miles southwest of the south border.*

The words are engraved in my mind. I repeated them a million times during the first few days. I was going to escape and find my brother, but over time I got caught in this life with Hadrian. For a while, I was happy here and I forgot that I was never meant to stay. I forgot why I came here in the first place.

“We just have to get her past the guards at the entrance.” Miles continues and nods as if he’s found the solution.

Callum locks his jaw and fury brightens the red in his hazel eyes at the obvious remark of his brother. Callum crosses his arms and completes his grumpy status. “We can’t even take her past the corridor with the training going on.”

Miles snaps his fingers. “How about the gardens?”

Callum shakes his head and leans against the door. “They changed the schedule, remember. They put in double because of the *event* this afternoon.”

*Event.* Also known as my execution. I swallow the lump of dread.

“Besides, they will pick up her scent in seconds. They’ll catch her before she makes it out of the second ring.” Callum grumbles.

“How about the roof?” I ask when I remember the winding stairs that Hadrian showed me.

Miles shakes his head. “We won’t make it.”

“The ones around the perimeter will spot us a mile away.” Callum continues.

I need a passage out of the city that is invisible to the guards and where they cannot pick up my scent to follow me.

“I have an idea,” I whisper.

“What is it?” They both ask simultaneously.

I promised Hadrian that I wouldn’t go into the tunnels myself, but I don’t see another way out. It can take me to the third ring and possibly out of the city.

“Can you get me to Hadrian’s office?”