Page 20 of Tarnished Crown
CHAPTER16
True to Evander’s word, one of his men was watching my door at all times.
But not my balcony.
Setting aside my misgivings, I surveyed my options for escape.
Evander’s warning echoed in my head, but I wasn’t about to waste my time playing the good captive in my rooms while he played puppeteer with my fate. Especially if there was a chance that Lady Mairi might be an ally of sorts.
So I found myself navigating a route from my stone balcony onto the roof of the castle, one of the perks of being on the highest floor.
A pang of longing went through me for my older sister. Avani and I used to do this same thing, usually to sneak out to the village taverns with Mac.
This time, though, I had a more serious goal in mind.
Since the highest levels were generally thought to be the safest, it was likely that Lady Mairi’s rooms were here, too. If I could get to the other side of the castle, I might be able to find her, to talk to her and do...something.
Of course, there was always the risk of her reporting me to Evander — or worse, the Duke, but I couldn’t just stay in my room and do nothing. In six months, Theo and Davin would alert Lochlann and my father would come here. And when he found out Evander had taken me, there would be war.
War meant casualties and poverty for Lochlann, even if I hadn’t been concerned about my own family leading it.
Besides, I could always observe her for a while first to gauge her reaction.
I dug through my trunk until I found one of the older, stuffier dresses that had been altered to fit me at the Summit. The stitching at the seam was still loose enough that with a few good tugs, I was able to pry the two pieces of the skirt apart. Once I was certain that the skirts were wide enough for the climb, I headed out to the balcony before I could talk myself out of it.
A guard was making a round down in the courtyard below, so I leaned against the low stone wall and pretended to be looking wistfully out until he passed.
Amateur. The guards in Lochlann never would have fallen for that. At least, not after the first few times my sister and I had snuck out this way.
As soon as his back was turned, I heaved myself onto the wall, then stretched up to leverage the ledge of the rooftop. Angling toward the inside of the balcony, lest I fall several stories down, I swung a leg up over the ledge. The rest of me soon followed.
When I got to my feet on the roof, I half expected my father to be standing there waiting with his arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head and muttering “Damn it, Rowan,” under his breath.
It was strange to think there was a time that would have felt like the worst possible outcome of an escapade onto the roof, when I would give anything for it to happen now.
Pushing those thoughts away and the sharp stabbing feeling that accompanied them, I ducked behind a battlement.
A frosty breeze whistled past, and I shivered. We were going to have snow again soon, but that was the least of my problems now. The wind would pick up throughout the day, and if I wasn’t careful, I could easily be swept off the roof.
To be on the safe side, I waited a solid few minutes before scuttling across the roof, then assessed the balconies on the other side.
One of them was distinctly fancier than the others, far more spacious and decorated with rows of potted evergreen shrubs. Even if it was the wrong balcony, it would be the easiest one to hide on until I could make my way into the hallway.
Decision made, I slipped from the roof down onto the balcony as quietly as possible, using one of the many plants for cover. I waited for several moments to be sure no one had seen me before finally peering through the glass door that led into the room.
The reflection of the snow-capped mountains behind me made it difficult to look through the glass, but everything appeared to be quiet and still. After a few more stilted heartbeats, I cracked open the door and quietly eased myself into the room, closing it behind me.
I had less than a second to feel relief at my successful break-in before a voice broke through the quiet, freezing me in my tracks.
And unless she spoke in a rumbling baritone, it was definitely not Lady Mairi.
CHAPTER17
“Good morning, my dear.” A deep, accented voice greeted me. “Why don’t you join me for breakfast?”
Alarm bells sounded in my head, fashionably late as usual. I wanted to run as fast as I could and lock myself in my room like Evander had told me to do.
But it was too late for all of that.