Queen of Ruins by Jodi Gallegos

Author:Jodi Gallegos [Gallegos, Jodi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CTP Publishing

Chapter Thirteen

We sneak deeper into the thick of the forest hours before the sun hints at its presence below the horizon. The sky is slate freckled with brightly colored stars, but the forest floor is dark, readily concealing our presence and our progress as we sneak into thick tangles of ivy and danailor rods that have invaded the pristine forest.

Josef and Kennard flank me, Isobel and Katherine behind us. Ayleth moves with those at the rear and is under strict orders to remain at the back. Our trek is slow and cautious. I won’t risk being detected. I’ve waited far too long to see this plan come to fruition. Each of my steps is soft and accompanied by the anticipatory thudding of my heart, which I’m certain is echoing through the night. A mist hovers at the base of the trees. Somewhere in the distance, an owl has taken notice of us and is commenting on our progress. Is anyone else paying him any mind?

“This is far enough,” Kennard orders the troops. “We’ll wait here until dawn.” He distributes half the remaining soldiers into groups of twenty to cover the five hidden doorways to the tunnels leading under Carling. They’ll gain entry just before dawn and be waiting for anyone who tries to flee the castle through them.

When we invade, the front gates of Carling will eventually be flung open. Either by the armies of Carling attempting to flee or by our troops who’ve made their way through. Either way, the enemy will be met by our remaining forces, who are following the stream to assume their positions under the bridges leading into Carling.

Davion and I, along with our twenty men and Ayleth, pick our way through the darkened forest to the easternmost entry. At the passageway, we find only a wooden door, warped and misshapen from years without use. Using our fingers, we dig away the accumulation of rotting leaves and damp soil that prevents the door from opening freely. My nails dig into hardened dirt beneath the surface. I nearly whimper as three of my nails break away from the quick. Sharp pains shiver up my arms and deep into my shoulders as I bite against my natural impulse to cry out.

Davion kneels beside me and pulls a short, thick dagger from his belt. “Let me,” he says.

I sit back, clenching my throbbing fingers to my chest. “Thank you.”

It’s only moments before Davion has cleared the debris, driven his knife into the space between the door and the frame, and pried an opening large enough for him to grip the ancient door. The hinges screech through the darkness as he pulls it away from the frame.

We stop, each acutely attuned to the dark, listening for the sound of anyone coming to investigate the origins of such a hideous sound. For nearly twenty minutes, we sit still, but nobody comes.

“Slowly,” I whisper as Davion returns to pulling the door far enough to allow us entry. As the sky lightens,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.