Page 20 of Ruthless Monsters

“Rebels?” someone asks.

“If we can get a message to them, I can advise them of the weak point in the security. If we coordinate so they know exactly where and when to attack, they could give us the opening we need to escape.”

“Nice. Rebels aidin’ a breakout,” one of the male’s replies. “So how do we get word to them?”

“And now you know why we’re still here,” I reply. “We have no way of getting word to them, and because we can’t organize ourselves, any efforts they’ve made to free me have all been thwarted.”

I hear cursing from the cell next door.

“I have a few loyalists in the palace, but visitation to the prison was cut off years ago. Now, unless it’s a worker or the king, no one goes in or out.” I pause. “No one, except your crow friend, I guess.”

There’s another stretch of silence.

“Ah, well that’s not exactly what I was hopin’ to hear,” one of the males replies less enthusiastically.

I hear quiet squawking then, and I furrow my brow, still surprised to hear the noise even though they’d said there was a crow with them.

“And what if our crow can get back out of the prisons? Could she carry a message to your rebels?” a gruff voice says.

Jaiq lifts his brows, and shuffles closer to the wall like he’s desperate to hear every word they have to say.

I rub my chin thoughtfully. “Unless she’s able to follow instructions and memorize a map of the tunnels, I don’t see how that would work.”

There’s another stretch of silence followed by a faint squawk. Then I hear, “Ready to be brave, little one?”

Chapter

Eight

~ Shade ~

You know, when Blake asked me to find her mates, I didn’t realize this was where I’d end up,I complain in my head as I walk cautiously along a dark tunnel. I would be mad at the four males who suggested I do this, if it weren’t for the fact that they’d called me ‘their crow.’ Hearing it had given me the warm fuzzies, and I get the feeling that just because I’m Blake’s friend, they’d do anything for me.Best friend,I correct myself, puffing my chest out a little, though no one is around to see it.

Shortly after Alaric had volunteered me for the job as messenger, the prisoner on the other side of the wall had passed a strip of rolled fabric through a small hole. As the males had worked at tying the message to my neck, they’d fussed over me, and it reminded me of how human dads sometimes fussed over their daughters.Except these daddies are sexy as sin.

Amusement goes through me, and I’m quick to amend,no, not daddies, they’re more like brothers.I think of how for a longtime, it was mostly Blake and I on our own. I’d do anything for my girl, but it was nice to know she had others looking out for her now.Even if I’m still the one doing all the work.

I kick a tiny pebble as I walk in the pitch black, and I stumble a little before correcting myself.I just wish this escape plan of theirs didn’t rely solely on me.Even after the message was strapped to my neck, the stranger from the cell next to us had spent a long while describing the route I needed to take to get to the rebels. Once again, I was left wanting to explain about my terrible navigational skills, but from the sounds of things, I’m all they have. Once I was out of the prison, it had gone reasonably well. The instructions had been mostly straightforward, and I was able to fly through the tunnels for a while, but now the way is completely dark. Aside from a few random bursts of flight, I stumble around blindly, and worry has my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

To make matters worse, not long ago my connection with Blake had cut off. Earlier, I’d explained about the rebels and the whole being a messenger thing, and despite her obvious concerns, she’d mostly been on board. But I’d been relying on having her in my head for advice. Now, there is only the silence of the tunnel, and the scrape of my feet on the ground.

It's not so scary,I tell myself.It’s just a hole made out of rock. A long, dark, freezing hole that probably leads to rebels who might murder you on sight.

I think of what Alaric had said to me before I’d hopped through the bars of their cell. “Remember that the rebels are not your friends. Don’t let your guard down around them. Living in the tunnels has likely hardened them into something cold. Something dangerous. Just make sure that the message you’re holding gets into the hands of the rebel leader, Eliza.”

Yep, the assassin is as bad at giving pep talks as I am. Still, I appreciated his confidence in me because I sure as hell didn’t have any. Neither did Prince Callan, it turns out.

“You know we’re fucked right?” Prince Callan had said dryly as I’d almost tripped while hopping through the bars of their cell.

“Give the bird a chance,” Alaric had growled. “Some battles have been won by the most underestimated of opponents.”

“And many more have been lost,” Prince Callan countered coldly. “We’d better devise a plan B.”

I’d taken that opportune moment to dart across the tunnel while the guards weren’t looking and take the bend around the next corner, because I didn’t need that negativity in my life. If I let those thoughts in, I wouldn’t make it, and I’d never get the help they needed. And I wasn’t about to let Blake down.

Swallowing, I blink in the dark, bringing my thoughts back to the present.Just keep walking. Just keep walking. Just keep walking, walking, walkiiiiing,I think the words to the tune of a song I once heard when my humans watched a movie about a blue fish with a horrendous memory. If I was that fish, no doubt I’d still be lost in the endless black of the deep sea. As it is, I’m a crow stuck in the endless black of the caves instead.

Hours. That’s how long it feels like I’ve been down here. Freaking hours. A scratching noise sounds somewhere to my left, and I skitter sideways, banging against the rocky wall I’ve been following.Ouch!I shake myself off, starting forward again, and forcing myself not to start running like a lunatic. I can’t fly because I can’t see where I’m going, but if I run, I’ll probably break one of my twig legs and get stuck here.Not a pigeon,I think, remembering how I’d wished I was a pigeon earlier.No, right now, I wish I was an owl. Then at least I’d be able to see in the dark.I force myself to take more steps.Keep calm, Shade, and just keep wallllking.My heart is pounding hard enough thatI’m worried I won’t hear if something comes up behind me, but thankfully, the next time I hear a scratching noise, it sounds like it’s further away down the tunnel.

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