Page 17 of Wicked Royals
“Bye, princess,” I murmured, even though there was no way she could hear me anymore. “We’ll do this againsoon.”
We would, only next time, it wouldn’t be agame.
Next time, I wouldn’t let hergo.
When October came, Willow Rhoades would be allmine…
5
Willow
My heart was racing,threatening to explode out of my chest, and my limbs felt weak and shaky as I dashed blindly into the darkness. My masked attacker was still behind me somewhere, and he could catch up at anysecond.
My mind was a sticky mess of terror and confusion. Who was the man behind the mask? Why did he target me? Why did he say he would let me go, only to lunge after me again? Was it yet another part of his sickgame?
Again,why?
I racked my brains as I flew down yet another passageway, trying to recall the sound of my assailant’s voice. He’d spoken to me multiple times and knew my name, but I didn’t recognize him. The gruff voice was definitely familiar, though. I just couldn’t figure out why. If I heard it one more time, that lightbulb in my mind might switch on, and I could figure out who he was and get the bastard introuble.
How? A little voice in the back of my mind argued with me as I gulped down heavy breaths.Are you going to call the police? Tell them you were in a secret tunnel that only government employees know about? And what then? You’ll demand they arrest someone for chasing youaround?
It sounded ridiculous when I thought about it like that. The man didn’t actually hurt me, so it wasn’t like he could be punished for that. I suppose there was some property damage when the light on my phone broke, but that happened when I tripped, so it wasn’t entirely hisfault.
Dragging me into that alcove and keeping me from my friends could count as some sort of assault or abduction, though. My brain immediately went to an old prep school class of mine where we had to study different areas of the law.False imprisonment occurs when someone is restricted in their personal movement within any area without justification orconsent.
I definitely didn’t give my consent for thatshit.
Unfortunately, I still had no idea who the man was, so those charges weren’t going to happen anytime soon. It was just wishful thinking to make me feel like I had some semblance of control while I was trapped down here in these godforsaken tunnels, freezing-cold andalone.
I stopped for a few seconds and crouched on the floor, panting like crazy. There were no footsteps pounding behind me, so I was fairly certain I was safe for now. I just needed to figure out where the hell I was. My attacker had sent me running down a tunnel I hadn’t explored in the past, and after frantically ducking around several unfamiliar corners in my terrified frenzy, it had finally dawned on me that I was hopelesslylost.
Raising my cell with a trembling hand, I clicked on a few buttons to see if I could get it working. The light on the back was still cracked and broken, but the screen finally switched on, bathing the eerie space around me in a faintglow.
“Thank god,” I whispered to myself, shining the weak light around the tunnel. On my right, I spotted another one of the carved arrows that Simone noticed earlier, along with another triangle and eyesymbol.
My mind flashed back to her earlier remark.‘We should follow the arrow and see if we can find more of these symbols. Maybe that’s how you’re supposed to find the secret rooms andpassages.’
I had no idea if she was right about that, but at the very least, the arrows could eventually lead me to an exit, as they were obviously added to the walls as some sort of guide. I just had to keep following the etchings wherever I could findthem.
Directly ahead of me, the tunnel branched off in three directions. The arrow on the wall pointed to the path on the far right. Using the glow from my phone screen to guide my way, I tentatively headed down the new passage, whipping my head over my shoulder every few minutes to make sure no one was followingme.
My breathing remained harsh and panicked as I made my way through the tunnel, but I did my best to stay as quiet as possible beyond that. I couldn’t see or hear the masked man anywhere, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t lurking somewhere nearby, still searching for me in his deranged game of hide andseek.
I spotted another symbol and arrow up ahead, and my brows rose in shock as I poked my head into the wide passage it pointed toward. This tunnel wasn’t dark and squalid like the rest. It was cleaner with high-arched stone ceilings, and the walls were lined with dark metal sconces. Candles flickered in each one, lighting the pathahead.
That waspromising.
About halfway down the path, another arrow pointed directly to the right. I ventured down some stone steps to find more candles, several wall etchings, and an array of marble statues. With wide eyes, I stopped to take in the intricate patterns and breathtaking artistry of thecarvings.
What the hell was thisplace?
Yet another arrow pointed toward two enormous statues at the end, and when I drew closer, I saw a wide stone door between them. Above it was a carved scroll with gold lettering forming three words.Novus ordoorbis.
I’d learned some Latin back in high school, but I couldn’t remember most of it. I knew ‘novus’ meant ‘new’, and that wasit.
I took another tentative step forward. A slight whirring sound drew my attention. Looking up, I saw a small black camera in the corner moving to the left to point at me. I ducked my head so it wouldn’t catch my face, suddenly nervous. That was when I noticed the keycard slot on thedoor.
With shaky hands, I fumbled through my clutch and located the card I took from my father so long ago. I didn’t expect it to actually work on this mysterious door, but when I swiped it through the slot, the heavy stone creaked and swung wide open into some sort offoyer.
