Page 37 of Warrior Princess
I sighed. “That brings me to the second thing we learned. Avery said she has information about my father’s safety, but she’ll only share it with us if we rescue two of her operatives currently imprisoned in the Central Plains.”
“Could Caelan be involved in this thing with your father?” Silas inquired.
Ronan turned to me for confirmation. I shrugged, the uncertainty gnawing at me. “At this point, I wouldn't put anything past Caelan.”
Ronan’s resolute voice broke through. “We need to free those women from the dungeons, Silas. Your past experience there is invaluable.”
“Ah, right!” Silas chuckled and looked over at me, reminiscing about the time when I was the one who was imprisoned. “I went through the governor’s house. He has a secret entrance to the dungeons in his mansion.”
My eyes widened. “How did you know that?” I knew just about everything about the Central Plains, but I didn’t know that.
Silas grinned. “You can uncover a lot of useful information at the Rose Petal,” he said. “The girls there can be very… chatty when coin is involved.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Of course. The Rose Petal. Never short on useful gossip.”
Silas winked. “You know it.”
“Do you still remember how to find the secret passageway? It’s been a while since you used it.”
Silas nodded. “I remember. Tonight?”
Ronan and I nodded. “Tonight it is.”
17
The moon radiated a silver glow over the governor's mansion as we approached under the cover of darkness. Our plan was meticulously laid out—enter through the secret passage Silas had learned about at the Rose Petal, liberate Avery's operatives, and escape without drawing the attention of the entire garrison stationed at the mansion.
“The entrance is just beyond that old willow tree,” Silas whispered, pointing to a gnarled silhouette against the night sky. “There's a hidden door masked by the roots that leads straight to the cellars beneath the mansion.”
Ronan nodded. With a hand resting on the hilt of his sword, he scanned the perimeter for any sign of guards. I clutched a small dagger hidden up my sleeve, my senses heightened to any sound.
We moved stealthily with barely the rustle of leaves underfoot. As we neared the willow, Ronan paused and held up a hand to signal a halt. Seconds later, two guards appeared from around the corner, laughing quietly and completely oblivious to the intruders in their midst.
“Wait for them to pass,” Ronan murmured.
But as we waited, one guard paused and tilted his head as if catching an unusual sound. My heart pounded in my ears and I tightened the grip on my dagger. The guards moved closer to where we crouched. Confrontation seemed inevitable.
Silas motioned subtly, then swiftly stepped from the shadows with his blade already drawn, the metal shimmering under the moonlight. Before the nearest guard could react, Silas struck him down silently and efficiently. Ronan sprang into action against the second guard, his movements a blur as he engaged in a brief, fierce scuffle that ended with the guard unconscious on the ground.
“Quick, this way!” Silas led us to the hidden door nestled among the willow’s roots. When he pushed against the wood, it gave way with a soft creak to reveal a narrow tunnel that led down into darkness.
We descended into the dank, musty air of the tunnel. The walls were damp and a thin layer of water on the packed dirt floor announced every footstep. The passage was barely wide enough for us to walk upright without brushing against the cold, wet stone.
After what felt like an eternity, we reached the end of the tunnel and emerged into the mansion’s dimly lit cellar. Within seconds, our eyes adjusted to the dim light and we looked around, familiarizing ourselves with the layout and the direction we needed to take.
Silas had memorized the path and confidently led us through a labyrinth of corridors beneath the mansion. We knew we’d reached the dungeon area when we smelled mold and heard faint, distant groans.
Two guards stationed outside the cell block stood abruptly when we approached with our weapons drawn. Ronan charged forward without hesitation, clashing swords with the first guard.Silas tackled the other, his experience as a Crimson Clan warrior evident in his precise, brutal fighting style.
I stayed back and scanned the area for additional threats, my heart pounding with the adrenaline of the fight. After incapacitating the guards, Ronan quickly searched for keys, finding them in the first guard’s pocket.
We darted down the corridor and began our search cell by cell for the two women. When we reached a fork, Ronan and I turned left and Silas turned right. We saw rows of ragged, hungry men who begged us to free them. When one of them reached out to grab my pant leg, I shrieked.
Ronan hurried to my side and removed the man’s hand from my body. “Stay near me.” Gripping my hand tightly, we continued our search.
Suddenly, we heard Silas yell, “They’re here!”
We hurriedly retraced our steps to the right fork and found him six cells down. We peered inside the dank cell and saw two women—one with the striking features reminiscent of Keldara and another who bore crimson eyes, a tell-tale sign of the Crimson Clan. They looked up warily, but hope glimmered in their eyes.
