Page 41 of A Court of Truth and Thorns
Wrapping myself in darkness,I stick to the woods as I make my way to the palace and slip underground through one of the catacomb exits. Between the night’s natural dimness, my own summoned shadow and training, and my extensive familiarity with all the passageways, avoiding the night-shift guards is easy enough.
Finding Leaf is another matter. The knowledge that she is somewhere within these walls burns like acid in my veins.Where? Where? Where?The question rings in my mind as I slide along the dark corridors, the palace a sleeping ghost of its once-vibrant self. Scant yellow light bleeds from the occasional candle set into the wall, and the distant echoes of closing doors and feet scraping on stone are all the more deafening for being rare. I check our old rooms, the servants’ hall, the privy, my blood rushing faster each time I come up emptyhanded.
Finally, the only place left to try is also one of the few guarded rooms in the whole palace—Princess Violet’s suite. A lantern outside her door lights the approach, illuminating the two wide-awake men standing vigil.
Bracing myself, I slide into shadow, tucking my body into acorner just away from Violet’s door. A throwing knife slides into my palm, my heart thumping hard. Taking long, slow breaths, I memorize the guards’ exact positions. A moment of surprise is all I’ll have before they move, and I’ll be as blind as they are. Another breath and my body coils, preparing to spring.
Now.
I lash out with my shadow, flooding the several paces between the guards and me with darkness. Sprinting forward, I pull the noise in toward me as well. Black silence descends on us like a shawl. I keep moving, keep dancing the steps I planned back in my corner.
My left hand finds the first guard’s hair. I grab, aim with my mind, and strike the hilt of the dagger into the man’s temple.
He falls, his weight crushing me before I slither to the side. His unconscious body makes no noise as it strikes the ground.
My head pulses. I spin toward where the other guard should be and feel the slight shift of air that betrays motion. I’m blind. Deaf. I know neither whether my opponent has drawn his blade, nor whether he is plunging it toward me this very heartbeat.
I crouch low to the ground. Straightening my leg, I sweep it around me in a circle. My ankle connects with a shin but the angle is wrong, and my prey fails to budge. But now we both know where the other is. My breath leaps away as a heavy boot strikes my belly. I grit my teeth and lunge at where the kicker’s legs must be.
My arms clamp around the man’s knees, my shoulder pressing into his thigh. I pivot to the side and tighten my arms, collapsing his legs altogether. A shove of my shoulder has the man falling to the side with a thud that I feel but don’t hear. I follow him down, scrambling along his body toward his head. Ifeel the sharp, shallow bite of his sword along my ribs before the hilt of my dagger connects with his temple. The body stills.
Rising to my feet, I feel for the round metal bulge of the door handle. Grab it. Twist. Push. The door gives.
Falling through, I spin and shut the deadlock behind me just as my hold on sound slips away. Bracing my back against the door, I survey the receiving room. A small fire burns with bright embers, smoothing the edge of the night’s light chill. A small breakfast table. A settee. Several chairs. Drawn curtains. Clean. Perfect. Impersonal. A room that should belong to a palace guest, not a fourteen-year-old princess.
Moving silently through the suite, I find the door to the bedchamber and edge it open.
The light from a dying fire creeps into the royal bedroom. A girl sleeps in a large bed, the sounds of her breathing eerily familiar. I take a step forward, suddenly afraid that I’m wrong.
I’m not wrong, though. ItisLeaf, her mouth slightly open, her hair falling onto the pillow like always. My wonderful, dear Leaf. Breath halting, I fall to my knees beside her, not caring where Violet might be. “Leaf.” I shake her shoulder gently. “Leaf, wake up.”
Her eyes pop open. My finger comes to my lips but I’d be unable to speak even if I wanted to. My heart races, my eyes stinging as if on fire. I swallow. She sits up like a ghost and slips her arms around me, her face buried in my shoulder.
“How?” she whispers finally. “Are you real?”
My words catch in my throat. I throw my arms around my sister and crush her to my chest. So small and frail and perfect. I repeat her name over and over, assuring myself that she is not a mirage. Assuring her that neither am I.
It’s an effort to pull myself together a few heartbeats later. “Come on,” I whisper. “Let’s get you out of here.”
She pulls away and swipes her forearm across her eyes.Her gaze darts to the other side of the bed. “Where is Violet?” A flicker of panic. “Violet? Violet!”
I clamp a hand over Leaf’s mouth. “Are you mad?”
Leaf shakes me off and slides to the floor. “We need to take Violet with us. She was here. I’m only in her bed to keep her company.”
I let out a slow breath. There is no time for this. Each moment we talk puts Leaf in greater danger. “Leaf, Violet isn’t a friend.”
“She is confused and overwhelmed and lonely,” says Leaf. “We can’t just leave her. She’s been through too much already.”
A chill runs through my blood. Both at Leaf’s innocence and my own cruel knowledge. Raza had been through a great deal as well. Right before she took a stim crystal to me and brushed her hair while my nerves frayed in agony.
I find Leaf’s eyes. “We can’t trust Violet. She’ll betray us all. I think she may have already.” My voice steadies, a calm, unwavering tone. “We need to leave. Now. Put on your shoes and follow me.”
Leaf fumbles for her boots. “Who is ‘us all’?” she asks quietly.
My stomach churns. I’ve been with friends while she suffered alone. I’d hoped to have time to explain, but we must hurry. “Prince Wil, Rune, er... Trace. Some others. We freed all of Bahir’s whisperers. Hundreds of people he’s kept enslaved in the abbey.” I pause, studying her face, her eyes wide with shock, her hands covering parted lips. I swallow. “I was going to have us join them, but we don’t have to, Leaf. We can go anywhere you want. I don’t care where, so long as it’s with you.”
She pulls away from me. “What have you done?” Her eyes are wide. Terrified.
