Page 69 of #Resort Love
“And the star with the double lines across from it?” I asked reluctantly.
Samian swallowed, tapping a finger against the table. “That’s your room.”
My mouth went dry. “You have direct access to these passageways and no one else knows about them?” The mistrust in my voice must have been strong because Samian stood, his shoulders tensing while the muscle in his jaw feathered. His eyes were colder than I had ever seen them.
“I know the past few days have been a lot for you, Sybil,” he said, his voice trembling slightly, like he was trying to control his anger. “But if you want to be a part of this, I need you to trust me. Or at least trust the fact that I’m going to get Ezra out of this palace, no matter what. However, if you can’tfind even just aminusculeamount of trust in me, then you’ll sit this one out. I will not allow you to jeopardize this. Understood?”
I held his stare, my stomach churning. Shame ripped through me, but I refused to look away, refused to back down. Samian had a point. He had done so much for me, had protected me when I needed it. I knew he had, even though it made me sick to acknowledge it.
Except for when it really mattered.
I exhaled, shoving the thought aside. It wasn’t his fault. Not really—not when he was forced to leave. If anything, it just showed how long Ambrose had been working on his plan to push me into this bargain. Ever since we first met, I realized. He offered me the bargain as soon as we met. Even then, Samian tried to protect me. The shame settled low, growing until it threatened to pull me under.
“Understood,” I breathed. He was right. We needed to focus on getting Ezra out. We could talk about this once Ezra was free and out of the palace.
We spentthe rest of the night planning and resting. I stayed with Aster in the medical wing while Samian disappeared for hours. He returned with a couple of heavy bags and then we waited for the next night to fall.
When it was time, we strapped the bags to our backs and made our way through the dark passageways from the medical wing. Sneaking out to the passageway opening was quick and easy, since most of the healers were in their rooms, sleeping.
Samian led the way while Aster followed behind me. Aster was to be the lookout once we left the passageway in thedungeon, while I focused on memorizing the routes in case there was ever a time I needed to use them again.
Once we reached the exit to the dungeon, we waited for the guards to pass. Samian stepped out first, the picture of a graceful warrior, ready for battle. He wore a set of black leathers that showed the powerful muscles hidden by his everyday clothes. It was hard not to stare while Samian peered down the dungeon hall, listening for the other guards. Signaling for me to follow, I stepped through the exit, looking back to Aster. Her face was hard as she nodded to Samian and me.
Samian and I quickly passed by the cells, careful with our steps so we wouldn’t alert the guards of our presence. We came up on Ezra’s cell and I kept my focus on Ezra, not wanting to see the cell opposite of his, not wanting to see if my blood still pooled on that stone floor.
Ezra came to the bars, leaning against the cold metal, and I gasped, rushing to him when I saw the fresh bruises and cuts along his face. Seeing me, Ezra smiled, relief washing through him.
“It’s about damn time,” Ezra growled, looking to Samian.
“I thought I told you to lay low,” Samian frowned, inspecting his wounds.
“Eh, they just wanted to get a last good beating after I made their lives hell during training,” Ezra chuckled, though he winced from the movement.
Samian unlocked the door, scoffing. The rusted hinges groaned when the door slowly opened, and we cringed at the sound. “Someone might have heard that,” he said, his voice edged. “We’ll need to take the long way back to the passage. Run fast but keep watch of where you step. No need to make any unnecessary noise.”
Ezra rumbled his agreement, pushing me between him andSamian. We ran through the dungeons, the halls twisting and turning. We passed a few prisoners, who pleaded for us to free them as well, but we kept going, ignoring the way they begged. Regret sliced through me at leaving them behind, but I knew we couldn’t risk it. We needed to get Ezra out of here.
Somewhere in the distance, the guards yelled at the prisoners, telling them to keep quiet. Behind me, Ezra muttered something about them, but I stopped listening when I noticed a bright light in one of the cells. Brighter than any of the dimly lit cells we passed. I slowed down as we passed it, my eyes connecting with the woman inside. Her cold, blue eyes were piercing, yet they looked so similar to my father’s and brother’s. Ezra swore, his voice sounding shocked, but he pushed me, urging me to keep moving forward.
We returned to the entrance of the hidden passageway. Aster’s grim face relaxed once she saw us with Ezra. She let out a sigh of relief, clucking her tongue at Ezra. She put a hand on his arm, sending her healing magic into him. I watched as the cuts stitched together, and the bruises faded away into nothing but unmarred skin.
Once he was healed, she removed her hand and Ezra gave her a wide smile, hauling her into his arms, hugging her tight. Aster swatted Ezra’s back, muttering all sorts of curses and the ways she was going to dispose of him if he didn’t let her go. I swallowed my laugh, while Ezra barked his and gently dropped Aster to her feet.
Aster straightened her ruffled clothes, still muttering those curses while Samian handed Ezra the bag Aster had carried. Ezra’s face grew tight when he faced Samian, though he took the bag. I glanced between them, noting the way Samian shook his head, as if to saynot now, later. I slid my bag onto my back and waited for Samian to put on his, though he avoidedlooking at me. He led us out of the passageway that brought us out into a field just outside Volmire. The field I ran to, I realized with a start, when I wanted to escape and return home.
I looked to Ezra just in time to see him drop his bag, quickly closing the distance to Samian, grabbing him by his jacket.
“What the fuck was that?” Ezra growled, baring his teeth at Samian.
“What was what, exactly?” Samian responded, keeping his face and voice calm, though tension crept through him.
“The fucking queen, Samian. What was the fucking queen doing in the dungeon?”
My eyes widened. Aster sucked in a breath, and Ezra pushed Samian away, his face pinched with anger.
Samian only sighed, his shoulders dipping. “We are still too close to the palace, still too close for prying ears to hear. We need to get into the forest quickly. Ask me again once we get to where we need to go.”
Ezra only sneered, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking past Samian to the dark forest. Aster, pale and silent, followed behind him.
