Page 28 of Storm of Desire
Well, now he owed her one himself. If he'd kept his mouth shut, then she'd never be in thispredicament.
She was finally going to see her brother again, after all theseyears.
But first, she needed to track down a certain husband of hers and get this bloody manacle off her wrist so she couldfly.
* * *
In for a penny,in for apound...
If she was going to betray her mother, then she might as well do some good while she was atit.
With the manacle still locked around her wrist, Árdís had little choice but to make her way to the lower levels of the court, using the passages the servantdreklingused. There was a portal down here, available for thosedreklinglike Malin, who couldn't manage the shift todrekiform. One step through, and she'd be within walking distance to Reykjavik. Nobody from the higher echelons of the court would see her go—she'd be surprised if any of them even knew the portal existed—and the servants dared not rouse the wrath of thequeen.
Her heart hammered even as her boots slapped lightly against the rough, rock-hewn steps that tunneled down into the mountain. Haakon's bracelet made her vulnerable, but she couldn't remove it, so she might as well useit.
Nobody would expect her to flee in humanform.
And nobody would expect her to break prisoners out of the dungeon while she was atit.
She kept smelling the stink of burning flesh. Tomorrow night, they would burn thedrekling, Marek, on a bonfire for the sheer audacity in backing his prince. Árdís's heart beat fiercely. She didn't have time for this side excursion, but she knew she'd never be able to look herself in the mirror if she didn'ttryto do something to save him. And then there was Andri, her favorite cousin, who had been involved in Magnus's death. While she didn'tthinkStellan would kill him for his betrayal, there was a small part of her that wasn't entirelycertain.
Her footsteps slowed as she reached the dungeons. There were only two prisoners at the moment and so she hoped the guard detail waslight.
Her luck held. A swift glance around the corner of the hallway revealed a singledrekiguard slumped in a chair as he picked at hisfingernails.
Now or never. Her breath caught. If she was captured here, before she could even escape thecourt....
You can dothis.
Summoning every inch of hauteur, Árdís dipped her gloved hand into the leather pouch at her belt and withdrew a small glass vial. She'd been thinking of how to disarm the guard for the last hour, but Malin had been the one to provide her with the means. All she had to do was get close enough. Árdís strode out into the hallway as if she owned every right to bethere.
The guard noticed her instantly. A trickle of sweat dripped down her spine as she approached and he eased to his feet, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His gaze flickered behind her, and thenback.
"Are you going to apprehend me?" shemocked.
He blinked ather.
"The sword," she said. "Do you intend to draw it uponme?"
"No." He ripped his hand off thehilt.
"No?"
"Princess." A faint begrudgingnod.
Árdís stopped directly in front of him, arching a brow. He stared at her for a moment, then realized she intended for him to step out of theway.
"May Iask—"
"Am I not allowed to visit my cousin?" she demanded. Her mother had insisted she stay away from Andri, but what guard would know that? She vaguely recognized him as one of her mother's lickspittles. There were more than a fewdrekiwho'd joined the court only in recent years, outcast from their own clans, but welcomed by thequeen.
"The queen's orders, princess." His gaze turned flinty. "Nobody may enter without herpermission."
"Do youthinkI am here without her blessing?" Árdís laced her tone with pure petulant incredulity. She stepped right up to him, her gloved hand curling around her prize. "I'm her daughter. Her own blood. How dare you question myboundaries."
"I wastold—"
"To turn away the court heir?" shesneered.
