Page 132 of Arrows and Gems
He opened his mouth. Helena jammed her free hand into her quiver, ready to simply hurl an arrow at him.
“Helena?” Marielle’s quiet voice came from the outer door. “Helena, are you in there?”
General Valentin turned, and Cap yanked. Helena stumbled backward, bracing herself to crash into the wall. But then he released her, and something solid knocked her over as the light vanished.
“Cap?” She waved her arms around, but all she found was a slab of wood surrounded by rough stone walls. “Cap!”
He’d thrown her into the secret passageway.
Running her hands over the bookcase, she searched frantically for the mechanism to open it. She could hear Cap and the General talking, but she was too focused on her task to listen. “Cap! Let me out!”
Her fingers found a lever, but it didn’t budge. The bookcase stayed stubbornly shut.
“Cap!” She pounded on the door with her fist. “Let me out of here! Raphael! Open the door!”
He didn’t answer her. Didn’t free her.
The infuriating man was protecting her again, and she couldn’t do a thing about it.
Banging her fist once more, she growled in fury and frustration. Then she set her hand on the wall and moved down the passage as quickly as she dared. There had to be another way out. She just needed to find it.
~
Helena found several more doors in the narrow stone passage, but she couldn’t open them either. Should she turn around? Maybe the other direction—
“Ow!” someone exclaimed as Helena bounced off an unexpected wall. “What in the heavens—”
“Daphne?” Helena blurted. “What are you doing?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” There was a note of wariness in the other princess’s voice. “I didn’t realize you were familiar with the secret passages in my castle.”
Ignoring the accusation, Helena reached out and grabbed her, hauling her toward Cap. Daphne resisted, and the faint whisper of a blade sent Helena skittering backward. She had seen the Amitian princess wield her daggers.
“I suggest you keep your hands to yourself,” Daphne warned. “Pardon my distrust, but you shouldn’t know these passages exist,andyou’re the General’s fiancée. That does not fill me with confidence.”
Helena growled in frustration. “Ugh, I should have simply dealt with Luther!” She blew a loose hair out of her face. “Cap shoved me in here, so now he’s alone in my suite with General Valentin. And I can’t open the blasted door!”
A hand grabbed Helena’s arm. “Le Capuchon?” Daphne echoed eagerly. “He’s here?”
“Yes. And he can’t fight the wind gryphon by himself!”
The princess took off down the hallway, dragging Helena after her. Helena scrambled to find her balance. “Before we get there, I should tell you,” she panted. “Le Capuchon is—”
“My brother?” Daphne replied, skidding to a stop.
“You knew? But—how?”
The faint jingle of metal preceded the beautiful sound of a lock scraping. “Best archer in the kingdom?” Even whispering, Daphne’s smile was evident. “That’s been Rafe for years.”
Nodding, Helena strained her ears to hear through the wall. Voices, the ring of metal, a rushing wind, anything. But it was silent.
Daphne slid through the opening like a ghost, her drawn daggers faintly reflecting the candlelight. Helena followed with an arrow nocked. Jogging lightly across the room, she edged through the open door, but the sitting room was empty.
Cap and General Valentin were gone.
CHAPTER 47
Rafe
