Page 64 of Lost with a Scot
Aiden, still feigning a smile, clapped the nearest guard on the shoulder. “That’s good news indeed.” He didn’t know who this Captain Fain was, but he planned to kill the man.
As he and Charles walked away to find the dungeons, Charles asked him what had put the guards in such a good mood.
“The prince surrendered a few days ago, and the rebellion’s collapsing. He’s in the dungeons. My guess is the dungeons will be this way if I know anything about castles. They plan to kill Alexei tomorrow... and Anna is to marry someone named Captain Fain.”
“Oh...” Charles’s eyes narrowed. “Those louts weren’t very intelligent, were they? I wonder why Anna’s uncle hired such idiots?”
Aiden shrugged. “Often brute strength doesna need intelligence. As long as a man has an army of mean-spirited men, they don’t have to be smart as long as they can fight. I double these men are real soldiers either, but instead locals recruited to handle security. I imagine some of these men were desperate enough to join to feed their families, and the rest simply like to stir up trouble.”
“Ah.” Charles nodded. “Of course Yuri would send his seasoned soldiers out into the forest to hunt down Prince Alexei.”
After a short while of casually searching the castle, they found the staircase that led into the dungeons behind a tall, faded tapestry. They slipped behind the fabric and then crept down the stairs. Aiden’s breath quickened as he prepared to meet dozens of guards who would be watching over the prince. They’d no doubt have to fight their way out.
But there weren’t any guards. The row of cells was empty except for one at the far end. A young man sat on the floor with his back to the wall. Torchlight illuminated his face as he glanced at them. When he saw their military uniforms, he pushed himself up to stand and face them, raising his chin proudly. Aiden’s heart stuttered as he reached the cell and saw that Prince Alexei and Anna were truly siblings. The young man was so similar to her in his features that Aiden’s chest clenched with fresh heartache.
“Prince Alexei?” Aiden whispered the name carefully.
The young man’s gaze was wary. “What do you want?” he growled, clearly thinking they were Yuri’s men.
“My name is Aiden Kincade. Anna sent me.”
Alexei still looked suspicious. “Anna? How do you know my sister?”
Aiden slipped into English, letting his Scottish accent roll. “Her ship wrecked, and she washed up on the shores of Scotland. I was the one who found her. My friends and I have come to rescue ye both.”
“You must save Anna, not me. Go before they find you down here,” Alexei warned.
“Not without ye.” Aiden approached the cell, studying it for a way to open the door. “Who has the keys?”
A cold voice echoed from the end of the hallway. “I’m afraid I have them.”
“Fain, you bastard!” Alexei cursed at a man who stood at the base of the stairs leading out of the dungeons. The man held a pistol, and behind him a dozen guards moved to block Charles and Aiden’s way out.
“Who are your friends, Alexei?” the man called Fain asked in English. He’d clearly overheard Aiden’s words.
“They aren’t friends. Just drunk fools who wanted to see a prince behind bars. Take them away and throw them out of the castle,” Alexei growled.
Fain’s laugh was even colder than his voice as he and his guards now filled the aisle between the cells, pinning Charles and Aiden against the dead end of the dungeon.
“Well, in that case, they can share your appointment with an ax tomorrow.” Fain gestured to one of his guards, who took the keys Fain held out and unlocked the cell door opposite the prince.
“Get inside,” Fain commanded. “Or I’ll shoot you where you stand and the prince can watch you bleed out for the rest of the day.”
Charles shot Aiden a look asking a silent question:Do we fight?
Aiden shook his head in a silent response:Not yet. There were too many of them and so little room to maneuver, no hope to fight them all.
Aiden stepped into the open cell, followed by Charles. The door clanged shut, and a guard locked them in. Only when they were safely behind bars did Fain approach them, curious.
“You are not Ruritanian...”
“Oh, this one’s clever,” Charles snorted.
Fain’s eyes snapped to him with deadly rage. “English... interesting. I wonder how you got here?”
“We took a wrong turn at Copenhagen,” said Charles.
Fain was not amused. “Perhaps torture will loosen that tongue of yours.”
