Page 29 of The Rose in the Shadows

Iris was a spy. She’d explained the details as she’d helped me dress in plain clothing and changed into a simpler ensemble herself. Her voice had gotten more serious than I’d ever heard it before as she told the stories of the criminal enterprises she’d infiltrated within Athenia and across the world. I would have never pictured my light-hearted friend doing such serious, deadly work, but as she spoke, I realized this version of her was not one I’d met before.

Turns out Clayton Vail wasn’t the only one to don a mask from time to time.

She pointed me to the mirror, and her magic washed over me in a cloud, smelling like chamomile and basil. And what it touched, itchanged.Long blonde hair darkened to the deepest shade of raven. Pale skin tanned. Thick lips thinned. The Mark on my chest slowly faded.

I stared at the unblemished skin of my collarbone, feeling oddly… on edge without that Mark.

“It won’t last for long,” she told me. “But it will keep you disguised while we do this. It’s unlikely you’d be recognized, but the last thing we need is the Dragon knowing you’re in town questioning people.”

“Or that you’re helping me.”

Her appearance changed into that of a smaller brunette woman.

“Come,” she commanded, and she guided me to the windows. “We’ll need to climb out. There’s a small ledge outside your windows. Enough that you’ll just be able to walk on the balls of your feet. Move surely, but take your time. Not far from your window is a terrace on the floor below. It’s attached to another suite that is thankfully empty right now. I’ll get us into that suite, and from there, we should be able to walk through the palace and then into the village.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I’m always aware of my surroundings.” She shrugged.

I frowned. I had always considered myself observant, but perhaps not.

Waves of nerves filled me in a steady rhythm as she opened the window and let in a blast of frosty evening air. She didn’t stop to ask me if I was sure about this or ready. She simply tossed her legs out, one at a time, and disappeared.

No time for second-guessing,I told myself as I followed her lead.

She hadn’t been kidding about that ledge being narrow. It was barely wide enough for me to fit onto it, even when I stood on just my toes. I grasped desperately to the edge of my window as I found my footing. I knew I needed to move, and quickly before someone below saw me, but the only handholds available were the small cracks between the stones of the palace exterior. And though I knew it was a bad idea, I couldn’t stop myself fromlooking down over the twenty-foot fall to the ground. A single glance was enough for me to regret this entire plan.

What was I thinking?

I wasn’t a spy like Iris or an accomplished military general like Kent or Rankor. I wasbarelya Descendant at all. Truth be told, I was a miserable excuse for a royal who couldn’t even call up my own powers. What hope did I have of scaling the side of a castle and living to tell the tale?

“Focus, Thea!” Iris hissed, already on the terrace below. By the Gods, how did she do that so quickly? “Stop looking down. Just breathe and inch along. You’re going to be fine.”

It was hard to trust that I was going to be fine when my muscles had locked, and dizziness was settling over me. As a gust of wind blew past me, my fingers clutched the windowsill tighter, so tight that I felt the tips of my nails begin to crack under the pressure.

“Breathe!” Iris reminded me in a stressed whisper.

I forced myself to inhale, bracing against another draft of wind. The air itself was frigid, but I hardly noticed as I focused on loosening my grasp on the window. I exhaled and moved my right hand to clasp onto one of the cracks between the stones. I inhaled and moved my right foot an inch down the ledge. I exhaled and moved my left hand. I inhaled and moved my left foot.

Exhale. Move. Inhale. Move.

“Keep going,” Iris coaxed. “You’re doing a great job.”

Exhale. Move. Inhale. Move.

The process was slow-moving, but eventually, I was able to inch myself along the wall far enough to jump the small distance to the terrace down below. I jolted from the jarring impact, releasing very un-ladylike curses under my breath as I stumbled onto my knees.

“I sure hope your plan for getting back into the castle is easier than this,” I muttered as I accepted the hand Iris offered down to help me.

She only giggled, pulled a pin from her hair, and set about picking the locks. In only a moment’s time, the lock clicked into place, and she pushed the door open with a self-satisfied grin. Gods, how in all of creation did she do that so quickly?

Iris gripped my hand and pulled me through the room so quickly I hardly noticed my own surroundings. By the time we exited into the halls of the East Wing of the castle, most of the court was already winding down and heading to bed for tonight. With Iris’ magic disguising us, no one bothered to pay us much mind as we walked casually through the halls and right out the front door of the palace.

While the Lords and Ladies of Court may have been winding down for the evening, the village outside still sparked with life. The sun had already set, but a small market still lined the dirt streets through the houses as farmers and artisans sought to barter off the last of their goods for the day. People interacted happily with each other, swapping stories and gossip while a band at the far end of the market played. Iris remained focused as we walked, scanning over the area with a calculating expression. As two children ran past us, tossing a small ball between them, I stepped closer to her.

“We don’t have long,” she reminded me. “We can’t risk Dimitri or one of your ladies noticing you’re missing.”

“I don’t have much of a plan.”

---