Page 72 of The Jester

I recognise Briony at once and rush to her side. She embraces me tightly, and I feel like she simply isn’t going to let go of me. When she does, I see more faces. Some of them I recognise. Some I don’t. All are clearly Shadowkind, dressed in uniform that shows they work in some capacity for Eldrion.

“What is she doing here?” someone hisses loudly.

Briony shakes her head. “I don’t know. Wait for Finn. I can hear him.”

A moment later, Finn drops to the ground and immediately whips off his mask. Throwing it to the floor, he claps his hands. “It’s time,” he says enigmatically.

When the others exchange worried glances, I take his elbow and gesture to our surroundings. “What is this place, Finn?”

Finn inhales deeply, then puts his hands on my forearms and looks down into my eyes. His are warm and dark, and for the longest moment I just stare into them wishing we could go back to that night in the forest. Wishing he’d told me what he was doing there. Wishing he’d asked me to run away with him because I would have, in a heartbeat, even though we didn’t know each other then.

“It’s our way out.” His answer hangs in the air. The silence swells.

“We always knew we wouldn’t be able to escape Eldrion quickly. With some unplanned, hurried attack on the castle. He has spies even within the Shadowkind. Not all of us can be trusted.”

My stomach tenses. “Who would want to be a spy for him?”

Interjecting, Briony says, “He blackmails, uses people’s families against them. He’s clever, and cruel, and not all of us are strong enough to withstand what he dishes out.”

The others nod in agreement, and Finn continues, “So, we played the long game. Yarrow’s father started it.” He gestures to a tall, grey-bearded guard who is standing with his arms folded in front of his chest. “And Yarrow is the only one left now of the original rebels. We are all second generation.”

“Rebels?” I almost laugh, even though it’s not funny. Then realise it’s a spark of hope that has ignited my laughter.

While Yarrow stares at me unblinkingly, Finn nods. “This tunnel,” he says, “leads to another, and another. A rabbit warren of them. All exiting in different places beyond the citadel.”

“They go under the ocean?”

“Deep under,” he replies. “The rebels have spent two hundred years digging these tunnels, Alana. Bit by bit, every night, in snippets of time, we have made our escape route. They have been ready for years, but we have been waiting for the right moment.”

“It has been a long wait,” Briony sighs.

“But with your magic, Alana, we finally have it.”

“My magic?”

In a gruff timbre, Yarrow barks, “Briony says you have water magic?” He glances at my wrists. “Yet you are not cuffed like the others.”

“Eldrion doesn’t know.” I look down at my hands. “I didn’t even know until tonight.”

“Show us.” Yarrow nods at my hands. “I want to see for myself. We’ve waited too long to take risks.”

Grasping my hands, Finn says, “Will you?”

My brow furrows with worry. “I haven’t had a chance to hone or practice my magic. I don’t know...”

“You don’t need to practice, Alana. You have Kayan’s magic. It is as established in you as it was in him.” He clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck. “At least, from what I’ve seen, that’s my guess.”

I start to blush but then someone at the back reminds us we don’t have much time before sunrise, so I close my eyes, focus on the scent of the damp soil beneath my feet, and stretch out my hands. Slowly, droplets of water start to filter up into the air.

Yarrow’s eyes widen. A few others gasp and step back. The ground shakes a little, but I take a long, slow breath and urge the water beneath to be still. Then, in honour of Kayan, I form three pointed blades of ice, spin around, and throw them at the bottom step below the trapdoor.

They are so sharp, they pierce the wood, and make a thwack, thwack sound as they make contact.

There is a moment where no one speaks, and then Briony starts to clap. Yarrow joins in. So do the others. “Do you know what this means?” Yarrow asks, clapping Finn on the shoulder.

“It means this time tomorrow, we’ll be free.” Finn grins back at him, and they fall into a brotherly embrace. When he turns back to me, he says, “It’s now or never, Alana. We have to take this chance while we have it. Before Eldrion realises you have magic.”

I walk slowly over to the steps and tug on one of the shards. I pull it free and turn it over in my hand, watching the ice start to melt when it makes contact with my skin. Turning back, I fold my arms in front of my stomach. “All right. I’m in – on one condition.”

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