Page 45 of The Abandoned Princess

I considered pretending to be offended and decided it was safer to ignore the whole thing. Standing, I hurried toward the window, his chuckle chasing my cowardly retreat.

When I reached the window, I peered down at the ground below. The only reason we even had a chance was thanks to the warm spring nights. Given the lovely outside temperature, the king had decided to leave his window open for some fresh air, meaning there was no solid barrier blocking our way.

The guard was sitting staring fixedly at the window, so we wouldn’t have been able to open it. But given it was already open, he could stare at it forever and he wasn’t going to see our escape.

I looked back at Xander. “I think we can do it. We might break a bone or two, but we’ll be free. What do you say?”

He reached my side and peered over the windowsill. When he looked back at me, he was smiling.

“Who could say no to a proposition like that?”

CHAPTER 15

I glanced back at the guard and shivered at the unnerving sight of him staring straight at us with blank, unrecognizing eyes.

Xander followed my gaze. “He’s awake, so we won’t be able to use anything from the room. No ropes made of blankets this time.”

I looked dubiously at the distance to the ground and then around at the inn’s dark surroundings.

“Can you see Lori?” Xander leaned out the window to get a better look, and I instinctively grabbed him before he toppled out.

He looked back at me. “Don’t worry, I have excellent balance.”

I quickly let go, shaking my head.

“We could try calling to wake Lori up,” Xander suggested. “Maybe she has a handy pile of branches she can pull over.”

I snorted. “Good to know you’re taking the situation with utmost seriousness.”

“Naturally,” he said. “I’m always serious. It’s my most defining feature, constantly bemoaned by my siblings since childhood.”

I ignored him, still peering at the drop. “If only my hair had grown a bit faster. We really could have plaited it and used it as a rope.”

I sighed, realizing that standing around talking about it was only delaying the inevitable. “As long as we land on our feet and absorb the fall well, I think we can manage it without too much injury. I’ll go first.”

I didn’t mention how many times I’d calculated the best way to survive a fall from my tower.

“Absolutely not,” Xander said immediately. “I’ll go first and then catch you.”

“I’ll squish you!” I protested.

He grabbed the windowsill, pushing me sideways with his shoulder so he occupied the space alone. Pausing, he looked at me with a pleading expression. “I came all this way to rescue you, and I’ve been no use at all. Can’t you at least give me this?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, putting his boot on the windowsill between his hands and vaulting through.

I gasped, rushing forward. For a second I saw his fingers wrapped around the sill, his body presumably dangling down the side of the building. But by the time I reached the window, he had dropped.

I just caught his landing. He hit the ground feet first, moving immediately into a fluid drop. I watched admiringly as he allowed his momentum to carry him forward in a flip over his shoulders, the other side of his body slamming into the ground to dissipate the last of the landing force.

He sprang immediately back to his feet, turning to smile cheerfully up at me.

“Are you all right?” I called, although I could already see he was.

He spread his arms wide. “As you see. Now you just need to jump, and I’ll catch you.” He held his arms out encouragingly, but I eyed the distance between us uncertainly.

“Lower yourself out the window first,” he said. “If you dangle down at full length, you’ll take a lot of height off the drop. Add in how tall I am, and I won’t have any trouble catching you.”

I bit my lip, considering my options. I could insist on landing on my own, which would ensure I didn’t injure anyone but myself. But from his landing, Xander clearly knew what he was doing when it came to falls, and if I was honest, I had nothing but endless fantasizing to draw on.

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