Page 43 of To Steal the Sun

If only she could burrow straight through the walls. She wouldn’t have to break through very many before she reached the room holding Henry. Unfortunately, even in her bear form, solid stone walls presented a problem.

It would be easier to walk straight through his door. But Celandine was the only one with a key.

Or was she? Gwen sat up straighter. Her mother had specifically told her that she had changed Gwen’s lock while Gwen was gone. But surely she hadn’t changed every lock in the palace. Henry’s door could probably be opened with a master key, and Gwen knew from experience that copies of that could be obtained if you had the right access.

She stood. The guards were all busy doing exercises all day, leaving their barracks deserted. She smiled. Perfect.

Both the head housekeeper and the captain of the guard had a copy of the master key, and both had a healthy fear of doing anything that might bring them negative attention from Queen Celandine. They had long ago made an arrangement to keep a spare copy of the key hidden in case either of them ever lost theirs and needed to replace it quickly. Easton had been the one to discover this fact and steal the spare fourteen years ago. The captain had assumed the housekeeper had needed it and promptly had it replaced. There was every likelihood the replacement—or another subsequent version—was still in the same place.

She walked through the palace as if she belonged there, aware that hurrying would only attract attention. And she had walked the corridors aimlessly so many times that no one she encountered spared her a second look.

Her heart was still pounding when she reached the barracks, however. They were connected to the main palace by a single door, and once she had passed it, she would have no excuse for her presence.

Lingering would only increase the risk, though, so she pushed inside. Her gaze darted around the room, and she expelled her held breath. It was empty just as she’d hoped.

She hurried through the communal room and past doors leading to smaller bunk rooms, only stopping when she reached the captain’s office. Standing on tiptoes, she sighed with relief when she found the key to the room still hidden above the doorframe. The encircling mountains that trapped them away from the other kingdoms also protected them from serious threats, making it difficult for the guard force to remain vigilant for decades on end.

She let herself in and raced to his desk, her fingers fumbling as she used the same key to unlock the third drawer on the right. She pushed aside some papers and finally caught sight of it. The key.

She stuffed it in her pocket, pushing the door closed and running out again, moving even more quickly than on her way in. She flew past the bunks and out again into the main palace. She didn’t stop until she was several corridors away, the key seeming to burn in her pocket.

Gwen stopped and rested her back on the cool stone wall, sucking in lungfuls of air. The key wasn’t really hot, and it didn’t blaze with light to attract the attention of anyone who saw her. There was nothing to indicate its presence in her pocket.

Even so, she didn’t have the nerves for any more waiting. She would go straight to Henry.

She retraced her steps, seeming to reach Henry’s door much more quickly than she had managed the route in the other direction. She almost missed the lock on her first try, but eventually the key slid in and turned with a satisfying clunk.

She didn’t make the mistake of rushing straight in, though. Opening the door only a crack, she put her mouth against it and whispered into the room, “It’s Gwen! Don’t attack!”

Only then did she push the door the rest of the way open and step warily inside, looking for candlesticks despite her warning.

Henry stood several steps away, his arms crossed and his shoulders tense. At least he made no move to attack her.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I wouldn’t dare attack anyone. Not when the queen might have Charlotte in her clutches.”

Gwen shut the door behind her, her eyes softening. “Don’t worry,” she said hurriedly. “She got away. If you’ve seen guards running laps outside or sparring endlessly all day, that’s punishment for letting her slip past them.”

Henry staggered back, sinking into a chair and covering his face. “Oh, thank goodness,” he murmured.

“I’m sorry I didn’t manage to come to you sooner,” Gwen said. “It was a risk, so I didn’t…But I should have…”

Henry looked up, the momentary weakness of his relief already passed. “So why are you here now if not to reassure me? Has something happened? Do you need me to do something? Charlotte made me promise to listen to whatever you said and help you.”

Gwen felt another surge of gratitude for her friend’s trust.

“I think Charlotte must be coming back,” she said, making Henry’s eyes brighten and then dim again.

“She shouldn’t risk that,” he said harshly.

Gwen grimaced. “I’m afraid she didn’t discuss it with me, so I didn’t have an opportunity to talk her out of it. But the queen had you drugged last time Charlotte made a deal to spend the night with you, and now she’s given the order for you to be drugged again.”

“Drugged?” Henry’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what happened? I woke up to Charlotte at my side, but we didn’t have time for her to explain anything. I’ve been utterly confused as to what happened.”

“She was with you all night,” Gwen said softly. “But you were drugged so she couldn’t have woken you.”

Gwen turned away from the expression on Henry’s face, feeling as if she were intruding on his private emotions.

“She lay at my side all night?”

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