Page 60 of To Steal the Sun

Charlotte surveyed the group, pointing at one man and then another. “You and you.” She turned to Henry. “What do you think? I think they’re the closest matches we’ve got.”

He narrowed his eyes, examining the two men before agreeing.

“How do you feel about playing guards for a little?” Charlotte asked them.

The two looked to the count, who redirected their attention to Charlotte.

“The door down to this level had two guards when we arrived,” Henry explained. “We…removed them. You’ll find them tied up in a room just upstairs. You’ll need to strip them and use their uniforms. Here’s one of their swords.” He handed the weapon over. “We’ll retrieve the other one from Easton.”

“The queen will likely use the main entrance,” the count said. ”But if she does appear, just keep your heads bowed in respect and attempt not to say anything. Hopefully no one will notice you’re not who you’re supposed to be.”

Charlotte handed the master key to the count’s son. “You go with them. The guards are locked away. Once they have the uniforms, lock them up again and bring the key back down. We’ll need it here.”

The three men moved off, a couple of others following to assist them.

“Won’t the queen notice something is wrong when she opens the door and the room inside is deserted?” Charlotte asked.

“That’s why I need to be in there,” Emmett said, rejoining the conversation.

“Absolutely not,” his father said instantly, and the boy rolled his eyes.

“I’m not a baby, Father. And obviously you’ll need to be with me. But look at me! I’m a child, and also—” He gestured at his leg. “Do I look like a threat? I’ll be in the first room, lying down without my crutches. The queen will send some guards in first to make sure no one tries what we did earlier, so when I see them, I’ll start crying and wailing, saying I’ve been abandoned and the others are all hiding in the back rooms. But the moment the queen comes inside herself—all the way inside—Father will leap up and grab me and sprint us straight out of the room. The rest of you can be ready to shut the door the second we’re out.” He beamed around at them. “And if I get a chance on the way out, I’ll snatch the key right out of her hand.”

“I can see some things that could go wrong with that,” Henry said through the side of his mouth.

Charlotte winced in agreement. But the idea did have some merits. It was true that no one else among them could possibly be as disarming and non-threatening in appearance as Emmett.

“What if it’s not just his father hidden in there with him?” she suggested.

Henry gazed at the amassed rebels. “Some of you are courtiers,” he said. “Do any of you have experience fighting with a blade, preferably of disarming a bladed opponent without a blade yourself?”

Four men shouldered their way through the crowd to stand before them. One had a roughly bandaged left arm, and another had a gash along one cheek.

“We can do it,” one of them said.

“And would welcome a chance,” added another in a low growl.

“We wouldn’t have been taken so easily back there,” the first added, “if they hadn’t gotten a knife to the boy’s throat.”

Emmett looked down at the ground, reminding Charlotte of what she had overheard the evening before. He wasn’t supposed to have been in the apartment at all. No wonder he was desperate to have a part in making up for his mistake. Charlotte could relate to the feeling.

“It’s fairly dark in there,” she said. “We should be able to conceal all five of you in there with him. You can be ready to burst out and fight your way out if necessary. The queen’s not going to send her entire guard force in ahead of her.”

The count tried to protest, but surprisingly it was his son who restrained him. “We have to let him do this,” he said quietly in his father’s ear. “If he walks away from this feeling like he was weak and helpless and at fault, it might destroy the rest of his life. He already has enough battles of that kind to fight.”

Both men glanced at the boy’s missing leg.

Charlotte watched them, impressed. She hadn’t expected so much insight from the count’s son. It was reassuring, though, after his actions earlier in his life. Maybe he really could prove a support to Gwen in the future.

Once the plan had been decided on, it didn’t take long to get everyone organized. Gwen and Easton led the captive servants away, taking them out through the back door that was now guarded by their own people in disguise.

Some of the rebels went with them to hide on the next level up and wait, splitting their forces. There were only so many people who could be helpful in a single corridor.

Once Emmett and his various protectors were hidden inside, the rest of them crowded through the next door down, hiding themselves out of sight from the corridor. Once the queen arrived, they would have to move fast.

It seemed like they’d hardly settled out of sight before Charlotte heard marching boots, and someone hissed, “She’s here!”

CHARLOTTE

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