Page 103 of Oath of Rebellion

Ashur slipped in first, then opened the door wider. There was a small room with seven guards sleeping around a card table. The mechanical fireflies flew down a hall, and Knox followed them carefully.

Cells lined both sides of the hallway, many filled with too many people. Ashur brought the keys from the guard and unlocked the doors while Will stood guard. Knox strode down the hall, peering into each cell to find Scarlet.

The stench of unwashed bodies made his stomach churn. He wanted to vomit, but he had to find Scarlet. Only one more cell remained. He looked through the small square window bars on the wooden door.

"Red," he whispered, barely heard over the hushed shuffling of feet behind him as the others led the freed prisoners out.

A wave of dizziness washed over him. He'd found her. Chained to the wall, dirty and beaten, but alive.

Ashur opened the door, and she lifted her head. Her arms were in chains attached to the wall above her head. She wobbled as she rose to her feet, blinking furiously.

Her red hair was matted to one side of her head, and her shirt was ripped down one shoulder, hanging loosely. "Knox?" she whispered.

He nodded, his chest tight with emotion. "What are you doing hanging around? Let's get you out of here, Red."

She snorted a laugh that ended with a sob as Ashur unlocked the metal at her wrists. "Don't fucking call me that," she cried, hitting him on the arm weakly.

She fell into his arms, and he pulled her into a hug. "Sh, it's alright. You're going to be alright. Are you ready? Can you walk?"

She nodded, trying to compose herself even as tears continued to stream down her face. Ashur led them down the hall back the way they'd come. Will kept watch over the guards until they were all out, then he followed Ashur. Knox and Scarlet were the last ones out, following Will as they left the guards behind.

In the cellar, Ashur stood at the bottom of the stairs to the kitchens with a frown. He waved them quickly, holding his finger to his lips then pointing above.

Knox' adrenaline pumped at the worried look on his face, and he nodded. Scarlet's legs gave out, and she stumbled. Knox picked her up, and Ashur closed the wooden door to the tunnel behind them, careful to be as quiet as possible.

Knox strode a few feet and turned at the first corner, but the tunnel was crowded with escaping prisoners. There was nowhere to go. The crowd had come to a halt as they had to go up the ladder one by one.

The wooden door behind them banged open. The prisoners cowered and whimpered. Scarlet gasped, and Ashur swung around, his stance wide and hands held out ready to attack.

Chapter 37

EIRWYN BLINKED AWAKE to a steady beeping noise. Her stomach rolled, and she felt like she might be sick. She turned on her side and looked around. She was inside some kind of glass case.

She pressed on it, grunting as she tried to lift it. She knocked, then paused before banging on it with a fist.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

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