Page 10 of Cinder's Trial

His brow creased as he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I tried to push up from him but could only do so by touching his wide body and seating myself—AKA straddling his groin. I glanced over to see the prince braced in a corner, looking somewhat pale, and even better, I saw no blood.

“Are you injured?” I asked.

“Nope. Surprisingly fine. That was quite thrilling,” the prince replied, straightening himself.

“I wonder what happened,” I mused aloud. Elevators didn’t suddenly fail without cause, and I knew we’d had ours recently serviced.

“Mind getting off me?” Levi grumbled. A reminder I still sat on him, and apparently a certain part of his body noticed.

The feel of his burgeoning erection under my backside had me scrambling to stand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to squash. Did I hurt you?”

“I’m fine. But I think we should get out of this coffin.” Levi vaulted to his feet and slapped the open button. The doors, partially creased from impact, didn’t budge.

“Try the emergency phone.” I pointed to the red receiver.

The prince grabbed it and put it to his ear before shaking his head. “It’s dead.”

My lips pursed. “Most likely someone’s noticed the elevator is out of commission. We just need to wait.”

Levi sniffed. “Anyone smell smoke?”

I’d opened my mouth to say no when the odor hit me. “Something’s burning.”

An already grim Levi turned stonier. “We need to get out of here.”

“Great idea, but how since the doors are stuck?” I pointed out the obvious.

“The hatch should still be accessible. We can climb out through there.” Levi glanced overhead, and I saw the rectangular cutout in the ceiling of the cab.

“I’ll go,” Killian offered. “Give me a boost.”

Levi shot it down. “You can’t go first. If this was an attempt on your life, then there might be someone waiting in the shaft to finish you off. I’ll go.”

“If you go, then who protects the prince?” I pointed out.

“Protect him from what?” Levi glanced around with exaggeration.

“From whatever is trying to chew its way through the floor. Don’t tell me you can’t hear that?” I pointed to my feet.

The munching noise had taken me a moment to place before I realized it reminded me of my mice when we moved into the new place and they munched themselves new entrances in the walls for the homes they created.

“Fuck me,” Levi muttered.

“You’re not my type,” Killian quipped, causing me to bite my lip because Levi’s expression promised murder.

I poked the big Knight in the chest. “Stop glaring daggers at the prince and give me a boost.”

“What?” He glanced down at me.

“You can’t go, the prince can’t go, but I can.” I pointed upward. “Give me a boost, and I’ll see if anything’s waiting up there.”

“It’s too dangerous.” Levi refused with a vigorous shake of his head.

“So is staying here.” I then coughed, even though the smoke wasn’t yet that bad. “And might I remind you that, as an agent, I am trained to handle danger.” I didn’t mention the fact that, while I had the training, I’d never really had to employ it, given I sat behind a desk.

“Take this.” Levi pulled a dagger from a sheath and slapped it into my hand.

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