Page 106 of A Dance of Shadows

Bianca kneels down first. While she scoops up water onto her palm, I rub a little of the mineral off the wall into the flask I haven’t yet closed up. Once I’ve pressed the cork into place, I swirl the container to dissolve the white powder.

There are very few occasions when Idon’tthink we’d all be better off if Linus were a little calmer.

Bianca steps back, wiping her mouth. With a skeptical expression, Raul goes for a sip too.

The vicerine gazes off into the darkness beyond the lantern glow, her brow knitting. “All I see with much clarity is that the sights at the end of our diversion weren’t really worth all that tramping around in the dark.” Her mouth curves into a crooked smile. “But all the same, I’m glad I came along, in case it made the journey a little more pleasant for a friend.”

A pang of fondness I couldn’t have imagined I’d ever feel for the woman in front of me ripples through my chest. I give her arm a quick squeeze. “It did.”

Raul watches us, peering at Bianca as if he doesn’t quite recognize her. “A gallant sentiment,” he says in his mocking tone, but I think I catch a gleam of respect in his eyes.

He pauses as if searching his own head—or the shadows. His shoulders stiffen. “And it seems clear to me that we should hurry up and get back to the rest of our party before we lose track of them completely.”

My pulse stutters. He must be able to tell that the city folk digging out the cave-in have made significant progress.

How much more time do we have before they finish? I can’t ask him in front of Bianca.

It mustn’t be horribly urgent, because Raul sets a swift but not panicked pace back through the tunnels. We note my knife marks and spot the lantern marker gleaming in the distance in a matter of minutes.

The rest of the group has, of course, moved on from here. Bianca takes the second lantern, and we hustle onward, with me actually choosing our route this time.

I summon my memories of the cave system map I studied with avid curiosity more times than I can count. We were making for the opening around the side of the hill by that massive oak. We need to take this left… and then this right… Straight through this section, over the gap in the floor that wafts chillier air…

When voices travel down the passages toward us, Bianca brightens. We pick up our pace, striding forward to find the entire group gathered around slivers of light that aren’t from any lantern.

But only slivers. Father is standing right by the theoretical opening, one of the larger noblemen beside him. He shoves at something just below a gap of daylight, and then the lord takes a turn.

“Your Imperial Highness!” someone calls out at the sight of me. Both men glance over.

I pause at the edge of the group, dread congealing in my gut. “Is the opening blocked?”

Father grimaces. “It appears there was a bit of a rockslide on this side of the hill as well. Just a few large stones, nothing we shouldn’t be able to move, but a smaller one is wedged in next to them so tightly neither will budge.”

I inhale slowly, absorbing that information.

Lorenzo’s voice winds through my thoughts from where his foster brother has rejoined him.“Raul says the people at the other entrance have cleared more than half of the debris, and they’re moving faster now. He thinks we have less than an hour to get back to the clearing.”

My throat constricts. It’ll take us at least half that time just to walk around the hill without making a noticeable disturbance so we can coordinate our arrival with their success.

We’ve got barely room to maneuver at all. Certainly not enough time to backtrack to any of the other openings that might be less obstructed.

If normal strength isn’t enough… Neven didn’t pitch in back in Rodrige, so we don’t have him and the benefits of his gift with us. Is it possible Raul’s shadows could apply enough pressure to pop the stone free without anyone realizing what he’s doing?

Wait. We don’t even need to find that out. We have another prince here with a gift strong enough to shove a mass of rainclouds tens of miles across the sky.

I seek out Bastien’s gaze where he’s standing with his foster brothers and make a hasty gesture in his view.Need help.

His eyes twitch, but he dips his head slightly in acknowledgment.

I just have to give him cover.

I ease through the crowd to the opening, smoothing my voice to give no indication of fear. “Let me have a look. Maybe it needs a more delicate touch.”

Father studies me but doesn’t question my request. He must doubt that I could do anything he hasn’t been able to, but he also knows I was prepared for more challenges than he anticipated.

“Set the stage,”Lorenzo tells me.“I’ll make sure no one sees exactly what happens. Bastien can take care of the rest.”

I motion my companions back. “Give me a little room.” So there’s less chance that they’ll feel the wind, no matter what Lorenzo’s illusions can do to disguise it. “Let me just try…”

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