Page 38 of Turret

She only nodded once, but though she appeared confident, the uncertainty filling her eyes betrayed her, nor did I miss our backtracking twice before Melina paused in front of a small door near the pantry, one I’d never noticed before. It creaked ominously as she opened it. I expected the same thick darkness to enfold the stairwell, but a flickering orange glow bathed the base of the narrow steps.

Relief seeped over me at the sight of the candlelight, for it meant Quinn was in the cellar after all. I called his name…only to receive no answer. The heavy silence caused my panic to return. I exchanged a nervous glance with Melina. Quinn likely wouldn’t have remained in the cellar after the tower shook, but would have immediately come to check on us. The fact we hadn’t encountered him in our journey…foreboding prickled my skin.

“Is he alright?” I asked in a shaky whisper.

Melina didn’t speak as she ventured down the creaking steps, me close behind. The stairs opened into a cramped room filled with crates. My attention was immediately drawn to a narrow hole in one of the walls, one that seemed to have been created by removing several stones…a large pile of which blocked the opening.

My heart lurched at the sound of shifting stone coming from deep within the tunnel. “Quinn?”

The sound paused before Quinn peered through a gap in the rubble. “Gemma?”

Warm relief encased me as I hurried over. “Thank goodness we found you. Are you alright?”

“There was a partial tower collapse,” he explained. “But I’m unharmed.”

I released a whooshing breath. “Thank goodness. What were you doing down here?”

“I’ll tell you in a moment.” Though his voice was muffled, it was filled with excitement, which only escalated my curiosity. Normally anything unsettling with the tower put him in a temper, not to mention he was currently trapped behind a pile of rocks.

I moved to help him, but his voice came immediately, sharp and firm. “No, Princess. I don’t want you hurting yourself. I’ve been working for several minutes and have almost broken through.”

I reluctantly stepped back to anxiously wait for him to resume shifting the stones. Several long minutes passed before he succeeded in removing enough to widen the passage. Before he could protest, I squeezed myself through the narrow opening and enfolded him in my arms.

“I’m so glad you’re safe. Are you hurt?” I pulled away just enough to examine him from head to foot.

He chuckled. “Now who’s being the protector?”

I wanted to smile, but I’d just caught sight of the blood streaking his hands. My stomach lurched as I gingerly caressed his battered skin. “What happened?”

“I had a difficult time moving the rocks, and with my limited vision I couldn’t be as careful…” He didn’t say anything more, but he didn’t need to for me to know his fading sight had made the process more arduous, leading to his injury.

My heart sank. My despair from his condition threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced myself to remain calm, determined to be a strength to him, just as he was to me. Despite my acute worry, I felt it slip away as I took in Quinn’s appearance—even with the dust dirtying his clothes and face and the layer of sweat streaking his brow, he wasbeaming.

“What has you so excited?”

Without answering, he took my hand and tugged me not back into the cellar but deeper into the tunnel.

“Where are we going?” I asked breathlessly.

“I’ve found a way out.”

Melina gave an excited gasp and hurried after us, but fear squeezed my heart, causing me to slow. My apprehension grew with every step down the tunnel, making my nerves so taut it was impossible to enjoy our close proximity. He’d found a way out?How? Did that mean we’d actually have to…leave? Despite how much I’d enjoyed my time on the turret roof, that had been nothing to permanently escaping the tower; it was a possibility I wasn’t at all prepared for.

“But—” I began, but Quinn talked over me, his words breathless with excitement.

“For months I’ve been suspecting the protective spells over the tower have been fading, so I’ve been searching for a means to breach the wall. Nearly a month ago, I found this tunnel after I discovered a piece missing from the cellar wall. I hoped it’d lead somewhere, so I carefully chipped away the mortar to form a makeshift entrance. Once I was able to enter, I discovered another wall at the end of the tunnel. After weeks of careful work, I’ve finally removed enough bricks for us to escape. I just finished and was heading back for you and Melina when the entrance to the tunnel collapsed, but now that you’re here we can finally leave. Oh Gemma, it will be so good to be free. I can’t wait for you to experience—”

His explanation faltered when we rounded the corner and the end of the tunnel came into sight. He stopped cold. For a long moment he only stared at the solid wall, which contained no sign of an opening. “No.” His disbelief came out as a whisper, but then his voice grew with his despair. “No. No, no, no…”

He released his hold on my arm and ran to the end of the tunnel to frantically run his hands across the stones, searching with his touch, not trusting his eyes…even though the lack of sunlight peeking through the stones made it clear even to his limited vision that there were no penetrations in the thick wall.

We were still trapped.

Beside me, Melina released a strangled sob and buried her face in her hands, a rare falter in her usual composure. I hesitantly wrapped my arm around her shaking shoulders. She stiffened at my touch but didn’t pull away.

I turned to face Quinn, who was still searching for an escape. But by the hopelessness settling over his darkening expression, he was beginning to realize the effort was futile. “The opening I found…has been sealed off. There’s no way out.”

That explained the tower’s shaking—it had been shifting to rob us of the newly discovered exit.

---