Page 73 of The Royal Throne
“Very well. Let’s head there before the king knows what you’re doing and stops you.”
Trailed by her guards, Felix led Sabine through the palace and to a corridor she hadn’t been in before. They went to the end, stopping before a solid metal door guarded by two soldiers. Felix withdrew a key, opening the door and ushering Sabine and her guards inside.
The smell of mildew hit her, making her hesitate. A dimly lit corridor stretched out before her, unwelcoming, illuminated by torches spaced every twenty feet.
The door shut behind them. Felix locked it from the inside then joined her. “Do not leave my side. Understood?”
She nodded. Having never been in a dungeon before, she didn’t know what to expect.
They went down four flights of stairs, each level getting colder. They had to be inside the mountain. Sabine shivered.
“Did they bring this man in through the palace?” she asked. It didn’t seem prudent to bring prisoners in that way. Not only because the king and queen lived here, but with all the people around, it didn’t seem safe. Plus, allowing prisoners to see the palace, the format, and structure was unwise.
“No. He was brought in through the training center. Then he was transported here.” They turned a corner. “This is actually a small dungeon. We have several holding facilities throughout the kingdom.”
“Why have one here at all?” she asked.
“For situations like this,” Felix explained. “This man was arrested, held in a dungeon, then brought here to face the king. Normally, the king would go wherever the prisoner is being held. However, given the state of things, the king didn’t want to leave the palace, so we had the prisoner transported here. No one has ever escaped from this dungeon. You have nothing to worry about.”
Sabine didn’t mention that there was a first for everything. “How many prisoners are in here?” She tried to imagine Lottie rotting down here where she belonged.
“Three.”
When Felix didn’t elaborate, Sabine decided not to ask. She probably didn’t want to know. They came to another metal door guarded by two soldiers. Again, Felix used his key to unlock it. Sabine entered a darker hallway, accompanied only by Drew and Felix, since the rest of her guards were not permitted to go any farther. The metal door was closed and locked. A single torch lit this hallway, casting long shadows on the walls and floor. Five metal doors were on either side of the hallway, all of them closed. A dripping sound echoed in the distance.
“Do you still want to do this?” Felix whispered.
“Yes.” Her answer sounded loud in this dank place.
Felix headed to the end of the hallway, stopping before the last door on the left. “There are two rooms in there,” he explained. “An outer room and the cell with the prisoner.”
Sabine nodded, trying to envision what she was about to walk into. She’d assumed she would only be able to peer through some sort of window at the prisoner.
“This door only opens from the outside—this side,” Felix explained. “Once you and I are in there, we can’t get out unless Captain Drew—who’s going to remain here in this hallway—lets us out. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She assumed this was some sort of safety precaution.
“Commander,” Drew said, “is this safe?”
“I’ll be in there with her,” Felix said. He withdrew his longsword and set it on the floor. Then he withdrew a dagger from his boot, tucking it into the back of his pants. He looked at Sabine. “Do not get close to the bars. Stay out of arm’s reach.”
“Can I talk to him?” she asked.
“You can try, but he hasn’t spoken a single word since being arrested.” He reached for the door. “Are you ready?”
She nodded.
He pulled the door open, peering inside. Satisfied with what he saw, he gestured for her to follow him.
They entered a small room, about fifteen feet wide, lit by a single torch. Three of the walls were made from solid stone. The third wall, straight ahead, was made of stone blocks on the lower half, while evenly spaced metal bars formed the upper half. Sabine followed Felix to the middle of the room.
She faced the bars, looking past them and into the second room. It was roughly the same size and contained a chamber pot, a bed of hay, and a person sitting in the middle of the space. The man sat cross-legged, his hands folded together, facing Sabine as if he’d been expecting her.
A chill slid through her. She cleared her throat. “Who are you?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
He tilted his head to the side. “Hello, Queen Sabine Manfred of Lynk. It looks like someone tried to kill you. Sloppy and unsuccessful. Pity.”
“And you are?” she asked, scanning his wrists for the tattoo marking him as an assassin from Avoni. Unfortunately, his long sleeves went down to his hands, covering his skin.
