“I know that. I do.” She pulled herself closer to him, her skin pressing against his, her mouth against his ear. “I can’t explain it, but I need to find her. Faina. This note wasn’t sent in malice, I can FEEL that.”
Wardley took her hand in his and a million stars shot over her skin. “Dinah, I know you want to believe this. I just don’t know if it is wise. Your coronation grows closer every day, and maybe this is just you being nervous about taking the throne.”
Dinah lifted her black eyes and stared at his face. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course. You are my best friend,” he assured her, giving a nervous laugh, caught off guard by her intensity.
“Then help me do this. Wardley, something is amiss. I can feel it. There is a lurking, a presence, a danger, something BAD is happening. And someone is trying to help us. I NEED to speak with Faina Baker, and I need your help to do it.”
Wardley shook his head. “Getting into the Black Towers will be impossible. You’re the Princess; they track your every move. And even if they didn’t, you can’t just break into the Black Towers. They’re swarming with Clubs.” He lowered his voice. “And gods know what wickedness we will find in there. You’ve heard the stories. Some things can never be erased from one’s mind. The Black Towers are a place of violence. Torture. Sickness. The depravity of the kingdom is held there, and you’re willing to risk all that, just for a name. A name that might mean nothing; nothing more than a traitor waiting in the dark with a dagger behind his back. Do you truly believe this woman has all the answers? What answers are you seeking? And if she does, why is she in the Black Towers?”
He gave a sigh. “Dinah, listen to me. Criminals go to the Black Towers. Criminals and liars and murderers and people that your father needs to disappear. It is not a place for a princess.” He kissed her knuckle chastely. “My dear friend and future Queen, please abandon this.”
Dinah’s head was swirling. She hadn’t considered all the things that Wardley had said, but it didn’t matter. She knew the slithering feeling making its way up her spine, day by day. “As the Princess of Wonderland, I order you to help me.”
Wardley gave her an exasperated look. “You wouldn’t do that. Besides, I don’t have to listen to you. You’re not the Queen yet.”
“But I will be.”
“And on that day, I will listen to you.”
Through the filtered moonlight, Dinah looked at him—her friend, her playmate. Someday maybe her lover. “I cannot do this without you, Wardley. We’ve always dreamed and imagined what the Black Towers would look like; well, here’s our chance.”
Wardley abruptly stood, grabbing her roughly by the shoulder. “This isn’t a game, Dinah. This isn’t us playing ‘Black Towers’ in the rose garden, ducking behind the bushes. There could be serious consequences. Do you want to lose your crown? Do you want me to lose my head?”
Dinah dropped her head with a whisper. “I know I am asking too much of you. But this is something I must do, with or without you. There is something else. The symbol on the note; the triangle made of waves? I’ve seen it before.”
With a finger, Dinah drew the symbol in the dirt-lined floor. Wardley looked at it blankly. “What is that?”
“It took me all night to remember, but I know where I’ve seen this symbol before. It’s etched in the tunnels below the palace. I remember, there were three hidden tunnels. One led to the Great Hall, one led to just outside the gates on the east side, and there was another one marked with this emblem.” She pointed to it. “Before I thought it was a picture of a mountain—the Yurkei Mountains—a sign marking that the tunnel went in that direction. But I was wrong. It’s the symbol for the Black Towers. I think that tunnel leads into the Black Towers.”
Wardley scratched his chin, stubble already starting to grow back from that morning’s shave. “But how can we be sure?”
“We can’t.”
“And we wouldn’t know which tower Faina Baker was in to begin with.”
“That’s correct.”
Wardley now paced angrily, his boots stirring up a small dust cloud. Dinah could see that he was actively fighting his own curiosity. “How would we even get into the Great Hall? It’s guarded round the clock. Just for my amusement, let’s say we get in there, and then we use the tunnels to get in. Then what? We can’t just stroll around the Black Towers, the Princess and I, out for a tour.”
“We can take care of that,” breathed Dinah. “I have a plan.”
“Let’s just say that we get in. We find Faina Baker in one of SEVEN towers. We talk to her, have some tea, she tells us all sorts of secrets. Then what? We just stroll out onto the Iron Web? Make our way back to the tunnels?”
Dinah gave a shrug. “We have a lot to plan; I’m not saying it will be easy.”