Pushing away from the mantel, she darted to the table and quickly extinguished all but one candle. Behind her she could hear DeBruzkya barking out orders. She snatched the last lit candle, then started toward a door at the rear of the dining hall. If DeBruzkya or one of the men were to shine their flashlights in her direction, she would be in plain sight. She twisted the knob. Please don’t be locked. Relief swamped her when the door swung open.
Lily smelled olive oil and garlic and yeast from the day’s cooking as she stepped into what appeared to be the kitchen. The light from the candle in her hand flickered off the stainless steel work areas. Two industrial-size stovetops and ovens lined the wall to her left. Straight ahead, another door beckoned. Spotting a metal folding chair, she quietly closed the door behind her, dragged the chair over and wedged it tightly beneath the knob. It wouldn’t hold them for long, but it might buy her a few minutes.
Her heart raged against her ribs as she snatched the candle and jogged through the room toward the door on the other side. She yanked the knob, but the door was locked. “Damn!” she whispered.
She looked wildly around for something with which to pry it open. She could hear a cacophony of shouts coming from the dining room. Fear and urgency sent her across the room where she began yanking open drawers. She pulled out towels and gadgets, finally coming upon knives. Her gaze landed on the butcher’s ax, and she snatched it up. Setting the candle down on the counter, she faced the door and swung the ax as hard as she could. Wood splintered with a loud crack. The sound seemed deafening in the stark silence, but she didn’t stop. She swung again and again, animal sounds erupting from her throat as she pounded at the lock and surrounding wood. Panic and fear and a mother’s desperate need to save her child drove her.
After endless minutes the door swung open. One moment she was swinging the ax, the next she was standing there, breathing hard, and looking down a long dark stairwell that seemed to go into the very bowels of the castle. She snatched up the candle, entered the stairway and took the steps at a dangerous speed even though she couldn’t see more than five or six feet in front of her. The stairs seemed to go on forever. The shoes she wore were loud against the stone steps and hindered her progress, but she didn’t dare risk kicking them off.
The stairs opened to a narrow corridor where the air was musty and cold. Lily could hear water dripping and echoing off the stone walls. Venturing into the corridor, she passed several ancient wooden doors on her right before noticing that the tiny windows set high on the doors were barred. Only then did she realize she’d entered what appeared to be the dungeon. The thought of all the things that had happened within these walls made her shudder.
Holding the candle in front of her like a weapon, she walked into the inky blackness. The thought of being trapped in a catacomb without light or fresh air unnerved her. Surely there was a back exit, wasn’t there? Panic pressed down on her. Lily broke into a run. She could hear herself breathing hard. The click of her heels against the stone floor. She felt as if the low ceiling and walls were pressing down on her, smothering her. She ran faster, the doors blurring past. The candle flickered wildly, casting bizarre shadows on the ceiling.
The hands came out of nowhere, strong and overpowering. One instant she was sprinting down the narrow passageway, the next strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a darkened alcove. The candle clattered to the floor, plunging her into darkness. Lily screamed, but the sound was cut short when a hand clamped over her mouth.
DeBruzkya, she thought, and panic overwhelmed her. She twisted, but he yanked her against him. A scream echoed inside her head, but his hand over her mouth prevented her from screaming. She lashed out with her feet, missed his shin and ended up losing one of her shoes.
“Lily! Easy. It’s Robert.”
His whisper lapped over her like a gentle ocean wave over sand, smoothing out her terror. She went still. The relief swamped her with such power that her knees went weak. “Robert? Oh, God.”
“I’m here, honey. Easy, it’s me. You’re okay.”
“I can’t believe you’re here.” The words tumbled out brokenly. “DeBruzkya—”
“Shh. Just calm down. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Turning in his arms, her body flush against his, she looked at him. “We have to find Jack. They took him from me.”
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
She didn’t expect him to kiss her. Not at a moment like this when they risked discovery at any moment. But he did, and the kiss took down her panic. Eased her fear. Filled her heart with hope. Her soul with love for this man. He kissed her long and deep, stirring her and rousing her. And at that moment Lily knew in her heart that somehow everything was going to work out.
His jaw was taut with tension when he pulled back. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m okay.”
“Jack?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know where he is. I think he’s in the nursery.”