Kade was close enough now to touch him. He reached into his coat and pulled out the coins Dalia had given us. “A bag of coins for your cart. Just leave now, speak of this to no one, and enjoy the gold.”
The man’s eyes widened, his brow furrowed as he eyed the stack of coins in Kade’s outstretched palm. He was a shorter, overweight fae, with tired eyes. I was guessing this was more money than he had seen in a lifetime, but still he took an uncomfortably long amount of time to decide. Kade remained calm, never showing any unease. I wasn’t hiding my impatience nearly as well, desperate to get to Violet, but I knew that a disguise would be very helpful, so I kept myself busy by watching our backs. A few people were milling about in the distance, but for now we were alone. Which was good, because if this man said no we would have to knock him out to keep him from talking.
Thankfully, the coins won out; he scooped them up before turning and walking away, leaving his cart of goods without so much as a look over his shoulder. Kade slipped his sword off and I followed suit, stashing them in the bottom of the cart and throwing our coats over them. I pulled my hair from its braid and ratted it up a bit, kneeling down to scoop some of the flour from the cart shelf, wiping it on my nose and on Kade’s shirt. Did we look like bakers? Probably not, but it was the best we could do with what we had.
It didn’t require two people to push the cart, so I let Kade take it. He was the one who stood out the most with his height and the scary vibe he naturally had. I hurried along close by, head lowered like I was just a slave or helper.
The path was not busy, so we made it inside the palace without an issue. I kept Finn’s directions firmly in my head and relayed them to Kade so he’d know which way to go. To get to the dungeon we would have to use the servants’ hallway, which was a long, winding, ramp-style descent, wide enough to allow others to pass coming the opposite way, but still wedged into the back of the palace. Everyone we passed looked a little browbeaten; no one was paying much attention to each other, remnants of a hard life creased across all of their faces despite the faes’ ability to remain young looking forever.
The cart pushed easily down the ramp. The floor was very hard, like concrete, or compressed dirt. As we neared the lower levels, clanking could be heard. That had to be the dungeons.
This castle was huge. We had probably passed five floors on our descent, before we reached the prison section. It was much colder down here. Without my cloak my hands were shaking, my steps stiff. The clanking grew louder, and for the first time I saw someone other than a plain-dressed server-fae moving along our path. A guard, dressed in heavy white furs, which Finn told me were the royal color and uniform.
Kade lowered his head and I did the same, and the guard continued stomping past, his sword swinging wildly from where it was sheathed in his belt-scabbard. I was just lifting my head up again, relieved to be past him, when the guard called something to us in a language I did not understand. Kade and I paused, keeping up our charade in the hopes we could talk our way out of this. If we were caught out now, they would alert all the guards, and it would be much harder to reach Violet.
Brushing my hair down to make sure my ears were covered, I spun around and bowed my head low. The guard took a step toward me and I could feel Kade tensing at my back. Raising my head, I blinked rapidly and forced my face into a blank stare. Acting stupid got plenty of people out of trouble. Being stupid got them into it, though, so you had to be careful about how much of it was an act.
“I’m sorry, sir.” I kept my voice low and trembly. I knew they spoke English here, I had heard it many times. Hopefully he didn’t think it was odd for us to use it.
The guard switched to English easily. “I said, What are you doing down here? The baked goods go to floor five, near the kitchens.”
His accent was heavy, the words slow. I tried desperately to think of something to say. “We were sent down with treats for the guards.”
Everyone loved treats, right? Kade shifted his big body closer. It felt like he was part of the stone wall behind me he was that tense. I could feel very low rumbles rocking his chest.
The guard took another few steps toward me. I could see him much better now, the way his closely-set eyes focused on my body, especially around my chest and thighs. He gave off all the creepy vibes, from his overly shiny bald head to the yellow tinge of those eyes.
“We really need to move, sir.” It was really hard for me to keep my voice low and sweet. I pretty much just wanted to knee him in the balls, and he had come close enough for me to reach without a problem.
He leaned over until our faces were inches apart. “The queen would never allow a call for treats. The guards are here to work, not eat. But I’ll let it slide if you come with me now, just for a quick chat, without your big friend.”
My hand moved before my brain caught up. I pulled my arm back and punched him in the throat, one solid blow that knocked him backwards and left him wheezing on the floor. Before I could finish the job, Kade turned and slammed his fist down into the guard’s temple, knocking him out cold. I quickly spun around to make sure no one had seen, and was relieved to see we were alone on the ramp. I tentatively reached out and ran a palm up Kade’s arm.
“It’s okay. I hit him before he could alert anyone.”
My mate’s body was trembling, on the verge of losing control of his bear and shifting. In a quick burst, I found myself crushed against his hard body. “He was going to touch you,” he growled. “I don’t have time right now to kill him and hide the body, which is the only reason he’s still alive.”
I chuckled. It was strained but it counted. “Well, we do still have to hide the body. Otherwise someone will alert the other guards much faster.”
He gave me one last squeeze before stepping away. “I saw a small supply room a few floors above us. Wait right here and I’ll be back in a minute.”
I nodded, and he turned to roughly haul the guard up and over his shoulder. With a quick glance around to make sure no one else was coming down the path, he took off at a sprint, long legs eating up the distance, until I could no longer see him on the servers’ path. I hunched forward over the cart, pretending to rearrange the pastries and such. A young girl startled me as she burst from the door across the hall. As she hurried past me I noticed the red welt marks across her green tinged skin. I prepared myself for some questions, but thankfully she didn’t even glance across in my direction.
Come on, Kade.
I was mentally urging him on, which of course I had forgotten he could hear.
On my way, woman. Give a bear a minute to hide a body.
I had to hide my chuckles in my hand, otherwise I’d look like the crazy lady laughing at nothing.