CHAPTER 113: ELI CARRIES THE MAP

CHAPTER 113: ELI CARRIES THE MAP

The second note from Kamal arrived in Eli's hands at the water well.
The young guard—Eli had learned his name was Pell—had been carrying it since the previous evening, folded inside his boot, because Eli's access to the prison block was nonexistent, and their only exchange point was the well in the inner courtyard where Pell drew water for the prison block's morning distribution.
Eli took the note while handing over a full jug. Pell walked away without a word. Neither of them looked at each other.
Eli unfolded the paper only after reaching the kitchen corridor.
A rough map.
The deep cell layout.
Guard routes.
One section marked with a black slash that could only mean danger.
Tyron.
Eli folded the note again and slid it beneath the inner wrap of his sleeve before moving toward the hidden passage.
He had mapped the route thoroughly by now—forty paces west, the branch, and the staircase. He went up quickly, moving behind the harem wall until he reached Kristine's room. He had three minutes before morning drill.
He tapped. Three short, one long.
Immediate response.
She was awake, which meant she had not slept, which meant she was planning, which meant something had changed.
There was no gap in the wall of her room—it was solid stone, no failed mortar here. But sound carried if you pressed close enough. Eli leaned toward the thinnest section.
"Kamal sent a map," he whispered. "Tyron's in the deep cell. I have Malda's blue stone. Your baby's name is Kairu."
Silence answered him.
Then Kristine's voice came softly through the stone.
"Are you all right?"
The question caught him off guard. In the middle of escape routes, death calculations, and palace conspiracies, she was asking about him.
Eli blinked once before answering.
"Yes," he said quietly. "Are you?"
"Yes. Eli, listen. Tonight. Not tomorrow. Tonight."
"Tonight?" He instantly began calculating. "That's faster than—"
"I know. But Tyron's in the deep cell, and the festival gate closes tomorrow, and Malda said we have less time than we think. It has to be tonight."
Eli thought about Brek in the children's barracks. About Pell's injured arm. About the route through the eastern passage and the timing of the guard rotation he had spent three days memorizing.
"The guard rotation on the east tower staircase is two hours," he said. "The next gap opens four hours after midnight. That's the safest window for Tyron's cell too, if Kamal's map shows what I think it shows."
"Four hours after midnight," Kristine agreed. "I'll be out of this room by then. Sira's contact opens the door."
A pause.
"Can you get to the prison block?"
"I can get anywhere in this palace," Eli answered.
And he meant it.
"Then here's what we're doing."
Her voice lowered further. Fast. Certain. Fearless.
She explained the plan.
Eli listened carefully, running through timings, blind spots, possible failures, and alternate exits. The plan was dangerously tight.
But it was the best chance they had.
"Understood," he said at last.
"Eli," she whispered. "The blue stone. Can you get it through?"
He moved his hand across the wall, searching.
No opening.
He stepped farther down the passage until he found a thin crack hidden between two blocks of stone. Barely visible. But cool air passed through it.
He pulled the blue stone from inside his tunic and pressed it against the crack.
Too wide.
It would not fit.
Eli frowned slightly and reached inside his boot collar, removing a narrow lace cord.
He began forcing the lace through the crack inch by inch.
It took longer than expected.
Then suddenly—
Footsteps.
Eli froze.
Heavy.
Armored.
Coming from the far end of the passage.
Not supposed to happen.
No guards patrolled this section during kitchen preparation hours.
The footsteps grew louder.
Eli immediately flattened himself into the shadow beside the wall just as a palace guard rounded the corner carrying a torch.
Captain Voren.
One of the older harem security officers.
Sharp-eyed. Suspicious.
Dangerous.
The torchlight swept across the narrow corridor.
Eli lowered his head instantly, pretending to adjust a loose wall panel.
"What are you doing here?" Voren demanded.
Eli forced calm into his expression.
"Kitchen maintenance order," he answered without hesitation. "Loose stone behind the storage corridor."
Voren stepped closer.
Too close.
The torchlight illuminated the wall.
And from the other side, Kristine shifted slightly.
The faint scrape echoed through the stone.
Voren's eyes narrowed immediately.
"What was that?"
Eli's pulse kicked once hard against his ribs.
Think.
Now.
He grabbed the loose edge of the stone crack and forced it outward with sudden pressure. Dust and tiny fragments spilled onto the floor.
"The wall's splitting," Eli said sharply. "Hear it?"
Almost on cue, another fragment cracked loose and fell.
Voren cursed under his breath and stepped back from the unstable section.
"Maintenance should've fixed this weeks ago," Eli muttered, keeping his tone annoyed instead of nervous.
The older guard stared suspiciously at the wall for another long second.
Eli could feel Kristine's silence behind the stone.
Perfectly still.
Finally, Voren grunted.
"Fix it before evening inspection."
"Yes, Captain."
Voren walked off slowly, the torchlight fading around the bend.
Eli remained motionless until the footsteps disappeared completely.
Only then did he exhale.
From the other side of the wall came Kristine's whisper.
"That was close."
"Too close," Eli admitted.
For one dangerous second, he realized, everything could have ended there.
The plan.
Tyron.
Kristine.
All of it.
He forced the thought aside and returned to work.
Carefully, patiently, he pushed the lace fully through the crack until a small length appeared on the other side.
He tied the blue stone tightly against the cord and guided it forward.
A soft intake of breath answered him.
Kristine had it.
"I have to go," Eli whispered. "Drill starts."
"Go," she said softly. "Be careful."
"You too."
Eli ran back through the passage.
Behind the wall, Kristine held the blue stone tightly against her chest, still warm from his hands.
And for the first time since entering the palace, fear and hope existed inside her at exactly the same time.
Four hours after midnight.