Chapter 19 The Escape
Janelle
The cell door creaked open just as I was preparing for death.
I had spent the last hour sitting in the corner, my hands still trembling from the silver fire that had erupted from my palms. The guard's lifeless body had been dragged away, but his terrified screams still echoed in my mind. Elena had been taken to her burning an hour ago. I was alone with my newfound magic and the crushing weight of what I'd become.
A witch. A killer. A dead woman walking.
Footsteps approached my cell, and I looked up expecting to see Captain Thorne with my death warrant. Instead, Adrian stood in the doorway, his face pale and determined. He wore a dark cloak over his royal clothes, and his usually perfect hair was disheveled.
"We're leaving," he said simply, producing a set of keys.
I stared at him in shock. "Adrian, what are you doing? They'll execute you for this."
"Let them try." He unlocked my cell and stepped inside, his eyes scanning my face with desperate intensity. "Are you hurt? Did they.."
"I'm fine." I scrambled to my feet, my legs shaky. "But you can't be here. If they catch you.."
"They won't." He moved closer, his hand reaching toward my face before stopping himself. "Janelle, I should have chosen you from the beginning. I should have claimed you publicly, consequences be damned."
My heart hammered against my ribs. "Adrian.."
"No, let me finish." His voice was rough with emotion. "I've spent weeks telling myself I was protecting you by staying away. But I was protecting myself. I was a coward, and my cowardice nearly got you killed."
Tears stung my eyes. "You're not a coward. You were trying to keep me safe."
"I failed." He finally touched my face, his thumb brushing away a tear I didn't realize had fallen. "I won't fail again. Whatever happens, we face it together."
The mate bond hummed between us, stronger than ever. For the first time in weeks, I felt complete.
"The guards?" I whispered.
"Sleeping. Darius provided a rather effective sleeping draught." Adrian's mouth curved in a grim smile. "We have maybe twenty minutes before they wake up."
He took my hand and led me from the cell. The dungeon corridors were eerily quiet as we moved through them, Adrian navigating with the confidence of someone who had grown up in this castle.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"The old servants' passage behind the kitchens. Darius is waiting there with horses."
We climbed narrow stone steps that I'd never seen before, emerging into a section of the castle I didn't recognize. Adrian moved with purpose, checking around corners before motioning me forward. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure the entire castle could hear it.
"Adrian," I said as we paused at another corner. "What I did to that guard... I killed him. With magic. I'm a witch."
He turned to face me fully, his green eyes serious but not afraid. "I know."
"You know?"
"Janelle, you think I haven't noticed the way things happen around you? The way you seem to sense danger before it arrives? The way the mate bond between us is stronger than anything I've ever heard of?" He cupped my face in his hands. "I've known you were special since the moment I found you in that trap."
Relief flooded through me. "You're not afraid of me?"
"Afraid of you?" He almost smiled. "Janelle, you're the bravest person I know. Magic doesn't change that."
A distant shout echoed through the castle. Adrian's head snapped up, his expression immediately alert.
"They're awake," he said grimly. "We need to move. Now."
We ran through the corridors, Adrian's hand gripping mine tightly. Behind us, I could hear voices growing louder, more urgent. The sound of running feet on stone.
"This way." Adrian pulled me down a narrow passage that led to a wooden door. He pushed it open, and suddenly we were outside in the cold night air. The kitchens were dark and silent beside us.
"Prince Adrian!"
We spun around to find Darius emerging from the shadows, leading two horses. His usually immaculate appearance was replaced by dark traveling clothes and a concerned expression.
"About time," Darius said. "Half the castle is stirring. Someone discovered the sleeping guards."
"Then we leave now." Adrian helped me onto one of the horses before mounting his own. "The forest?"
"As planned." Darius swung onto his horse with practiced ease. "Follow me, and stay quiet."
We rode hard through the castle grounds, keeping to the shadows. The horses' hooves were muffled by cloth wrapped around them, but every sound seemed deafeningly loud to my ears. Behind us, I could see torches beginning to light up in the castle windows.
"Stop! By order of the King!"
Captain Thorne's voice rang out behind us just as we reached the outer gate. Guards poured from the gatehouse, but Darius was ready. He threw something small and round at their feet. Smoke billowed up, thick and choking.
"Go!" Darius shouted.
We spurred our horses forward, bursting through the smoke and confusion. I heard the clash of metal behind us as more guards appeared, but we were already past the gates and racing toward the forest.
"Are you all right?" he called over the sound of hoofbeats.
"Yes!" I called back, surprised to find it was true. Despite everything, the execution, the escape, the magic, I felt more alive than I had in months.
We reached the edge of the forest and plunged into the familiar darkness between the trees. Darius led us along paths I'd never seen, deeper into the woods than I'd ever ventured. The horses slowed to a careful walk as we navigated fallen logs and dense undergrowth.
"Where exactly are we going?" Adrian asked as we paused to let the horses rest.
"An old rebel camp," Darius replied, dismounting to check his horse's legs. "We're not the only ones who've had enough of your father's rule, Adrian."
Adrian's face darkened. "What do you mean?"
"I mean there are others who know the truth about King Magnus. Others who've lost family to his 'security measures.'" Darius looked directly at me. "Including survivors of the Crimson Moon Pack."
My breath caught. "Others survived?"
"A few. They've been hiding, planning, waiting for the right moment." Darius remounted his horse. "That moment might be now."
We rode in silence after that, each lost in our own thoughts. The forest grew thicker around us, the trees older and more twisted. Finally, Darius stopped in a clearing that looked achingly familiar.
"Is this...?" I began.
"Where I found you," Adrian finished softly. "Where everything changed."
I looked around at the clearing where I'd fallen into the bear trap, what felt like a lifetime ago. The trap was gone, but I could still see the disturbed earth where it had been. Where Adrian had first touched me. Where our lives had become tangled together beyond any hope of separation.
"Why here?" I asked.
"Because it's protected by old magic," Darius explained, dismounting. "The same magic that flows in your blood, Janelle. This clearing has been a sanctuary for your kind for centuries."
As if responding to his words, I felt something stir deep in my chest. The magic Elena had awakened recognized this place. The trees seemed to lean in closer, welcoming rather than threatening.
Adrian slid down from his horse and came to help me dismount, his hands gentle on my waist. "Are you afraid?" he asked quietly.
I considered the question. I should be terrified. I was a fugitive accused of treason, a witch with powers I couldn't control, hunted by the most powerful man in the kingdom. But standing here in this magical clearing with Adrian beside me and the promise of others like me ahead, I felt something else entirely.
"No," I said, and meant it. "I'm ready to fight back."
Adrian's eyes blazed with pride and something deeper. "Together?"
"Together."
Darius cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt this moment, but we need to keep moving. The camp is still an hour's ride, and dawn isn't far off."
We were preparing to remount when the sound of horns echoed through the forest behind us. Hunting horns. My blood turned to ice.
"They're tracking us," Adrian said grimly.
"How many men does your father have in these woods?" Darius asked, his hand moving to his sword.
"Too many." Adrian's jaw clenched. "And they know these forests almost as well as we do."
The horns sounded again, closer this time. I could hear the baying of hounds in the distance.
"Tracking dogs," I whispered. "They'll follow our scent."
"Not if we give them something else to follow." Darius pulled a small vial from his saddlebag. "Fox urine. It'll mask our trail, but we need to split up to confuse them."
"No." Adrian's voice was absolute. "We stay together."
"Adrian, if they catch us.."
"They won't." He turned to me, his green eyes intense. "Janelle, can you feel the magic in this place?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Then use it. Hide our trail."
"I don't know how.."
"You do." His hand covered mine, warm and steady. "Trust yourself."
I closed my eyes and reached for the power Elena had shown me. It responded immediately, silver fire dancing behind my eyelids. I could feel the forest around us, ancient and alive. I whispered to it, asking it to hide us, to protect us.
The trees rustled without wind. Mist began to rise from the forest floor, thick and concealing.
"Incredible," Darius breathed.
The horns sounded again, but they seemed farther away now, confused. The baying of the hounds grew frustrated and distant.
"It's working," Adrian said with wonder. "You're hiding us."
I opened my eyes to find both men staring at me with something like awe. The mist swirled around us, and I could feel the forest's ancient magic responding to mine.
"We need to go," I said, suddenly exhausted. "I can't hold this for long."
We rode hard through the magical mist, following Darius toward the rebel camp. Behind us, the sounds of pursuit grew fainter and more confused. But I knew this reprieve was temporary. As we finally stopped to rest near dawn, Darius turned to us with grim news.
"I intercepted a messenger before we left," he said quietly. "King Magnus has declared you both enemies of the state. There's a bounty on your heads, enough gold to buy a small kingdom."
Adrian's face went white. "How much?"
"Five thousand gold pieces for Adrian, dead or alive." Darius paused, his expression growing darker. "Ten thousand for Janelle."
"Ten thousand?" I gasped. "Why so much?"
"Because," Darius said grimly, "he's not just hunting a runaway servant and a disobedient prince. He's hunting the last heir of the Crimson Moon Pack and the witch who could bring down his entire kingdom."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Ten thousand gold pieces. Every bounty hunter, every desperate man, every greedy noble in the kingdom would be hunting us.
"We're never going to be safe," I whispered.
Adrian moved closer, his arm sliding around my shoulders. "Yes, we will. I promise you, Janelle, we'll find a way."