Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 22

With that, Thijs moved into view as he crossed the room. Cole realized with a start that he was headed for the bedroom, where all his belongings would be waiting to be packed.

Heart in mouth, she raced for the window with all her might. Her arms pumped as she threw herself up on the ledge and launched out into the buffering wind. The ground far below her spun and blurred as she clutched desperately to the wall to stop herself from falling, and reached back in to grip the window frame and pull it shut. It had just clicked into place when she saw the door to the bedchamber pulling open, and she whipped out of sight just as the sheen of Thijs' doublet came into view.

Heart thudding, she pulled herself along the wall, barely even registering the long drop to the ground, and jumped back onto the balcony. She hoped that she had not been spotted, but she wasn't sure. At any rate, there was probably no way the king would know it was specifically her. She hoped. The scarf around her hair, and the new clothes, should help disguise her.

But still.

She wanted to be back in the safety of the dorms as soon as possible. She ran down the hallway and into the servant's passages, hoping the whole time that the door to the king's suites wouldn't slam open and reveal her as the only person capable of spying on them.

She made it down the stairs and through to the dorms, where she quickly untied the scarf from her head and stuffed it under her pillow. She flopped down on her bed and rested her hand on her chest, where she felt her heart skittering around under her fingers. She pulled her blanket over her to hide her stolen shift, and rolled onto her side. Her breaths came tight and fast, and she closed her eyes to help her calm down.

What in the world had the king discovered? What was this cave that caused so much fear and death? Why was he so insistent on it, and so eager to see it for himself? What did it hold? Why did he need it? All these thoughts rushed through Cole's head until she had to place her hands on her temples to stop it from flowing all out in a rush of pain.

She wanted to get up right then and find a way to somehow follow the king. She wanted to know what he and his hissing companion were up to. But as she sat up, she realized she couldn't leave. Her job was not to tail the king. Her job was to kill Prince Bastian and give the fairies the upper hand. If she wanted her mother back, she needed to do just that. And with the king gone, her job would be a little bit easier.

As she lay back down, she thought of another benefit of the king being gone. The dungeons would not be as heavily watched with the sovereign out of the palace. She might be able to work her way down there, and see her mother. Perhaps she wouldn't have to kill Prince Bastian at all. Maybe she could find her mother all on her own, and they could escape into the mountains before Tanwyn had time to find her and return her to the hellhole he'd found her in.