“Do you want to go and look at the fang-beasts?” I asked, trying to cheer him up. The bizarre creatures that Queen Memenion had begun keeping as pets had been penned up near the stables. They looked like wolves, but much larger and about a million times more ferocious. Like testosterone-injected wolves with rabies.
“Why don’t we hide in the stables? That way, when Ragnhild and the rest of them ride out, we can hide beneath the bull-horses or something and run out with them?” Benedict’s eyes lit up.
“That’s so stupid.”
Yelena echoed my thoughts perfectly. She strode around the corner of the wall we’d been leaning against, hands on her hips, looking down pityingly at us both.
“What are you doing here?” Benedict groaned. “I thought you were with the others—and by the way, that’s not a very polite way to speak to the person who saved your life. Twice!”
She rolled her eyes. “I already said thank you—what else do you want, a medal?”
“Wouldn’t mind.”
I exhaled in frustration. I’d thought that Benedict and Yelena would get along better now that Benedict had put his neck out for her in such heroic ways, but clearly not. I was starting to think that they actually enjoyed aggravating one another.
“I actually have a better plan,” Yelena announced.
“Surprise, surprise,” Benedict muttered.
She cast him a baleful look before continuing.
“I’ve done a bit of investigating of my own, and there are a couple of places where the barrier isn’t guarded as well as it should be. I think, if you want to join the recon mission, we take a horse now and hide out behind the stables…there’s loads of wild, overgrown bushes and trees near there. When the army leaves in the morning, we wait till the last moment, before the barrier closes, and ride right out! Getting far away enough that they can’t send us back!”
This still sounded highly dubious to me.
“That was my plan!” Benedict exclaimed. “You’ve literally just said my plan back to me!”
“It’s completely different,” Yelena corrected, “and doesn’t have the stupid idea of hiding beneath a horse. Seriously, that would never work.”
I let them argue on while I thought about the logistics of it. And how much trouble we’d be in when we got found out.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I interrupted.
“Why not?” Yelena asked.
“For one, it’s dangerous, and two, Ragnhild will most definitely send us back when he finds us. We’ll probably end up chained next to Jenus for the rest of our lives.”
Yelena pulled a face. “Julian, come on—we need to know what we’re up against. Perhaps we’ll recognize the creatures that came out of the sea better than the sentries—they didn’t even know what a jingi was, remember?”
“Jinni,” Benedict corrected, “and neither do you.”
They had a point. The sentries didn’t seem to have much of a grasp on the supernatural world, which was weird considering the ghouls, goblins and nymphs roaming about the place.
“This has disaster written all over it,” I pointed out.
“We’ve been in danger since we got here. I don’t see how this is going to make any difference—and it might help us.” Benedict wasn’t going to be swayed.
“I swear you have the worst short-term memory of anyone I’ve ever met,” I grumbled. No doubt as soon as we got near the cove, Benedict would once again be terrified half to death, and wish he’d never suggested this crazy-ass plan.
“Let’s at least go to the stables and see if it’s possible?” Yelena pleaded.
“Fine.” I sighed reluctantly. “But if we can’t get out without being seen then we’re not going—agreed?”
“Agreed,” they both chorused, their tones sullen. I felt like a babysitter in charge of the most reckless kids alive. Lucky me.
Hazel
The room we’d been given was opulent, full of fabrics designed to add some comfort to the austere marble of the floor and walls. In the middle of the room there was a large four-poster bed, covered in cream sheets and throws interlaced with gold thread. It looked like an incredibly lavish hotel room, the kind that a couple might stay in during a honeymoon. The only difference was the bars on the window—thick iron poles that had obviously been added recently, as they clashed with the rest of the castle’s interior. It was a blunt reminder that we were at war, and we didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.
Tejus was in the en-suite bathroom, and I could hear the cascading of water as he showered. I had already bathed, and had started pacing up and down the room anxiously. My lower stomach knotted, and light butterfly flickers of anticipation danced inside of me every time I looked at the bed. We were supposed to be getting rest while we could — waiting for the dawn to rise, and then the moment that Ragnhild would return from the cove, letting us know what we were up against. I didn’t feel like resting though. My mind felt like it was scattered in a million different directions.