Page 73 of The Prince's Fealty

Tor swore. “I feel like we can’t wait for Bavil and Larexa, but we might have no choice.” He eyed Stronex. “If there was you, me, and three other Extraordinary people, and just for the sake of argument four of them had the Fealty of at least five thousand people, could we get into the castle quickly?”

Stronex looked as though he had many questions, but he took the question seriously. “Perhaps. Nostex has always favored a fully fortified castle. With enough of us, of course we could break through in time, but would that serve our purpose? The magic has always seemed to favor the ruler whose land we’re on.”

Tor nodded. “Yes, that tracks with everything I’ve learned so far.”

He still didn’tunderstand, but it seemed to reinforce what the exiles had told him.

Rin looked like he was counting in his head.

“We left Terila’s parents amassing an army in Vayrin, but as I understand it, King Forex recently denounced you as a traitor. How could we have four people with Fealty helping us?”

“That’s part of the really long story,” Tor said with a smile he didn’t really feel.

“If we’re waiting for all these Extraordinary rulers, we seem to have time,” Rin pointed out.

Tor opened his mouth, not sure whether he was going to argue or agree—it was areallylong story and it technically involved treason—when another voice spoke up.

“I can get you into the castle.”

They all turned to look at Pamuna. She shifted from foot to foot at their scrutiny, but she didn’t back down.

“How?” Tor demanded.

“My parents used to… work for King Nostex, and he valued… discretion. There is a secret entrance that has never been guarded, to my knowledge.” Her flush deepened. “I can’t guarantee that that’s still the case right now, of course, but even if there were some guards, I don’t think it could be as many as at any other entrance. I wouldn’t think that King Nostex would be anticipating an attack from that direction.”

This was clearly a heavily edited version of Pamuna’s past, but after she’d rescued Cala, Tor was willing to bet that whatever had gone on before, she was with them now.

Besides, the whole castle was basically one big trap. She was proposing leading them to the one place they wanted to go which they already knew was full of guards.

“We certainly have enough warriors that we should be able to get through a secret entrance.” He eyed her. “How familiar are you with the castle?”

She made a face. “Not as well as I would like given what’s happening right now, but better than someone who’s never been there before.”

Tor nodded. “I’ve been a few times, but I wasn’t paying that much attention, if I’m honest. I’m aware of the basic layout of some sections of the castle.”

The same was true for Rin, Nawila, Stronex, and Pel. The guards had never been.

“I should be able to get us to a room where we can regroup,” Pamuna told them. Her hands were twisted into a tight knot, the knuckles white. “I could guess where he might be keeping them, but I don’t know for sure. He has a lot of trophy rooms.”

Tor made a face, horrified at the idea that his family was being strung up like trophies.

“Where’s the secret entrance?”

“Farther east of us, a bit closer to the river.”

Tor didn’t doubt that Nostex used that entrance for illicit things. Just what had Pamuna and her family done for him?

“We’ll need people to stay behind with the horses. I know we might need to make a quick getaway, but we don’t want to risk anyone stumbling on the horses too close to a secret entrance.”

They couldn’t be sure how many people knew about the space, and if Tor were Nostex, he’d at least make sure his guards patrolled the area regularly, even if they didn’t know why—although he supposed that might interfere with the secret use of the tunnel.

He eyed Stronex.

“Does your castle have a secret entrance?”

A dark eyebrow rose on Stronex’s face. “Does yours?”

Yeah, all right, fair enough. He was just going to assume from now on that every castle had a secret entrance.