Page 63 of The Searching Songbird

“Alright, we're clear.” Lily eyed him with a speculative look. “So, how are we doing this?”

Draven dropped down onto his haunches and slapped the back of his shoulder. “Climb on.”

“Climb on,” Lily repeated, looking at him as though he'd just asked her to take off her clothes and run naked through the city streets. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she eyed his back, and two rosy spots brightened her cheeks.

“Unless you wanted to climb up yourself?” he asked, smothering a laugh as the color leeched from her face and she hurried around to his back. Any thoughts of laughter made a hasty retreat, however, as she slid her arms up around his shoulders, and it was his turn to blush as he felt her soft breasts press against his back. Then she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he lost the ability to make coherent thoughts altogether.

“Okay, muscles, let's see what you've got.”

Huh? Oh, right, the wall. He still needed to get them up to the balcony. Placing his fingers in one of the cracks, he attempted to get a foothold, but the spaces between the stones were shallower than he realized. With a grunt, he tried to push himself up, but the tip of his boot just slid down the rock wall without catching. He tried again, shifting over to a different stone, but, still, nothing.

Well, shit.

“Anytime now, Draven. It won't do to get caught out here like this.”

“I may have misjudged my ability to scale the wall,” he admitted reluctantly. “It's a lot smoother than I thought. To be fair, I wasn't able to get a good look at it from the barrier earlier.”

He heard her sigh before sliding down off his back. Turning around, he gestured toward a side door further down the wall. “Perhaps we should try the door?”

She raised her eyes heavenward. “And if it's locked?”

He shrugged. “I'll pick it.”

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “If you're so good at picking locks, why did you suggest scaling the wall? The lock thing seems way easier.”

“Would you quiet down?” he growled, leading them over to the door. “You're going to get us caught. Which, by the way, is the reason I went with the balcony in the first place. Unless your bird can see through solid doors, then we're just gonna have to hope there's no one standing on the other side while we're breaking in.”

She grumbled something indiscernible as she trailed behind him but wisely remained quiet when they reached the door.

After pulling his dagger free from his belt, he motioned for Lily to take a step back before trying the door, but before he could even turn the knob the door swung open on its own, sending him stumbling back to keep from being smacked in the face. A startled looking footman stared out at them from the doorway, a lit lantern hanging from his free hand.

It only took a moment for the man to recover from his surprise, but it was a moment too long, as Draven leaped on instinct, tackling him to the ground and layering a hand over his mouth to keep him from sounding the alarm.

“Take off his belt,” he whispered, focusing all of his efforts on keeping the man pinned down and silent. He expected Lily to protest, but she surprised him by immediately dropping to her knees and setting to work on removing the item. Her fingers flew over the buckle and were soon pulling the leather strip free of the man's trousers.

“Now what?”

“Reach into my left jacket pocket. There should be a handkerchief in there.”

“...got it!”

“Good. Now, tie it around his face like a gag... that's it, perfect.” With his other hand now free, he rolled the man over, holding him down with a knee to the back as he brought his wrists together. “Wrap the belt around his wrists and secure them. Make sure he can't wriggle out of it.”

As soon as she had the man's wrists secured nice and tight, Draven stood and pulled the man to his feet. He shoved him against the wall, pressing the tip of his dagger against the man's neck. The man's eyes grew wide and his face lost all its color, making Draven grin.

“Lily? Would you be so kind as to send Suzu around the corner to act as lookout? I'm going to need a few minutes while I ask this nice, young man some questions.”

She shot him a look, and he could practically hear her screaming “don't you dare kill him” in her mind as she sent Suzu fluttering off down the hallway. Returning his attention to the footman, he let his expression harden.

“Seeing as I'm not about to take off that gag, these are going to be yes or no questions. Nod for yes, shake for no. Easy, yes?”

The man's adam's apple bobbed up and down as his gaze flickered to the dagger. “Well?” Draven gave the blade the slightest bit of pressure, and the man nodded.

“Alright, then. The woman, Fia. Is she alive?”

An affirmative nod.

“Is she up in the baron's study?”