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When she got to the door she knew to be his, she twisted the handle and pushed. Her body slammed against it. It was locked, and she looked up and down the hallway to make sure it was clear.

Vis aeris,she mentally chanted as she placed her hand over the lock. A powerful force of magic blasted from her palm, blowing the lock apart. The door swung open.

Worried someone would come to investigate the noise, she ran inside.

Valerie went to the empty wall to the left of his bed and ran her hands over it. She found the edge of the door, but she couldn’t find a handle with which to open it. She beat it with the bottom of her fist in frustration and it clicked.

The door revealed a small, thin corridor that led to another door at the end. Once more, she had to use her magic to force it to unlock. She dug her fingers into the hole she created and pulled it open.

“Valerie!” Kaeylyn squealed when she saw her.

Her hands were bound together by metal shackles, her fingers interlocked by frayed rope so she couldn’t weave her magic without harming her own hands. Wearing the white pyjamas she’d disappeared in, she looked like a ragged prisoner – although it was obvious she’d managed to bathe at some point. There was a chamber pot, but what surprised Valerie were the children’s toys she could see littered around the room.

Paying little mind to them, knowing she couldn’t delay their escape, Valerie sprinted forward. She expected to run into a ward that prevented a Witch from approaching, or Kaeylyn from escaping, but she didn’t.

There wasn’t even a shield.

With her dagger, she cut the rope to free Kaeylyn’s fingers so she could use her hands.I will have to sacrifice the blade.It was the only way she could give her sister true freedom.

She chanted while holding it, a difficult spell that required a substantial amount of power. The blade of her dagger turned white, and she used it to cut through the metal links of the shackle. As she cut, the blade melted away. For Valerie to cut through steel, she had to sacrifice steel.

“Valerie!” Kaeylyn squealed again, this time jumping into her arms to hug her.

“Come, we do not have much time. We must go.” She couldn’t stop to feel triumphant or proud. She couldn’t even allow herself to feel relief that her baby sister was still alive and with her, or that she didn’t seem to be injured. They were in grave danger. “Do not make a sound.”

Pulling Kaeylyn along with her, Valerie took her from Geryon’s room and led her down the hallway. At any moment while they travelled the maze of the palace, she feared they would come face to face with the Dragon.

They didn’t, even when they ran down the steps of the palace to the bottom level.Not much further.Just as they were about to hit the bottom level and turn the corner, Valerie ran into another person.

All of them went tumbling to the ground from the hard impact. She scrambled up, dragging Kaeylyn to her feet.

“Lady Cecily?” Wyetta groaned, rubbing her rear before she got to her own feet. “What are you doing up so late?” Then she blinked at the young girl Valerie was currently holding hands with. “And who is this?”

I really like this woman.Valerie had truly come to admire her.

She let go of her sister’s hand to grab her shoulders. “Lady Wyetta, you wish to be queen, do you not? You have fallen for King Bradwick?”

Her dark brows furrowed. “Of course.”

“Then tell them you tried to stop me. Tell them you thought I was suspicious.”

“Wait, what is going–” Before she could finish, Valerie clenched her hand into a tight fist and slammed it into her cheek as hard as she could.

Wyetta fell to the ground with a cry, and Valerie got on top of her to straddle her waist. She wrapped her hands around her throat and began to squeeze. The betrayal in her eyes was obvious and immediate, Wyetta slamming her fists into Valerie’s arms with desperation to get her off.

She kept her expressionless stare while she strangled the woman.I befriended her; they will not trust her.In using this woman to cover her tracks, by being so friendly with her, Wyetta may be seen as a traitor.They may think she helped me.

Valerie wanted to undo this wrong. She knew this was the only way to help Wyetta get what she wanted, since she hadn’t thought about the consequences until she saw her while fleeing.

Wyetta eventually stopped moving, her eyes rolling into the back of her skull. Valerie held on until she was truly unconscious and then released her. After checking she still had a pulse, she nodded, then swiftly grabbed Kaeylyn’s hand again.

Kaeylyn said nothing. She may not understand why Valerie had strangled Wyetta, but her sister was old enough to know Valerie needed to do whatever she could to save them.

Knowing it would be less suspicious if they walked, she kept their pace brisk.

Cool air rushed over them as they moved through the main front entrance and out into the palace grounds. Valerie headed to the right, in the direction of the stable path. There was a small tunnel that ran underneath the palace, used to ferry horses and carriages to the back.

In the shadow of that tunnel was a guard, holding onto the reins of a horse.