Page 52 of In The Dark
I reach the corner near the kitchens and immediately come to a halt, spotting someone exiting a door down the corridor. I remain quiet, inching myself closer to the wall behind me, melting into the stone.
But something shifts against my back, a rough scraping noise brushing the air.Fuck.My eyes widen as I realize that it’s the wall that moved. Just as I attempt to dart around the corner, his head suddenly swivels in my direction.
I’ve been spotted.
“What are you doing?” Ren demands, his voice barely above a whisper. I hadn’t seen him since our conversation in the commons five days ago.
Iknewhe was going to make it more difficult to find mymother, especially if he’s lurking in the halls late at night. I swallow my frustration, staring at him in silence.
He flicks his gaze down the hall near the courtyard, as if looking for the guards. An expression passes over his features—too quick for me to decipher.
With how the castle is laid out, the front is in the shape of a horseshoe with openings to the courtyard near the middle. The king’s archives rest at the back and can be seen in any direction. Even though I took the long way, I still have to hide myself to arrive at my stairwell. But so does he.
And for some reason, I begin to think he doesn’t want to get caught either.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I counter, arching a brow when my eyes flick to his hands, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Are those tarts?”
He quickly hides the items, eyes narrowing.
“No,” he says sharply, keeping his voice down. “And don’t make me ask you again.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I lie, quietly moving toward him and stopping at the edge of his boots. “I didn’t know I was confined to my room for eternity, Captain.”
Since a lot of our missions are done at night, we don’t necessarily have a curfew, which is why most of us like to visit Alvonia in our free time. But if we’re caught running rampant around the castle late at night, you can guarantee we’ll be questioned about it.
“Are you stealing from the kitchens?” I arch a brow. “I wonder what the punishment would be for that.”
Silence stretches for a beat, and I notice the way he refuses to meet my gaze, as if wanting to avoid this conversation entirely. He glances down the hall once more before turning back to me.
“I won’t say anything if you won’t,” he mutters, catching meby surprise. So heisstealing. A captain stealing from the kitchens? Well, this just got interesting.
“But I’m not stealing,” I quip, giving him a menacing grin.
His eyes narrow as he scans me in silence before leaning down, muttering quietly under his breath.
“No, you’re not,” he admits. “But you’re definitely not out here because you couldn’t sleep.” His eyes remain cold and uncaring, but I almost sense a hint of amusement within his gaze.
Dammit. I study him for a solid minute before carelessly shrugging—not wanting to question his reasoning for bypassing why I’m in this hall.
“Fine.” I nod toward the courtyard, silently suggesting he take the lead, but only because I don’t want to get caught. His scarred brow arches, and then I watch as he shifts his weight, stepping into the shadows on silent feet.
His movements are precise and utterly silent against the cold stone floor, and for a moment, admiration washes over me. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud.
The faint sound of armor clinks from the courtyard, forcing me to press myself against the cool stone, the scent of damp earth filling my senses. We wait, hearing the guards’ voices drift in and out, one quietly laughing at something I can’t quite make out from this distance.
Ren pauses a step ahead of me, his large frame barely visible once he reaches the edge of the hall. He peeks around the corner, raising a hand for me to wait, when I glance down, spotting the items hanging in his right hand.
Thosearetarts. I knew it.
I smirk behind his back, quickly composing myself when he urges me to follow as we move left. I step forward, spotting the two guards perched outside the archives, deep in conversation.
We cross the threshold in an instant and out of sight,remaining in the shadows near the entrance to my stairwell, making this little late-night adventure a success.
I shake my head.These guards are awful.
Now, I need to enter the door to my left while Ren needs to enter the one to his right, leading him down the hall where the rest of our brethren sleep on the first level.
He reaches the handle, then hesitates, only to glance over his shoulder to throw me a wry smirk before disappearing. And for some reason, I find myself giving him one of my own as we both go our separate ways. What an odd interaction.