Page 115 of The Prince and His Stolen Throne

But once he woke up, I’d lose my chance to talk with the others.

I dressed quickly, surprised to find clothes in the wardrobe that fit me. Wilde was short enough that the pants should have ended above my ankles, yet they were exactly the right length. Had he bought clothes specifically for me?

My pack with all its supplies was discarded near the sitting area. The guards might question me if I walked around with it, so I couldn’t bring it with me. I rifled around in it, pulling out the items I needed and stuffing them in my pockets.

At the door, I took one last look at Wilde. Still fast asleep, one arm outstretched over the empty space where I should have been. What would he think when he woke alone?

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and slipped out of the room.

Climbing down the stairs, every part of me ached, and I wished I could teleport like Wilde. His rooms were on the third floor, so I had to walk down two ivy covered flights. I shoved the vines aside and clung onto the rail, taking each step as quickly as I dared.

As I reached the first floor, an imp zoomed past the staircase, carrying half a pie in a sagging tin. The pastry was precariously perched, about to break through its enclosure if the imp shifted it wrong.

A second imp raced after the first, shouting, “That’smine!You already ate yours!”

Neither paid any attention to me as they zipped around the corner.

I pictured Fitz’s map in my head, following the hallways of the old government building until I found the entrance to the jail-turned-dungeons. Another damn set of stairs.

My legs felt like jelly by the time I reached the bottom. I’d thought there’d be one guard, maybe two. Instead, I found four huge orcs crammed around a much-too-small card table. Their chairs took up more than half the hallway. If a fight ensued, I wasn’t sure who would win. The orcs would have a hard time drawing their weapons, but there was nowhere in the cramped hallway that I could get out of reach.

None of the orcs looked up, all focused on their card game. From the deep furrows on the captain’s brow, I guessed he was losing. His tusks poked petulantly into his cheeks as he tried to figure out his next play. He glanced up at me and made a split-second decision to ruin the game. “Attention!”

The other three orcs sprang to their feet.

While they were distracted, the orc captain swapped out his cards, then laid his hand facedown. “Orders from the Lord of Grimnight?” he asked as he lumbered to his feet.

“I need to interrogate the hostages,” I explained.

One of the orcs scratched their head in confusion. “Why would you interrogate them? They haven’t done anything wrong—” a sharp elbow in his side cut him off. He rubbed his ribs and frowned at his captain. “Why’d you—oof!” The second jab shut him up.

“He’s the lord’s son. If he says he needs to interrogate them, he needs to interrogate them.”

It was a little odd to be downgraded from a prince to a ‘lord’s son’ after twelve years. Not that I’d put much stake in my stolen title.

The orc captain unlocked the door for me. “Cells are down the hall.”

I thanked him and slipped past him.

As the door closed, I heard one of the orcs mutter, “Awfully polite for someone evil.”

Dammit, I needed to be more imperious. I spun on my heel, raising my chin to give the appearance of looking down on them even though they were a foot taller than me. “There’s no reason for all four of you to be here. Don’t you have other assignments?”

“The royal champions are captured,” one orc said. “That was our job. What else are wesupposed to—”

“And if someone comes after them? This is no time to laze about playing card games. What were your assignments before?”

“Patrolling to search for the champions, guarding the doors so the champions couldn’t catch us unaware, uhh …” The orc looked to their captain.

The captain stared back at me steadily. “All jobs that have now come to an end. Unless you’re willing to pay us overtime?”

I pulled a pouch of coins from my pocket and tossed it to the captain. He caught it without taking his eyes off me. “Fair pay for fair work,” I told him.

He weighed the pouch, then tucked it into his pocket. “New orders, lads. Back to your posts.”

Happy to receive more pay, the orcs grabbed their spare chairs and marched up the stairs. The captain paused at the bottom, glancing back at me. “The lacertians have the next shift. Someone will be here in about twenty minutes to take over. We have separate contracts, and I don’t know if theirs allows for overtime.”

“Understood.” I waited until he left and I heard the door closing at the top of the stairs, then continued down the hall toward the cells.