Silver and Ethyn had to duck into the shadows twice more as they exited the dungeon.
The entrance was particularly busy. More and more of the Birilian soldiers were being brought in unconscious by their Lakilian counterparts.
If Silver had hoped the opposite was true, the men's coarse accents gave them away as not being from the capital's guard. Silver glanced from the darkness at the unconscious men's faces. He frowned.
Were they using some sort of magic or brute force to knock out so many strong men? Silver wasn't sure. A sickeningly sweet aroma accompanied the men as they passed.
Whatever the cause of the slumber, all the Guardian knew was that he was glad they weren't killing the men outright.
Willric was going to need an army to maintain his presence in the country even after he took it over. Perhaps he would offer protection to the families of anyone who joined his forces.
It was a clean and easy way to get both man power and loyalty. Most soldiers would put the safety of their family over their allegiance to a king. Silver couldn't exactly blame them if they made the switch, especially if Rhodri were already dead.
Silver only hoped the king had not left the land of the living yet. Somehow he didn't think it was so. Things were still too quiet. The death of the monarch would create chaos in the castle, not calm.
The soldiers of Lakyle were still moving with stealth, which meant the battle had not been won, and they were still hoping for some element of surprise. That was a comforting sign.
At the entrance of the dungeon, the original guards were missing. The two men left behind were looking outward, not expecting danger to come from within. Why should they? Their comrades had just passed by with more prisoners.
Walking past them confidently would gain Ethyn and Silver questions they did not wish to answer. They would have to be more covert.
"Joe?" The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.
"Who's Joe?" One soldier asked the other.
"I don't know, you tell me. Yer da one dat said it." The second man scowled.
The two hotheads immediately began to argue, quickly escalating things into a shoving match. The soldiers clearly hadn't learned self-discipline in the army to be so easily provoked.
Then again, Sir Kent had been the same way. According to Sage, anger and aggression were rewarded by King Willric. So the reaction of the men should be less surprising than it was.
When the two men began to scuffle, Silver saw their chance. Jerking his head at Ethyn, the two men slipped by and made their way up the stairs.
Reaching the landing, Silver looked for a place to hide. He needed one quick. Already people were following behind them on the steps.
"We need to go," he whispered.
Ethyn pointed toward a hallway, and they all but sprinted down it. Those following behind quickened their pace as well. "This way," someone behind them said softly.
Silver and Ethyn had been spotted! Fortunately whoever had seen them had not roused the alarm. They, too, were afraid of drawing the wrong people's attention.
The pursuers must not have been sure what they had seen.
'Here!' Ethyn mouthed as he pushed a door open and ducked into a room. Somehow the Guardian managed to pass him and was already inside.
The knight didn't question how Silver had managed the feat. Instead he swung the door but stopped short of closing it for fear that the extra sound would draw their pursuers to their location.
Both men backed up and held their breath. The steps drew nearer and nearer then stopped…
…right in front of the door.
Hushed whispers passed between the three people, but Ethyn couldn't distinguish what they were saying. The knight looked at his friend.
Silver's face was tense. Unlike Ethyn, he could understand what was being said.
"I know they went this way."
"We cannot just go wandering around. Someone will ask us questions."
"I don't see another option, do you?"
The footsteps began again, traipsing farther down the hall until the disappeared entirely.
"That was close," Ethyn heaved a sigh of relief.
"Too close. Something about that doesn't sit right with me..." Silver couldn't put his finger on what was bugging him, but there was a pull in the back of his brain that he was missing something.
He often attributed the sensation to Hanna, who often couldn't directly intervene. This time, he was not sure what she was trying to tell him.
"Nevermind about them. They are gone now. Can we talk about the bigger discovery? Borit was in chains and being led through the dungeon!" Ethyn wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Since the guards at the front of the dungeon are from Lakyle, I can only assume that General Kaarel turned on Borit." Silver saw no other explanation to the turn of events. "It was a predictable move. If Borit is willing to betray the one king, he will not hesitate to turn against another if it suits him. Kaarel and Willric must know that as well."
"Then we have one problem solved. That's a small mercy," Ethyn's small smile faded as Silver shook his head.
"Borit must have known they would do it as well. He is no fool. Don't underestimate him or his ability to have a back up plan." Well aware of Borit's slippery nature, the Guardian was not about to turn his back on his foe.
"Do we need to go back and deal with him first?" Ethyn looked around for a weapon. Unfortunately the place that they had hidden was not an armory. It was a small storage room.
"No, I do not think that is the best use of our time. We need to get to Haven and get her out of here, and we need to get to the king to protect him and the palace from this coup." Silver eyed the man carefully.
"What?"
"I don't like it, but I think you will have to be the one to go after my sister. I am the more stealthy of the two of us and I have a better chance of reaching His Majesty unseen." Silver had seen Ethyn fight and knew the knight could barrel his way through a few Laklian brutes to get to the woman he loved.
Getting to the king would require more finesse.
Ethyn furrowed his brow. "What if the princess and king are together now? Just because Rose was sent to her room doesn't mean Kaarel kept her there."
Silver's eyes flashed. "Then we will be meeting again very soon. But you better hope they are not together. If they are, then the end of things is very near indeed. If Rhodri loves the princess half as much as I do, his resolve will be all but gone as soon as he sees her."
The two men shook and prepared to part ways. They looked around the small storage space for anything that would be useful. Silver retrieved a rope and Ethyn hefted a metal candlestick holder. It would have to do until he could get a proper weapon.
"Don't do anything stupid." Silver told the other man.
"Too late for that..." Ethyn gave a lopsided grin as he looked at the candlestick in his hands.
Rubbing the back of his head, Silver grunted. "Good point. Uh, don't die...and don't let anything happen to sweet Haven!"
"Got it. Take care of yourself. I still need to ask you that question before you die." Ethyn nodded.
"Don't get cocky. You mess up and my answer will be no." Silver glared.
"No messing up and no dying. Noted." Ethyn slipped down the hall.
Silver thought of one more rule. He hissed it at the door knowing the knight would still be able to hear. "And keep your hands off my sister!"