Destined for Greatness ✔️

Chapter 29

Security had definitely increased since Ryleigh last broke into the castle. There were guards in places there never used to be any guards before.

She had let Parker teleport them to a different tunnel entrance than the one she'd used before, just to be safe. This one ended up on the other side of the castle, near the infirmary and the tower that housed the library and archive.

The soldiers running patrol in the woods were more of an obstacle this time around as well. Parker would need to stay outside of the tunnel to be able to teleport the records to their lair, since he couldn't teleport from inside the castle. This was fixed easily enough by letting Royce stay with him and obscure them both from view with his invisibility. If they managed to be quiet, it might work. There would still be visible movement when the others brought out the records, and when Parker returned, but those were short intervals.

The tunnel was guarded on the outside as well, which was another thing that was new. The soldiers weren't standing right over the entrance, since that would have been a dead give-away of its location, but they were hovering near. This, too, was easy enough to deal with. The moment they landed in the woods, Ava, the more experienced invisibility-worker among them, cloaked them all, while Ryleigh located the memories of the Royal Wolves near them.

Ryleigh nodded at Dawn and gestured in the direction where she sensed one of the guards. Dawn took her knife, flashed a confident smile, and ran towards it so fast she might as well have been invisible herself. The sickening thud of the hilt of Dawn's knife connecting with the wolf's skull – because the guards were in their wolf forms – fluttered through the night and they all cringed.

Dawn returned, raising her brows at Ryleigh in a silent request for her next target. Ryleigh provided the direction, and off she went. While she was chasing wolves, Parker trotted to the crime scene of her first victim and teleported the unconscious wolf to the other side of the territory. It'd be a while before he'd wake up, and they'd be long gone by then. By the time Parker got back, he had another wolf to transport, and then another.

"All clear," Ryleigh said, nodding towards the hatch. "Just normal patrol left. I don't sense them near right now, but caution is still warranted. Royce, Parker, you know the drill. Wait for the runners to return with the records. And Royce, no funny business. I know you're eager to prove yourself, but the way to do that right now is by showing you can be a good team-player."

He nodded, for once not grinning. Ryleigh had been hesitant to take him with them, but they had needed another person with invisibility powers, and since he was the older twin, the honour was his. It wasn't even his age that made her hesitant, but his complete lack of reliability. But he was still a Shadow Walker, and she trusted he'd come through.

"Alright. Everyone remembers the plan?"

They all nodded. Ryleigh regarded each one of them, then nodded as well. It'd been a while since they'd gone on missions like this. There had been smaller missions, like when Jade, Parker and she went to retrieve a map of the castle, but nothing like this. Nothing this dangerous. It'd been a while, too, that Ryleigh gone on any missions without Jade. She was used to having her and Parker as her partners. She didn't trust the others as blindly.

Parker drew the hatch open and Ryleigh headed into the tunnel first, followed by Rhys – Dawn's mother and another fast runner – Dawn, and Ava. It was dark and damp and every footstep reverberated through the narrow space. The tunnel was relatively long. It took nearly ten minutes for them to reach the end of it, but it was worth it. A longer tunnel meant the exit was further away from the castle, which worked in their favour.

Once they reached the door that would lead them into a, hopefully, dark and empty hallway, they halted. Ryleigh leant closer to the door, listening for memories. There were some near enough to be a concern, but none in their direct vicinity. She clicked the door open and stuck her head out. The hallway was empty. She opened the door fully and slipped out, beckoning the others to follow.