A Queen Conflicted (Alys Book #3)

Chapter 45

Strong hands grabbed Endolynn, ripping her down from her saddle, causing her to scream out in surprise.
"Alys!" Dastrehan held her on her feet, one hand gripping each of her arms and gently shaking her, "Alys!"

Endolynn's eyes focused on his face, on his honey-brown eyes filled with panic, and suddenly everything came back to her.

They were attacking Leoford's castle.

She had ridden into battle.
She looked around, reaching one hand behind her back to make sure she still had her bow and quill, the other going to the sword sheathed to her hip. Both weapons were secure.

Cries of rage and suffering rang throughout the courtyard. In many places, her soldiers were fighting enemies. But scattered throughout, men were already on their knees, their hands up in surrender as they comprehended the devastation that this modest army had brought upon them. As they surveyed the rage in every single Balearian soldier.
Arrows shot over head, and Endolynn grabbed Dastrehan's hand, leading him without thought quickly towards the smithy that had provided a hiding place for her and her companions when they had escaped days ago.

Her breath came out in sharp gasps, and her mind threatened to freeze again with the memories of Zaiden this place recalled, but she pushed her panic down.
Several of her own soldiers had followed them, as they had planned earlier so that the royals would not be alone.

Squeezing Dastrehan's hand one more time before she released it, she took a steadying breath.

For Zaiden. For Ayleth.

Endolynn led her group into the castle through the way she had initially escaped. As they cleared their way through the halls to Leoford's chambers, they could hear fighting in other areas of the palace.
The queen felt a small touch of relief; the Balearian army was overwhelming the units in the castle faster than she had dared to hope. If the villagers kept away, she was almost assured of victory.

Walking through the halls brought back hundreds of small memories that Endolynn had been blocking out for the last week. They threatened to invade her mind, assault her soul, but she shoved them away.
It made Endolynn sick to her stomach that she was able to lead her group to Leoford's chambers with the ease that came with familiarity. She hoped Dastrehan did not notice the angry blush colouring her cheeks.

She hated Leoford. More than she had ever hated anyone before. Likely more than she ever would again.

Between Dastrehan and two male soldiers, Leoford's door buckled within three strikes. They poured through it, weapons ready.

Movement caught Endolynn's eye immediately, and when she turned towards Leoford's bed, she felt even sicker.

Two women were tired by their hands to the bed, cowering and trying to cover themselves with sheets.
"Please," one of them whimpered, and Endolynn cringed at the purple bruise around one of her eyes, "Do not hurt us!"

The others, including Dastrehan, quickly made themselves busy searching the room to ensure Leoford was not hiding, while Endolynn moved towards the women.
They flinched as Endolynn removed a dagger from her boot and cut the ropes off them.
"You are safe now," she assured them, trying not to let her voice shake with the anger rolling through her at how Leoford treated women, "Do not fear."

As soon as they were released, the women moved away as far as they could without falling off the bed, clutching sheets. They watched the Balearian soldiers, especially the men, with a raw fear that made the queen want to shelter them for the rest of their lives.
"Do you know where he went?" Endolynn asked as gently as she could, forcing a tight smile to show the women she was not going to hurt them.
One woman shook her head, her eyes cast down, but the one with the bruise said almost too quietly to hear, "He told his commander that he was using the tunnel."

Endolynn's heart raced at her words, and her mind screamed at her to hurry.
He is getting away!

Getting away meant he would be out there, plotting to harm her and her family again in the future. He would never stop.

Pushing back the fearful thoughts clouding her mind, Endolynn held the eyes of the brutalized woman with her own, "Do you know where the tunnel is?"
She shook her head. Endolynn swallowed her disappointment as she turned away, motioning for both women soldiers in their group to stay and keep the women safe. She felt bad leaving them, but she could not bring them with her. The best she could do was leave soldiers to guard them. She would see to it once the castle was seized that they were taken care of.

Once back in the hallway, Endolynn was unsure where to go. But she knew she had to act fast, before Leoford could get too much of a head start.
"We should keep searching the halls until we find someone to question about the tunnel."

No one disagreed with her. It seemed about the only thing they could do at this point. Searching for a tunnel in a castle without help would be completely unreasonable, maybe even impossible.

Endolynn kept her sword drawn as they moved down the hallway, taking turns at random, bursting doors open and searching for anyone.

It was not until they made it to a kitchen, where several servants were hiding amongst barrels stuffed full of ingredients, that they finally came across anyone since Leoford's chambers. Everyone else must have already vacated the castle to fight the army invading them or fled to safety.

"Please!" A large man with a flour-dusted apron put his hands up, crouching behind a barrel. He was obviously one of the castle cooks. The other servants hid behind him, mostly young women, and girls as far as Endolynn could see.
"We are not here to harm you," Dastrehan said calmly, but his voice held an urgency that Endolynn knew was due to his fear about his brother escaping, "We are looking for Prince Leoford. We were told he escaped through a tunnel."

"Do you know where it is?" Endolynn demanded, harsher than she meant to, but her anxiety was making it hard to keep her temper in check.
The man stood slowly, his hands still up, "I will take you there myself if you would like."

The man's words took Endolynn by such surprise that she was momentarily speechless.

"Yes," Dastrehan answered, sounded relieved, "Right away."
The man shuffled forward and motioned for them to follow him through the kitchen to a doorway on the opposite side of the room from the one they had entered.

Endolynn lost track of the turns they made and the doors they entered as they followed the cook. She had a fleeting thought that he could be leading them straight into a trap, but she ignored it. The man seemed genuinely scared of them and eager to help. It was more likely that Leoford treated the castle staff and servants as terribly as he treated everyone else Endolynn had ever seen him interacting with.

After what felt like ages to Endolynn but was likely only a few long minutes, the cook led them all into a storage room. Endolynn's overworked heart raced as she surveyed the room, realizing that they were at a dead end.

Stacks of crates and barrels lined the walls, no door but the one they had come through in sight.
It had been a trap!
Her shout of anger was cut off by Dastrehan pointing to the cook. She looked, and saw the man was lifting a large trap door.

The queen was too wound up to feel relieved.
"Down the steps to the landing below. The tunnel starts on the far wall."

Dastrehan quietly ordered the soldiers still with them to wait at the top and guard their backs, thanking the cook with a nod.
With his sword out in front of him, he led the way down the stairs, followed closely by his wife.

It was dark, but a flickering dim light on the bottom of the stairs indicated that at least one torch was lit in the room below.

The smell of must and rot was strong, threatening to make Endolynn's eyes water as she descended the stairs. She focused all her attention on how she was stepping, worried about tripping. The only sound was the clinking of her and Dastrehan's armor with each descending step.

At the bottom, Dastrehan suddenly stopped in his tracks and Endolynn knocked into his back, fumbling to keep her sword from piercing him.
"What the-" she was cut off by Dastrehan, who still stood frozen in front of her.
"You."

Endolynn moved around her husband to see who he was speaking to, hoping beyond hope that it was Leoford.

She was not prepared for the face that her eyes fell upon in the dim light.
Her blood ran cold as she stared into the grinning face of the disgraced Lord Gax.