The Red King [Book II]

I

The man slipped right through Alex's fingers.

ㅤHaving shed the iron shackles, kicking them off his feet like mere trousers tangling his legs, the prisoner leapt from Alex's grasp.

ㅤAlex was reacting before he'd known what'd happened, chasing the prisoner through the cool marble corridors, his sandals slipping over dust where the prisoner's bare feet stuck. Each corner was a gamble.

ㅤ'Guards!' he bellowed, trying to whip up attention.

ㅤDespite his calling, he and the prisoner passed by numerous soldiers and servants who watched on, unacting. Maids yelped and flinched away.

ㅤAnother bend. Alex skidded, his hand touching the floor to keep balance before scrambling onward.

ㅤ'Catch him!' he demanded.

ㅤIn front, an open balcony door swayed with a breeze. Alex yelled in frustration, feet pounding, arm reaching. The prisoner's shirt was a hair away.

ㅤAlex's gut lifted, the floor suddenly approaching him at speed. He'd tripped.

ㅤ'Fuck!'

ㅤIn the precious few seconds he'd taken to catch himself, the prisoner was gone, having escaped out the window.

ㅤHis nails dug into his palms, furious. A small titter of low laughter nearby boiled him inside.

ㅤTwo Ankaid guards stood closely, dressed in red, casually observing him and his failure. Alex turned his head to look them in the eyes, heavily weighing his violent temptation.

ㅤ'Ahh, he's gone,' one said, his straight face threatened by a smirk.

ㅤ'It all happened so fast,' the other replied. 'I would've helped if I knew what was happening.'

ㅤ'Are you okay, Your Lordship? That was quite the fall.'

ㅤ'These floors are slippery.'

ㅤAlex wasn't an idiot. He hadn't fallen over his own feet, he'd been deliberately tripped. And, now, his prisoner, Lord Lagarde, was free.

ㅤ'Sir Lewin. Sir Aodh,' he named them, much to their shock. 'Explain it to me, right now. What are you doing here?'

ㅤ'I mean no disrespect,' Sir Lewin said, having recovered quickly. 'But who are you to ask us that?'

ㅤAlex itched to bloody their smug faces in, but he had no authority to do so.

ㅤShackles didn't simply fall off, despite Lord Lagarde's earlier contradiction. He'd been an Ankaid noble who'd led the other soldiers here during the palace's siege. He'd been respected. Although Alex had no evidence, he was certain guards like these had enabled the noble's escape out of spite.

ㅤ'Lord Lagarde has been convicted of crimes against the crown,' Alex warned. 'For failing to act, I have your names.'

ㅤHe'd repeat them to any listener till his ears rang sore. In the meantime, he somehow needed to quickly secure the escaped prisoner. This was his failure.