The King's War

39. Escape

AVERY

We were going to escape.

I tried to tamper down my excitement. There was no guarantee Corporal Wilson's plan would work, but it was the only plan we had. And if it worked, Nate and I would finally be free.

Nate had given the Corporal the Duke's phone number so he could warn him about King Abel's plans. I didn't like the idea of having to rely on the Duke after everything he's done to us, but we had no other options. Nate had also provided Melanie Caldwell's number in case the Duke couldn't be reached. I hoped the former assistant was still loyal to him, or else this would be a wasted effort.

Corporal Wilson promised he'd be back after the sunset for the next phase of the plan, so there was nothing for us to do but wait. Given that it was close to daybreak when we'd arrived, it was going to be a long wait. Sleep seemed like a good idea to pass the time, given how bone-tired I was. But whether due to the uncomfortable cot or my stress-fried nerves, it refused to come.

Nate sat on the floor beneath the cot, his hands fidgeting restlessly. I nudged him gently with my knee. "Lie down with me."

He shook his head. "I can't."

I angled my body towards him, propping my head up on my elbow. "Are you worried?"

He let out a humorless laugh. "Am I worried? Well, aside from the fact that we're prisoners aboard Abel's warship, there's no guarantee that Corporal Wilson's little ploy will succeed. I don't even know if we should trust him! This is all a huge gamble and I am so, so tired of having to gamble with our lives."

Those same thoughts had crossed my mind. The Corporal was our final hope; a fact that was too terrifying to contemplate. I hated being so powerless, to constantly be at the mercy of others.

I placed my free hand on Nate's shoulder, massaging it gently. "Lie down with me," I repeated. "You're exhausted and you're only hurting yourself more by staying awake. Everything's out of your hands now. Just sleep."

He threw his head back and exhaled deeply. "All right."

The cot was hardly big enough for two and it creaked ominously under Nate's added weight as he shifted into place behind me. He lay his arm on top of mine, lacing our fingers together, and his added warmth and the sound of his rhythmic breathing lulled me into a dreamless rest.

The sound of a key sliding into a lock jolted me awake. I gasped, sitting upright, only to relax when I recognized the intruder as Corporal Wilson. The door to our cell clicked open and he entered, carrying a stack of uniforms.

Nate sat up also, yawning and rubbing at his eyes. "I didn't think you'd show."

"We're in luck," the corporal said. "I wasn't able to call the duke, but I reached your assistant. She said she'd get through to him and arrange for a pickup for you on the mainland. Now all we have to do is get to the helicopter. I'm scheduled to leave for the camp in an hour. With luck, you two should be able to stow away and nobody will suspect a thing until we get to shore." He held the stack of uniforms out for me to take. "Put these on. They're probably not your size, but they'll have to do."

"Thanks," I said as I took them. The Corporal had even gone so far as to get boots. Neither pair looked to be my size, but they were going to be less conspicuous than the flats I was wearing.

I gave Nate the larger set of boots and unfolded the uniforms, keeping the smaller one for myself. We slipped them over our clothes and I made sure to tuck my hair under the cap as it was my most recognizable feature.