Sienna Du’for's Arc

Chapter 27 of 30

Sienna heard boots in the hall before dawn. She kept her cheek on the stone and let her mouth hang open. The bolt scraped back. The iron door swung in. Torchlight from the hall pushed a bright square across the floor. Two guards came in. One carried a bucket. The other shut the door behind them. "Still breathing," the first said. He nudged her hip with his boot. "Barely." "She needs to stand at the block," the second said. "Princess can't fall over before the axe. Bad for the crowd." "We'll tell them she poisoned the old king. That's why she ran a year back. Gave him the cup and slipped out the servants' gate." "Cecilia wants tears in the square. Tears and a name to hate." The first laughed. "We have hours before they call for her." He set the bucket down. "She won't remember. She's half gone already." "Take your turn then. I'll watch the door." Sienna's hand slid under her hip. Her fingers found the knife in her right boot. She had two. She had bought them at the market before she rode north. She had barely learned to hold them. The first guard knelt. He reached for her belt. She drove the knife up under his jaw. He made a wet sound and dropped on her chest. She shoved him off and was already moving. The second guard turned from the door. She threw the second knife low. It caught him in the thigh. He grunted and drew his sword. She was on him before the blade cleared. She pulled the first knife from the first man's throat as she rose and buried it under the second guard's ribs. He slid down the door. Quiet came back. Her breath was loud in it. She stood over them and her hands began to shake. She had killed two men in the time it took to cross the cell. She stared at the blood on her sleeve. Her stomach turned. A sound climbed into her throat and she swallowed it. "Not now," she said out loud. "Not now." She wiped the knives on the first guard's tunic and slid them into her boots. She took his cloak and pulled it around her shoulders. She took his ring of keys. She dragged both bodies away from the door. She pressed her ear to the wood. The hall was empty. Cecilia would still be in her chambers at this hour. She always slept until the sun cleared the east wall. Sienna knew every turn between this cell and that door. She had run them as a child. She fit the key to the lock and turned it. The bolt slid. The door opened. Sienna stepped into the hall and shut it behind her. She walked toward her sister's room.