Reid climbed on one of the smaller horses. Once she was situated, a soldier placed a heavy cape over her shoulders. Realizing chainmail lined it, she pulled it closer, thankful it would protect her body and the horse’s backside from arrows. Gordon, Ackley, and Dexter received similar capes.

“How are we going to get out of the city without the king’s soldiers spotting us?” Reid inquired.

“Those are not the king’s soldiers,” Gordon snapped.

“Why are you coming with us?” Reid asked.

Gordon pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. “Eldon is conspiring with a foreign army. He has taken my soldiers and tossed them aside in favor of Melenia’s. I have to stop him before we lose Marsden.”

“What about Dana?”

“She’s pregnant. Eldon already named my firstborn son as his heir. He won’t hurt Dana. He needs her.”

With Gordon now on their side, Reid felt more confident in their quest to retake the kingdom.

A large door built into the side of the wall swung open. “We have to start out slow,” Dexter said, heading toward the darkened corridor. “It’s steep.”

A soldier handed him a torch. He entered the corridor, revealing a ramp descending into a tunnel. Reid followed behind him, her horse not hesitating in the confined space. Once Gordon and Ackley made it inside, the door slammed shut.

“They have orders to blow the tunnel if enemy soldiers breach the compound,” Dexter explained.

Not wanting to think about that scenario, Reid followed Dexter down the ramp. The ground eventually leveled out, and they were able to ride a bit faster. No one spoke. After a solid hour, they headed up an incline. Dexter dismounted, then fumbled with a door. It took him a few tries until it finally opened. Once they were out in the bright sunlight, Dexter closed and locked the door, which had been built into the side of a rocky mountain covered with vines. After making sure the entrance remained concealed, he mounted and led the way through the dense forest.

They rode until they came to a narrow dirt path. Then they pushed the horses faster, no one speaking as they covered as much ground as possible before it became too dark to travel any farther. When they could barely see, Dexter led them off the trail and into the cover of the forest.

“Sleep. As soon as there’s enough light, we’ll continue.”

Too exhausted to think about the past twenty-four hours, Reid tied her horse to a tree, removed her cape, and stretched out on the ground. She heard the men mumbling about finding water for the horses. But she didn’t care. She closed her eyes, immediately falling asleep.

Someone shook Reid awake. When she opened her eyes, she saw Dexter kneeling beside her. “It’s time to go,” he whispered.

“Wait.” She grabbed his hand before he could stand. “I’m sorry.”