She’d thought Lance’s loyalty extended only to Arthur, and was surprised he included her in his inner circle. It made her heart ache at the thought of leaving.

“This way,” Lance whispered, nodding toward a dark, echoing corridor. His footsteps squeaked against the stone floor, and he winced.

Thankfully, it wasn’t much farther. Lance lifted the corner of a decorative tapestry, revealing a door built into the castle’s paneling. Emry stared in surprise at the hidden passageway.

“When you grow up in the castle, you learn things,” he said, ushering her inside. The door clicked shut, plunging them into absolute darkness.

“Ignis,” Emry muttered, making the passage glow with a pale, silvery fire. She staggered, nearly losing her balance from the spell.

“Oh, um, Master Ambrosius said you shouldn’t work any magic for at least an hour after having those handcuffs removed,” Lance said.

“Should have led with that,” Emry grumbled, wincing at her sudden headache.

Lance signaled for Emry to follow him, and she did. Their footsteps seemed to echo strangely, or perhaps that was just the pounding in her head.

The passage let out in the gardens, and they crept past the dark shadows of the hedge maze until they reached the servants’ entrance. There were three other guards up ahead.

Emry’s stomach clenched, but Lance nodded at them, and they nodded back.

“They’re friends,” Lance promised.

“Of yours?” she asked.

“And Arthur’s,” said the handsomest one with a merry grin. “Besides, rescuing a maiden from the dungeons is a lot more interesting than standing in front of a door.”

Emry shook her head.

Uther exerts no will at all. Soon he will fade into obscurity. But Arthur is destined for greatness.

She tried to forget what else the Lady had said.

You will be a great king with this wizard by your side.

Too late for that now.

One of the guards pressed a bundle into her arms. Her things. Emmett’s clothes, her father’s books.

And then Lord Agravaine stepped out of the passage behind them, his dark cloak billowing.

No. She’d been so close. She stared down at her shoes, willing herself not to cry.

“You’re surprisingly hard to track down for a prisoner who’s supposed to be locked in the castle dungeon,” said Lord Agravaine. He cut a dark look at Lancelot.

Lance winced. And then he reached for his sword. “I released her,” he said, his knuckles white as he gripped his blade. “And you’ll—you’ll have to go through me if you mean to sound the alarm.”

Lord Agravaine held up a hand. “If anyone learns the girl has escaped, they won’t hear it from me,” he promised.

“They won’t?” Emry asked, hardly daring to hope.