Page 56 of Heartbreak Prince

Beyond the barrier, the tunnel drops, its floor and ceiling slanting sharply downward. The mountain stone has been hollowed out with admirable precision. Every place where the walls meet the ceiling is a crisp right angle, and the floor has been polished until it looks slick in the gleam of Evanie’s lantern. There’s no dust that I can discern, just the foul dampness.

“This is the escape route?” Vawn glances at Steros. “A fucking slide through the mountain?”

Steros nods. “It’s fast, pitch black, and dangerous. You won’t be able to see where you’re going or spot any rockfalls or broken bridges.”

“Bridges?” I ask.

“My father told me that the sled crosses two pits. Stone bridges arch over them. The sled should pass right across without stopping, unless something has changed.”

“How long has it been since anyone used this path?”

“Sixty or seventy years? Maybe more.” Steros sidesteps away from the tip of my blade. “As you can see, it’s not a pleasant route. No one would attempt it for fun, and it’s impossible to climb up from the opposite end.”

“Speaking of that—where does it end?”

“It should spit you out the side of a cliff into a deep pool,” Steros replies. “Unless the pool has dried up. I haven’t sent anyone to check on it. My father’s men did once, a couple decades ago. The water was still deep then.”

“Does it ever freeze?”

“How should I know?” Steros lets out an exaggerated sob. “This is the exit you wanted. I’ve opened it for you. Now leave, both of you. Leave me alone.”

Evanie makes a small sound of caution, like she’s warning him not to push me any further. I tense, teetering on the edge of a murderous decision. I can’t shake the image of Vawn on his knees, ready to abase himself for the chance to save both our lives. Vawn, carrying me through the streets of Zeletas wearing that silly helmet. Vawn brushing my hair back and murmuring, “I’ve got you.”

This pompous motherfucker thought he deserved to spurt his cum into the mouth of my prince.

I’m half a second away from slitting his throat. But Vawn’s fingers curl over my arm. “Syth, sweetheart.”

His tone is gentle, a comfort and a plea. His relationship to this man is complicated, but he doesn’t want to see him die.

Maybe, for him, I’ll let the bastard live.

But when the word sweetheart falls from Vawn’s lips, Steros’s eyes bulge. His face reddens, and he darts away, retreating toward the mouth of the corridor. “Guards!” he yells. And then he pulls Evanie in front of him, as if she’s a shield to protect him from me.

The doors to both secret rooms are open. If any guards were stationed within earshot, they’ll be here in seconds.

“We have to go,” I tell Vawn. “You take the rear position.”

He adjusts the carpet case and the satchel on his back, then gets into the shallow sled. Some of the cushion disintegrates into dust and moldy fragments under his boots.

I hop in after him, settling my ass between his legs. I put my satchel on backwards, with its bulk in front of my chest. Maybe it will offer some protection in case of a crash. Although judging by the severity of the slope ahead, we’re going to be flying along this tunnel at such a high speed that any sudden impact will kill us.

I have no idea how long the ride will be, so I don’t activate my shield glyph. It wouldn’t be very useful in this scenario, and when it starts to prick me with pain, I might be hanging onto the sled for dear life, unable to deactivate it without risking my safety. Not for the first time, I wish I hadn’t given up my illumination glyph. But I didn’t have a choice. Only one glyph combination has a proven rate of success against the monsters that infest the mountain range that divides the southern portion of the kingdom from the northern section, known as the Grey Province.

Steros is still shouting. As answering calls and running feet approach our location, Vawn locks both arms around me. I pull down the lap bar on the sled and latch it in place, then reach forward and pull the lever jutting from the floor. The low barrier in front of the sled folds down flat. With my weight shifted forward and the gate out of the way, the sled begins to move.

“You’d better hope you don’t survive this, Highness,” bellows Steros as we slide into the tunnel. “If you make it out alive, we will meet again. You and the bitch will wish you were dead.”

His threats fade when the sled picks up speed. Foul air whooshes past us as we race through a cold black void at a speed more terrifying than that of the carpet. Here, there is rock above us, below us, and all around. I’m afraid of the very air; it tastes bad, and I’m certain we shouldn’t be breathing it.

Down, down, down into the streaming emptiness we go. I can sense the tunnel opening wider, the greater emptiness of a natural cavern expanding around our small sled as we hurtle through the bowels of the mountain.

“Don’t shift your weight,” I yell to Vawn. “If we’re thrown off course even a little—”

“I know.” His arms squeeze me slightly, the only comfort he can offer.

Everything gets close and tight again as we shoot into another tunnel, leaving the cavern behind. The angle of the floor changes, a sharper descent, and then the grating of metal on stone stops, and we’re flying through air, arcing across some chasm.

A scream tears from my body, cut short as we hit the ground again and keep going. I nearly bite my tongue, and after that I manage to keep my shrieks locked inside my chest.