More time passed in an excruciatingly slow daze. Boredom and anxiety warred for supremacy in my mind. Eventually I dozed, exhaustion setting in after the adrenaline had worn off. When I woke up, the light from above had seeped away. The only illumination in my cell came from the flickering torches in the hallway.

Thanks to my afternoon nap, I was now wide awake during a time when most of the palace had gone to sleep. The torchlight didn’t penetrate very far into my cell, and I jumped at every little shadow. Was that a rat? I gathered my skirts around me and pulled my legs tight to my chest, trying to take up as little space as possible.

I heard more soft skittering, but it seemed to be coming from outside my cell rather than from inside. I shrank down even further. Was Hendon coming back?

In the hallway, I heard a soft, low voice. “Princess Jennica?”

“Beyan!” I flew to the door, sticking my hand out the bars into the hallway. I waved my hand around, hoping it would catch his attention. “In here!”

Beyan’s face appeared on the other side of the grille. “Jennica! Are you unharmed?”

“Yes!“

“Good. Don’t worry, I’ll get you out right away.”

I stepped back from the door, expecting Beyan to break it down, or maybe pick the lock or something. Instead, I heard a key turn in the lock and Beyan opened the door, squinting into the gloom. He held a key ring with several keys clanking together on it.

“Beyan, how did you—”

“Come on, let’s get going. I can tell you as we go.”

“Wait.” I held out my arm, showing Beyan the magic-blocking band around my wrist. “Can you get this thing off me?”

Beyan squinted at the key ring in his hand. He quickly tried two keys in the band’s lock before finding the right one. It fell to the ground.

“What is that thing?” Beyan asked.

“A band the guards put on prisoners to keep them from using magic.” I kicked it as hard as I could, sending the hateful thing into the farthest recesses of the cell. With that accomplished, I hurried out of the cell. Beyan carefully closed and locked the door behind me, then led the way down the hallway.

I wanted to free the other prisoners, but it would have been hard to help them quickly in the state they were in. I silently promised myself that after this was all over, they would have their freedom—and justice.

“Farrah put a sleep spell on the guard to get the keys,” Beyan said. “It doesn’t last long; we need to get back there and make sure to return the keys to him before he wakes up.”

I nodded and we quickened our pace. But, I was still curious. “You came back for me.”

“Did you think we wouldn’t?”

“I … wasn’t sure … you would. I thought—”

“That I sold you out?” Beyan spared a moment to shoot a remorseful look at me. “I’ll be honest with you. I nearly did. When I was unable to meet with the queen, I thought to offer information to King Hendon. I tried to get an audience with him, which is where I was when you came to our campsite the other night. Farrah and Rhyss didn’t know, they thought I was trying to see the queen again. If I had told them, I know they would have tried to talk me out of it, and they would have been right. But I was so upset, I couldn’t think straight. And then you showed up … and I realized I had made a terrible mistake. I went back to the castle this morning hoping to undo the damage, but it was too late. Hendon sent his soldiers after me, hoping I would lead them to you. Which, like an idiot, I did, even though I thought I had led them astray. I’m so sorry, Jennica.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Seeing you again … hearing your side of the story. Meeting your father. I’ve jumped to a lot of conclusions on a lot of things. It was just … easier that way. Easier to find something to fight against instead of something to fight for.” He reached back and grabbed my hand.

“Well, to be fair, I did thwart your life mission of killing the dragon.”

“You did. But I got you captured by the evil king. So I think we’re even.” We smiled at each other.

After navigating a series of hallways and a set of stairs, we reached Farrah and Rhyss, who were standing vigil by the guard Farrah had cast a spell on. Rhyss was keeping watch on the hallway while Farrah focused on the guard, ready to throw another spell at him if he woke up.

When Farrah saw us, her face broke into a relieved smile. She hurried forward and grabbed the keys from Beyan’s outstretched hand. Behind her, the guard stirred and moaned softly. Farrah’s smile quickly turned into a frown as she looked back.

“Drat! I really thought that would last longer. I must be exhausted.”

Farrah raised her hands, getting ready to recast her sleep spell. The guard’s eyes fluttered open. Eyes widening, he opened his mouth to sound the alarm—

—And slumped over again, unconscious from Rhyss’s blow to his cheek.

“I nearly had it.” Farrah frowned at Rhyss.

“This was faster.” Rhyss shrugged. “Plus, you just said you were exhausted.”

“Don’t baby me, I hate it when you do that. You know I’m more than capable of—”

Beyan coughed pointedly. “You two can argue about the merits of using brute force instead of subtle spell casting later.”

Sticking her tongue out at Rhyss, Farrah planted the keys back in the guard’s pocket. Rhyss opened a hidden door in the wall—another one? how had I never noticed any of these before?—and motioned for us to enter.

Beyan turned to me. “Can you create a light? I don’t think Farrah is any condition to do so right now.” Farrah stuck her tongue out at Beyan.

I nodded to hide my smirk and conjured a light. The bright little ball bobbed in front of me.

“Perfect.” Beyan put a finger to his lips. “From here on out, we all have to stay absolutely silent.”

He walked through the door into the darkness beyond with me right on his heels. Farrah released her spell, gulping in air, and quickly followed us. Rhyss came last, closing the door firmly behind him.

My spell gave us just enough light to see several feet ahead. Beyan confidently led the way through the secret tunnels, and soon we found ourselves outside the castle. We started toward the campgrounds but didn’t head back to our original campsite.

Instead, we went to a small clearing within the trees, hidden from view from the main campground. I was surprised no one else was using it, but figured none of the visiting nobles would want to be away from the never-ending party atmosphere leading up to the wedding.

Joichan was at our new campsite, tending the fire. When he saw us, he immediately jumped to his feet and hugged me. “You made it! I was so worried.”

All the tension I had been feeling for the last several hours surfaced in a torrent of tears. My father’s shoulder was soaked in a matter of minutes. “Hendon tried to cast a spell of control on me … he took Taryn … the wedding is still happening … I couldn’t stop him.”

Joichan just held me, silently allowing me to let it all out. Eventually my tears subsided. Through my watery eyes I could see Rhyss and Beyan getting things ready for the night, deliberately avoiding looking our way. Farrah was helping them, but smiled at me sympathetically when she caught me watching.

Joichan led me over to the fire and sat me down. “All right, now that you’ve calmed down a bit, tell us what happened.”

I relayed to the group what had occurred with King Hendon, Taryn, and me. When I was finished, a thought occurred to me. “How did all of you find me, anyway? And how did you know about the secret passageways?”

“I took them to meet your mother,” Joichan said. “She showed them the passageways and told them how to find you, and how to get out.”

“Them?”

I could have sworn Joichan blushed. “Yes, I … it seemed wise to let them go on without me.”

I smirked, but didn’t say anything.

Joichan continued, “Your news is distressing, but not unexpected, considering what Melandria told us earlier.”

“What should we do now?” I asked.

“Now, we get some sleep. We’ll be up early tomorrow. After all, we have a wedding to stop.”