I’d got to the right place. There it was—the Tower of Bones, looming over the Dark River. It stretched up into the sky at the end of one of the outer walls.
The map was clearly old, because it showed twenty-three towers. It seemed at one point, the river had been narrower, but the waters had consumed two of the towers in the distant past.
Unfortunately, I’d have to go outside the castle to investigate. And while I didn’t love the idea of having to cross out into the courtyard in the open, tonight was probably the best night to do it. Clouds completely hid the moon and stars, giving wonderful darkness. Tonight of all nights, it would be easy to go unnoticed.
The hard part would be getting out of this castle, with the soldiers guarding the front door. My best bet would be to sneak down to the lowest level, then scale the wall from a secluded window.
Dovren was a city of walls, especially around the East End. In the ancient days, when the Blessed Raven King had ruled the kingdom, he’d set up enormous stone boundaries around the city to keep out invaders. Soldiers had protected Dovren from the towers in the walls. And while much of the walls had crumbled into ruins, in many places the towers still stretched to the skies.
Some of the rich built great homes against the ancient stone. So if you knew how to scale it, you could nip in to pinch a few silver spoons or fancy bits of china. If you were that sort of a person.
Long story short, I was good at climbing stone.
I slid the book back onto the shelf, then plucked a long candle from the table, along with a little box of matches. I slipped them into my pocket.
And as for my dagger, I sheathed it around my thigh.
Given that they hadn’t provided me with knickers and I was wearing a long dress, I’d absolutely need to murder anyone who saw me getting the dagger out.
With everything ready, I crossed to the door. I turned the knob, opening it just a little. Instantly, a smile came to my lips. The nightshade had worked, and the two guards lay slumped against the wall. I dumped out the rest of the wine on them, and I left the empty bottle between them. Now, they looked like a pair of wine-soaked drunks.
I glanced down the hall, left, then right. Nothing but shadows and stone.
Now or never.
I hurried to the stairwell and rushed down the stairs, one hand on the wall to steady myself as I took one turn after another. When I got to the first floor, I poked my head out.
I found myself in the armory—a large wooden hall with beams of oak arching above me. Most importantly, it had a window I could use.
I crept through the room, swift and stealthy.
Orange light flickered over the displays of swords, axes, the old armor hanging on the walls. I jumped when I saw movement in the corner of my eye, then realized it was my own reflection. Mirrors hung behind some of the suits of armor, making the room look bigger than it was.
I opened the window outward, pulled myself up, then swung one of my legs over. For a moment, my foot got caught in the hem of my long dress, but I was able to disentangle myself. That was exactly why I normally wore trousers.
As I lowered myself down, I found a toe hold. It wasn’t much, just a little crack between the stones, but I could use it. Once I was out the window, I closed it nearly all the way. From there, I found small cracks, spaces in the stones where I could grip with my fingers and rest my toes. I only needed to go down a few feet or so until I could jump.
I landed with a soft thud in the grass, and I breathed in deeply.
The rain had gone softer now, but clouds still covered the sky. I loved being out here in the night, where I felt free. As I hurried over the grass, my eyes picked out the darkest route.
When I reached the Tower of Bones, I looked up at it. Numerous royals had been murdered in this very tower. Long ago a king had kept his wives in there, before he grew bored with them and cut off their heads.
But it had first been named for a tragedy a thousand years ago,