But war was ugly, wasn’t it? And we were at war with these people.
I crossed back to the room with the blood on the window. There, I grabbed the feet of the second soldier. As I dragged him across the floor, I saw that his body was leaving smears of blood on the stone. More to clean up.
Grunting, I dragged the second corpse out onto the bridge. While I caught my breath, I stared out over the river. The distant lights of South Dovren twinkled far away in the rain.
Lightning struck again, touching down just across the river. On the fragmented bridge, I got down on my knees again. First the torso, arms and head. This soldier was heavier, and I grunted, straining. Then I lifted him by the legs until his hips slid over as well. He plunged, and as I watched him, fear slid through me. I thought for an insane moment I might jump.
Shivering, I ran back into the Tower of Bones.
Now, I needed some cloth to clean the stones. I hurried back into one of the servant’s rooms and snatched an old uniform. Rushing outside, I held it into the rain, so it soaked up the water. When it was drenched, I carried the sodden fabric back into the hall.
On my hands and knees, I started scrubbing the floor, rushing to get it done as fast as I could. I sopped it up with a second, dry uniform.
When I finished, I tossed the blood-soaked uniforms into the river. My legs still felt weak, shaky, but I closed all the doors. I left behind the room where my sister might have died.
And as I walked down the stairs, I slid my hand into my pocket, running it over Alice’s charm necklace.
In the courtyard I kept to the shadows, making sure that no one would notice me if they were to look outside. I peered back at the Tower of Bones, swallowing hard. Then, I climbed the wall again, trying to forget the dizzying feeling of watching those soldiers plummet.
I’d left the armory window open a crack, and all I needed to do was swing it open.
I felt numb as I crept inside. Once my feet hit the old wooden floor, I turned to close the window behind me.
I waited a moment, listening for signs of movement in the castle. But it seemed completely silent tonight, and I heard not a footstep. I exhaled a sigh of relief, trying to stay focused.
But as I started to walk through the armory, my blood went cold. The sound of guards talking floated through the hall. Quickly, I slipped behind one of the suits of armor. Quieting my breath, I pressed my back against the mirror. The torches guttered on the wall.
Where was that draft coming from? I was sure I’d closed the window properly.
I could hear their voices moving closer. In my hiding spot, if they came in for a quick look in the armory, they might miss me. But if they were doing a thorough search, they’d catch me here.
I swallowed hard. They were speaking in Clovian, so I couldn't understand what they were saying. But their voices were loud, agitated, echoing off the walls. It must be after one, though I’d lost track of the time. I wasn’t sure how many people strode around the castle at night, but I imagined that by this point, they’d found the two sleeping guards outside my room. And with that, the fact that I was missing.
I’d never planned to take this long, but nor had I planned to kill two people and clean up the mess.
Behind the knight’s armor, I slid my gaze toward the entryway, and my heart kicked up a notch as I watched two soldiers cross into the armory. I could stay very still in the shadows, hoping they missed me in the dim light. But I heard the sound of more soldiers coming, more frantic voices in the hall.
With my pulse racing, I watched as a guard started searching the other side of the room—very closely. Peering behind the armor on the other side. Behind the tapestries. I was lucky that the armor was enormous, but if they looked closely, it was all over.
As soon as they turned to inspect this side, I'd find myself at the wrong end of five swords.
21
Lila
My breath quickened. Closing my eyes, I turned to knock against the wall, to ask the Raven King for help. As I did, I caught a