Page 24 of This Prince Is Not Charming

“I can see better than any of you in the dark,” the cat said over her shoulder, disappearing.

“Hey!” Siobhan shouted. “I’m coming too!” She followed Meera while the rest of us sent each other unsure looks before following behind, one by one.

“Uh, Clio is the one with fire on her head!” Marsten shouted. “Shouldn’t she be the one to lead?”

No response came, the two faeries already swallowed by the dark.

The uneven stairs were jagged under my feet, and it was too dark to see anything in front of me. I stretched out a hand and braced it against the curved wall, taking careful steps and feeling out each stair as I went with my slippered foot.

“How much farther?” Lila called from somewhere behind me, her voice sounding weak and tired.

Her question echoed until fading into the silence, no one able to answer since none of us knew.

“Siobhan? Meera?” I called out, wondering the same thing.

“If I had an update, don’t you think I’d let you know?” Meera’s response echoed back to us from somewhere far below.

“Actually, no, I don’t think you would,” Marsten yelled, his voice coming from right behind me.

“Can everyone stop talking?” Clio asked. “I’m trying to concentrate on not falling down these feckin’ stairs to my death.”

“And setting the rest of us on fire in the process,” Marsten mumbled.

We kept marching down the stairs, quiet and focused. I had no idea where the castle was leading us, and I really hoped it was to the exit and not to another puzzle. My legs ached from all the stairs I’d descended, sweat matting my curls to my face.

I thought about calling out to Siobhan and Meera again, but Meera had already said she’d tell us when she got to the bottom, so I didn’t think yelling would help. In fact, I suspected the more I bothered her, the less inclined she’d be to let us know when we were close.

“I’m seeing spots,” Lila said, her voice so faint I almost couldn’t hear her.

“Really?” Marsten asked. “I still can’t see anything.”

“No, I think she means she’s not feeling well,” Liadan said.

“I think”—Lila panted—“I think I’m going to pass out.”

I didn’t have a chance to react before a scream rang out and Lila yelled, “I’m going down!”

A second later, someone’s weight slammed into me, and I toppled forward. My body crashed into the jagged rock as I continued to tumble, rolling so fast I couldn’t grab on to anything or stop myself. All I could do was curl into a ball and hope I somehow survived this.

Sharp rock stabbed my ribs, scraped my hands, and caught at my dress, and a rip tore through the sounds echoing in the chamber. Screams filled the air, along with quite a few expletives from Marsten. The heat of Clio’s hair blazed past me, singeing my dress, and the smell of burnt skin and fabric filled my nose.

Air whooshed past me, and even though it was dark, the world sped by in a dizzying blur while I was at the mercy of these stairs.

“This. Is. The. Wooorst.” Marsten’s voice echoed, bouncing around amidst the yells of terror.

I flew off the bottom step and smashed into the hard ground. Thuds and oomphs filled the space around me, and I blinked a few times, my vision clearing.

“Finally,” Meera said. “Took you all long enough.”

I groaned, rolling onto my back, entire body in pain as I took slow, steady breaths and placed my hands on my stomach.

“Sarcasm not appreciated right now.” Marsten’s words came out in painful gasps.

“Am I dead?” Clio asked, on her back and staring up at the ceiling.

“Is Lila okay?” I asked, blinking a few times. It took me a moment to realize I could see everyone.

We were no longer surrounded by darkness and stood in what looked like a dungeon with dingy, chipped stone, flickering sconces . . . and windows with iron bars over them. I could see through the bars to the castle gardens. We’d gotten to the bottom floor, and that had to mean we were close to escaping.