All Her Men (The Queen's Men Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

house, but hadn’t yet gotten around to it. Now she was queen of a country that had them in spades. “Amazing, absolutely amazing.” She ran her hands along the cool stone as they descended.
    The steps ran two floors beneath the Parliament building. Amelia took her time, surveying every inch that she could see. The light within was getting further away from above, and flickered below. “I can’t see.”
    A light flared to life behind her. It was a small LED light, but served them well in the enclosed space. There was a slick feel to some of the steps. With the light, she realized it was a light slimy moss that made some of the steps so slick.
    “There, ‘tis the last step.” The light from Jacob’s flashlight lit upon it and she was grateful they were done. She wasn’t afraid of enclosed spaces, but there wasn’t anywhere to go should danger appear while in the stairwell.
    As they stepped into an open area Jacob pointed to an old torch holder against the stone wall. “That ‘tis the entrance to the entrance. Ye must place something of weight in the holder to get to the opening.” She watched as he picked a small pouch up from the ground. It was shaped just like a small rock, a broken piece of stone. “’Tis a simple trick that none have looked for all these years.”
    They missed a stone for years? “What do you do with it?”
    “Ye place it in the torch just so.” He lightly dropped it within the center. Amelia watched as it lowered slightly. A slight scratching noise could be heard off to their left. “’Tis the sound of the second entrance. Come.”
    He switched off the flashlight.
    “What are you doing? We need that to see,” she hissed.
    A short laugh and he retorted, “See with yer eyes. Ye must learn to see even when nothing is there.”
    Her eyes took a moment to adjust, tracking him as he began walking away from her. She followed as he walked down the darkened corridor. A tiny sliver of light flickered off the stones under their feet. “Where is this light coming from?”
    “’Tis just ahead. Long ago lairds of the land got together and decided to appoint certain families as protectors. Throughout time the protectors were lost as they were not needed. Then a man decided the protectors were needed once again. We are what is left of those first protectors. We are yer men. We shall protect ye with our verra lives. The tunnels we are in are what is left of the ancient formations from long ago. They were once used to get people out of the city and to safety. Should ye ever need it, the tunnels are yers to use.”
    As he stopped in front of a small stone that stood slightly out of place Amelia couldn’t help but wonder at the history that the tunnels had seen. If what Jacob was saying was true, then rulers had used these tunnels for various purposes over the years. Centuries even. Yet, here she stood. One of the few privileged enough to see them. If only her friends could see her. If only they could know just how important she was now, even if she did not want to be important.
    “Jacob?”
    “Aye?”
    “Will I ever be able to go home?”
    He turned towards her and lightly cupped her cheek. “Lass, ye are home.” As he turned away from her to press the stone in to the wall, Amelia felt her heart break. Even without the words, he had told her that she would never leave Scotland. She had chosen to be their queen. There was no going back. Only forward. She would have to make a new life here in Scotland and forget that her old life had ever existed.
    The wall slid silently over to reveal a hidden passageway. Jacob reached in, against the wall, and light flared to life revealing a massive room with intricate detail. “’Tis where we awaited the chance to prove ourselves to Brandir. He’s the one that hired us to protect ye.”
    “Brandir? That’s my father…”
    “Aye, yer father.”
    “My father’s dead.”
    “Aye, that he is. Does not mean that he dinnae look out for ye though. He was