The Glowing Knight Read Online Free PDF Page A

spectacularly alone. No guards. I wanted to revel in the feeling of no eyes on me, no judgment and no expectations, but this was hardly the time or place. James could be discovered any moment.
    Keeping my steps quiet on the braided rug, I turned in the opposite direction James had taken my guards. Lamps kept a cheery glow down the line of mostly unused apartments, leading the way to a discreet door at the end of the hall.
    The wooden door was the same rich shade as the walls around it, with only a faint line of space marking its presence. Even the handle was hidden; a hollow fell behind one of the carved dragons that flew the length of the wall. There was a small lever inside, and pulling it made the door swing open.
    I glanced over my shoulder before stepping onto the small landing and pulling the door shut behind me.
    Only a few gas lamps lit the interior, just another part of the illusion. With the hall bright enough, no light from here would shine through.
    â€œClever,” I whispered, and turned left to set a course down the ramp, letting one hand breeze over the banister.
    The ramp ran along the palace wall, and was wide enough for a meal cart to be wheeled up, which answered a question I’d never thought to ask: how had servants managed to get their carts up the stairs?
    Apparently there was a lot about the palace I didn’t know.
    I reached another landing shortly, and then another on the ground floor. Without opening the door, there was no way to see who was in the hall, but there was also no time to waste.
    Aiming for confidence, I pushed open the door and strode out—right into a maid polishing the mirrors.
    She yelped and jerked back, first taking in the mask over my face, then the sword strapped across my back, and finally the curtain pull looped over my shoulder. She thought I was a burglar.
    Before I could even consider whether to identify myself, she flicked her polishing cloth at me. It stung my throat, then dinged off my mask, and at that point I realized perhaps I should run.
    I turned and fled, gripping my curtain pull tight against my side. The wardrobe handle banged against my ribs as I careened through the halls.
    Behind me, the maid shouted for guards. “Intruder! Burglar!”
    Adrenaline spiked through me. I passed one intersecting hallway. Two. I turned a corner at the very back wall of the palace and stopped, chest heaving and breath rattling so loud I could barely hear the guards coming for me.
    But there was supposed to be an exterior door around hereand if I didn’t find it, I’d be arrested, then discovered, and then I’d have bodyguards sleeping in my bedroom with me.
    â€œCalm down.” My voice had a metallic echo behind the mask. “Breathe.”
    I counted backward from ten as I scanned the walls, searching for a hidden door like the one upstairs.
    Boots pounded through the halls, as fast as my heart pounding in my chest. The door had to be here. James was never wrong. Well, hardly ever.
    â€œYou there! Stop!” The guards had turned the corner, swords already drawn so they could cut me down more quickly.
    Maybe there was a spring panel I needed to push. Frantically, I began shoving at the wall, but if there was a spring I couldn’t find it. No give in the carved wood panels. No telltale click.
    The guards were just a few paces away. There was no more time.
    Just then, the heel of my palm scraped over a sharp cut in the wood. Another handle like upstairs, just better hidden.
    I pulled the catch and swung open the door, and without bothering to look at what waited for me, I darted into the sticky night.
    The guards chased me. Of course.
    I ran at full speed, hoping my eyes adjusted to the dark and pockets of light before I crashed into something—or someone.
    Outbuildings littered the space between the palace and the game forest beyond—all good hiding places, if I had time to hide. But not only did I have to follow Knight, I had to