Ivy's POV
The metal shackles around my wrists had been rubbing against my skin for hours, leaving raw, painful marks. But I'd been working at them constantly, twisting and pulling until finally, I felt them give way. The lock mechanism was old and rusty, and with enough pressure, it had finally snapped.
"Yes," I whispered, pulling my hands free.
My wrists were bleeding from the effort, but the pain was nothing compared to the relief of being able to move freely again. I quickly worked on the chains around my ankles, using the same technique. These were even more stubborn, but eventually, they too gave way.
I stood up slowly, my legs shaky from sitting in the same position for so long. The room was still dark, but I could hear voices from somewhere in the building. Darius's men, probably discussing their plans.
I had to find Pamela, as they'd been calling her. Darius had said she was in the room next door, and I couldn't leave without her.
I pressed my ear to the door and listened carefully. The hallway seemed quiet, but I could hear movement from other parts of the building. Carefully, I tried the door handle. To my surprise, it turned. They hadn't bothered to lock it – probably because they thought the chains would be enough to keep me contained.
The hallway was dimly lit by a few torches mounted on the walls. I could see several doors leading to other rooms. Which one held Pamela’s?
I crept down the hall, pressing my ear to each door as I passed. At the third door, I heard something that made my heart leap – quiet crying.
"Pamela?" I whispered as softly as I could.
The crying stopped immediately.
"Pamela, is that you?"
"Princess Ivy?" came the muffled response. "Oh, thank God! I thought you were dead!"
I tried the handle, but this door was locked. "Stand back from the door," I whispered.
I put my shoulder against the wood and pushed as hard as I could. The door was old and the wood was starting to rot. After several attempts, it finally gave way with a loud crack.
Pamela was huddled in the corner of a room similar to mine, chains around her wrists and ankles just like I'd had. Her face was streaked with tears, and she looked terrified.
"How did you get free?" she asked as I rushed to her side.
"The locks were old. Here, let me help you."
I worked quickly to free her from her chains, my hands shaking with urgency. We were making too much noise – someone would hear us soon.
"There," I said as the last chain fell away. "Can you walk?"
"I think so." She stood up unsteadily, and I wrapped my arms around her in a quick hug.
"I'm so sorry they dragged you into this," I whispered.
"It's not your fault," she replied, though her voice was still shaking. "What do we do now?"
"We get out of here. Right now."
I took her hand and led her toward the door. "Stay close to me and try to be as quiet as possible."
We made our way back down the hallway, moving as silently as we could. I could hear voices from what sounded like a main room – multiple men talking and laughing. We needed to find another way out.
"This way," I whispered, leading Pamela toward what looked like a back exit.
The door opened onto a small yard behind the building. Beyond that, I could see the dark outline of trees – the forest. If we could make it to the tree line, we might have a chance.
"Come on," I said, pulling Pamela along behind me.
We ran across the open ground as fast as we could. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure everyone could hear it. Behind us, the building remained quiet. Maybe we'd actually made it out without being noticed.
We reached the edge of the forest and plunged into the trees. Branches caught at our clothes and scratched our faces, but we didn't slow down. We had to put as much distance as possible between us and our captors.
"Which way?" Pamela gasped, already breathing hard.
"I don't know," I admitted. "Away from here. As far as we can get."
We stumbled through the underbrush, holding hands to keep from getting separated in the darkness. Tree roots caught at our feet, and more than once we nearly fell. But we kept going, driven by pure desperation.
Then I heard it – a shout from behind us.
"They're gone! The prisoners are gone!"
My blood turned to ice. "Run!" I told Pamela. "Run as fast as you can!"
We crashed through the forest, no longer caring about the noise we were making. Behind us, I could hear more shouting, and then the sound of pursuit – heavy footsteps crashing through the underbrush.
"There! I see them!"
The voice was getting closer. Much closer.
Pamela stumbled and nearly fell, but I caught her arm and pulled her forward. "Don't stop! We can't stop!"
But Pamela was slowing down. She wasn't used to running like this, and the fear and exhaustion were taking their toll.
"Ivy," she gasped, "I can't... I can't keep up."
"Yes, you can!" I insisted, but I could see she was struggling badly.
We took a few more steps, and Pamela's legs gave out completely. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Leave me," she said weakly. "You go. Get help."
"I'm not leaving you!" I knelt beside her and tried to pull her to her feet. "Come on, Pamela We're almost there."
But even as I said it, I knew it wasn't true. We were still deep in the forest, and I had no idea which direction would lead us to safety.
"Ivy, please," She begged. "If you stay, they'll catch both of us. If you go, at least one of us has a chance."
Before I could respond, I heard the sound of someone crashing through the trees directly ahead of us. A massive figure emerged from the shadows – Silas, his sword already drawn.
With a cruel smile, he said. "Look what we have here."
I instinctively moved in front of Pamela, trying to shield her with my body.
"Stay away from us!" I shouted.
Silas laughed. "You really thought you could escape? From us? How naive."
He raised his sword and pointed it directly at my chest. "Master Darius is not going to be happy about this little stunt."
More voices were approaching from behind us – other guards, closing in on our position. We were surrounded.
"Please," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Let her go. She's done nothing wrong. This is between Darius and me."
"Oh, I think Alpha Darius will want to deal with both of you personally," Silas replied. "Especially after you caused him so much trouble."
Just then, I heard something that made my heart leap with hope – the sound of fighting coming from the direction of the building. Steel clashing against steel, men shouting, the sounds of battle.
"What the hell?" Silas spun around, looking back toward the estate.
The fighting was getting louder, and I could hear someone shouting orders. A voice that sounded familiar, though I couldn't quite place it through all the chaos.
"Silas!" came a shout from the direction of the battle. "Get back here! We're under attack!"
Silas cursed under his breath, clearly torn between his orders to watch us and the need to help defend the estate.
More sounds of combat reached us – the clash of weapons, men crying out in pain, the thunder of running feet. Someone was attacking the estate, and from the sound of it, the battle was fierce.
"Could it be?" I whispered to myself, hardly daring to hope.
But even as the thought crossed my mind, I heard something that made my heart soar – a roar of rage that I recognized immediately. It was the sound Kade made when he was fighting, when he was protecting something he cared about.
"Kade," I breathed.
He had come for me. Despite everything, despite his father's orders, despite the danger, he had come.
Silas was looking increasingly nervous, his sword still pointed at me but his attention divided between us and the approaching battle.
"Looks like your prince came to play hero," he said with a sneer. "Too bad he's walking into a trap."
"Kade is stronger than you think," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
"We'll see about that."
The sounds of fighting were getting even closer, and I could tell that Kade and his men were pushing deeper into the estate. But I could also hear Darius's voice now, rallying his own forces, preparing for a fierce battle.
"Kill them all!" Darius was screaming. "I want the prince's head!"