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king.”
    “Oh,” Teya said, stunned. Now she understood Clare’s words of comfort.
    “This is Jax,” the ambassador said. “And I’m Bran.” Jax gave a brief nod and Bran continued. “Follow me and try to stay low.”
    She followed Bran, keeping to the edge of a path. They followed it all the way to the far end of the palace grounds. Here, a rock wall separated them from the city, and Teya groaned at the alarming prospect of climbing over it. Jax and Clare moved some dead branches away to reveal a small crawl space under the wall and she sighed with relief. 
    Jax ducked through first, followed by Clare. They gave the all-clear sign and Teya went next. The ground was wet and soggy from the rain, and dirt smeared all over her clothes and hands, but she didn’t mind. As she came out on the other side, Clare ushered her across the street into a dark alley.
    Bran soon joined them and nodded to Jax. “Get Clare out of here.”
    “But…” Clare began.
    “No. You can’t go back,” Bran said.
    Clare let out a sigh, then reluctantly agreed. To Jax, he said, “I don’t know how long we’ll be, but watch for us at the inn, and make sure Clare gets back to Braemar safely.”
    “Be careful,” Clare said, then she and Jax quietly slipped into the darkness.
    “Where are we going?” Teya asked.
    “We have to split up. It’s easier this way. Come on, we need to get out of the city before they discover you’re gone.”
    He led her through a maze of back alleys until she was totally turned around. She hadn’t been away from the palace grounds since her capture, so nothing made sense to her anyway. Still, she was out, and this amazed her.
    Why had Bran done this? He said he needed her help, but what did he want her to do? What if it was something terrible? Would he really let her go after she’d helped him, or had he just said that to get her to leave with him? There were many who would pay handsomely for her. Was this a possibility? The thought curdled her stomach. He didn’t seem like the type, but how could she know?
    They neared the city wall and Teya sucked in her breath. It was huge. Building walls was one thing King Thesald excelled at, and she hoped Bran had a good plan to get over it without anyone seeing them.
    Bran led her to the back of a church and through a gate that opened into a massive graveyard. As they carefully weaved around the headstones, the shifting wind rattled through the tree branches with a soft moan. An owl hooted and Teya shivered. Creeping through a graveyard in the wild hours of the night, and walking on top of dead bodies filled her with foreboding, and she moved closer to Bran.
    At the far end of the cemetery, a mausoleum stood against the outside wall. They circled around until coming to a staircase that led down to a bolted door. Pulling a key from his pocket, Bran deftly unlocked the bolt and motioned Teya inside. It was pitch black, and the sound of the closing door sent a shock of panic through her. Bran lit a candle, but the sudden light did nothing to stop the terror that froze her blood.
    “What’s wrong?” Bran asked.
    A large coffin with the shape of body molded on top of it took up most of the space. Teya tried to get her breathing under control, but couldn’t seem to get enough air. “I have a hard time with closed spaces.”
    “Damn,” Bran exclaimed. “That’s too bad. But this is the only way out. Do you think you can make it? I promise it’s not far.”
    “I’m…I’ll try.” Teya swallowed the scream that rose inside her, and clenched her fists in an effort to fight the panic.
    “Look, there’s a path right here.” He held the candle toward a small opening in the wall. “It leads outside the city. It’s not far. Just a few steps. Can you do that?”
    Teya nodded, but couldn’t seem to move. She wanted nothing more than to leave the coffin and small room behind, but that space was even smaller. There was no way she could walk in