Prince Thief Read Free Page B

that, left to their own devices, they’d eventually see sense.”
    The Palace Guard were notorious in Altapasaeda for many things: their fierce loyalty to the crown, their moral flexibility in its service and their comprehensive training in its defence, especially where that defence involved the use of disproportionate violence. One of the things they’d never been known for, however, was seeing sense – and with their beloved prince dead, it was a safe assumption that they’d be less inclined than ever. Taking all that into account, it was a fair guess that Mounteban’s plan had been more along the lines of “wait them out and hope they eventually starve”. In fairness, it was probably the best anyone could have come up with.
    “However,” Mounteban continued, “there’s no need to march into the palace. Because the passage has a second exit, which opens outside the city... beneath your own barracks, in fact, Alvantes. No doubt its designers anticipated a less extreme emergency where retreating to the protection of the City Guard might prove useful. Had the Prince trusted you enough to reveal the location of that second exit, our problem would be solved. Still. When it comes to entering the palace and finding the entrance, one man might conceivably succeed where a larger force would be sure to fail.”
    “I’m not convinced this passage of yours even exists...” began Alvantes.
    “It does,” Mounteban cut him off. “And it’s our one chance of drawing aid to Altapasaeda before the city falls. You’d never have come here if you had another.”
    Estrada and Alvantes shared a long look. I assumed there was some unspoken communication passing between them, for how else were they to discuss the possibility of a truce with Mounteban, who they’d gone to such lengths to depose, when he was sitting right there? He was all swagger now, not even bothering to look at them – but I doubted even he was truly arrogant enough to assume that they’d unquestioningly put their enmity for him aside to pursue so desperate a plan.
    “Altapasaeda needs help,” Estrada said finally. “And there’s nowhere in the Castoval left to offer it. Frankly, Castilio, I’d don’t trust this scheme of yours. There’s far too much that could go wrong, and no guarantees even if it doesn’t. But I don’t see any other choices, and every moment we spend seeking one brings the King closer to our gates.”
    “I don’t like it,” agreed Alvantes, “but it’s all we have. So I’ll go along with it... until you give me the slightest inkling that you can’t be trusted in this, Mounteban.”
    “Let’s take the threats as said and heard,” replied Mounteban, with studied dignity, “and start preparing while there’s still a chance of success. The first question is who to send into the palace.”
    “I think I could arrange a suitable diversion,” conceded Alvantes.
    “The walls and the courtyard will be the hardest part,” Mounteban said. “How long would this diversion last?”
    “Long enough, I think.”
    “So, if someone were to scale the walls... perhaps to reach a window...”
    I couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t so much what they were saying, but that I could feel Estrada’s eyes on me, boring into my skull in search of the conscience she seemed convinced was in there. “All right!” I cried. “Why not spare us all a little time?”
    Mounteban and Alvantes turned my way as well – and it was only seeing the surprise in their expressions that I realised how badly I’d misjudged. What I’d taken for none-too-subtle hinting in my direction had been no more than the honest back and forth of observations, it appeared.
    Yet, with my mouth open and working, I found I couldn’t simply back down. “Haven’t we been here before?” I said. “Oh no, something needs breaking into! Who can we possibly ask? Who do we know who used to break into things all the time? Who will no one miss when it all goes