Raven Girl

Chapter 3

Nadine paced the room restlessly, unable to believe Regina Kostin had got it into her head that she was coming. On a suicide mission. Surely the President wouldn't send his precious daughter on a dangerous heist, let alone with criminals? We could easily kidnap her and hold her for ransom, Nadine thought with a scowl. Sighing, she flung herself onto a chair, gazing around the room. It had a bed and an attached bathing chamber, and everything was sumptuously decorated.

There was a light knock on the door, and Nadine leaped back up as a servant entered the room carrying a tray. She forced herself to relax. Honestly, part of her still believed she was about to be sent off to the gallows, and Kostin had been playing some elaborate joke on her.

The servant set the tray down on the bed and left. A tantalizing smell wafted from a covered dish. Nadine's stomach growled in response. Food. She tore the cover off to reveal a stew: the meat falling apart, the chopped vegetables swimming in thick broth. Nadine's hunger won over her suspicion and she devoured the lot, using the still-warm bread roll served with it to mop up any remaining juices. When she'd finished – the Palace cooks were amazing, because it was better than anything she'd ever tasted – she wanted nothing more than to lay on the soft, four-poster bed and sleep before anyone was sent to fetch her.

Gavriil's face swam in her mind. She stood up. She wasn't going to let them force her away without at least saying goodbye to him. He would be cured of his illness – that was the deal – but what if she died, and he never realised why? She had to see him, one last time.

Nadine tried the door. It was locked. Scowling as she shrugged on her coat, she went to the window and peered down. She was very high up, without any weapons or her grappling hook, and the wall blocked the Palace off from Arkanovsk. Still, a plan began to form.

First, Nadine stripped the bed and used her teeth to rip the flimsy sheets into strips. She knotted them together to form a long, continuous rope. Wrenching open the window once she was sure the rope was long enough – well, she hoped it was – Nadine tied one end of the rope to a bedpost, and tossed the other end out. It sailed down the wall of the Palace.

No time to lose. Anyone could spot her. Nadine muttered a quick prayer that the rope would hold her weight before clambering out of the window backwards, hands clutching the sheet strips tightly.

Wind buffeted her immediately, and the setting sun stung her eyes. Forcing her breathing to stay steady, she began her descent, moving one numb hand below the other, one at a time. The rope stretched taut. Every time she moved, she expected to hear a rip. Terror coursed through her, but eventually she spotted the floor. It was close. She let herself drop the rest of the way, landing hard with a breath of relief.

Nadine started to sprint. She wove in and out of shrubs, dancing on and off the path as she searched for any telltale clue in the ground... The sound of rushing water caught her attention. She darted away from the main gardens, despite their beauty and the lovely smell of flowers in the air, past entrances to servants' quarters and to the areas the nobility stayed away from. Eventually... yes! A tiny river, part of it vanishing in a tributary belowground. Because... belowground, there must be...

Grinning, Nadine dropped to her knees on the flagstones beside a grate. She heaved it up, her fingers aching from the cold, and let herself drop down into the sewers. The smell slammed into the roof of her mouth and she gagged, eyes watering. She staggered along the path beside the sewage, in the vague direction of the wall. Ravenna's sewage system was all linked. Nadine hadn't seen this route on her stolen map, or else she'd have definitely used it.

After what seemed like an hour of walking – surely someone would have noticed her disappearance by now – she heard noises. Shouts, the rattle of shops being set up. She was in Arkanovsk.