“Birdie, you cannot be serious,” Raina said. “Do you hate him that much?”
Birdie thought about that for a moment.
“Birdie!” Sophia said.
“Okay, okay. It’s not because I hate him. Friedrich needs to be the one who returns it because he’s the only one who is both male and speaks German. He can say he found it across the river near the Loreley. They’re likely to believe him because of the problem with the villagers and the bees. They’d be suspicious of the rest of us because we’re so obviously not from here.”
“So how do we make that happen?” Sophia asked. “Friedrich is in the dungeon, and he’s dressed like he works at the mall.”
“There’s a guard uniform in the storeroom,” Raina said. “It was hanging on a hook against the wall.”
“Okay, good. But Raina” – Birdie faced her – “you need to break him out of the dungeon.”
“Me? You can’t be serious! Why do you want me dead so bad?” She shimmied away from her.
“We don’t, Raina.” Rich sighed. “I hate it, but Birdie’s right. You’re the only one the guards haven’t seen. They think we’re still in the pits. If they catch any of us, the gig is up.”
“What if I get caught?”
“They shouldn’t suspect you of anything,” Rich said. “They have no reason to. Just do not speak, whatever you do. Pretend you’re dumb.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Ryan said.
“Knock it off.” Rich shot him a look that wiped the smirk from his face. “This is serious. Deadly serious. If she fails—”
“Let’s not think about that.” Sophia patted Raina’s knee. “You won’t fail, right?”
She didn’t respond.
“Okay,” Sophia said. “Let’s get that uniform.”
Birdie returned from the storeroom swiftly, having snuck past the sleeping guard to grab the uniform and a helmet from the wall, along with an empty cask and a sack of cherries. She shrugged out of the cloak and passed it to Raina, who layered the uniform under it, smoothing the front so it wouldn’t appear bulky.
“Will this really work?” she asked. “I’m huge.”
“Like a charm.” Birdie slipped the helmet into the bottom of the cask and covered it with cherries. “Use the cherries to distract the guards and the prisoners. The helmet is for Friedrich, to help him hide his face.”
“What should I do with the cask?”
“It’s for Louisa. She’s all the way at the far end of the dungeon. When you reach her, toss the cask down to her. She’ll know what to do.”
“This is never going to work.”
“You can do it, Raina.” Rich leaned in for a quick hug. “I believe in you. Now go, before it’s too late.”
Ryan reached into his pocket and retrieved a thin piece of iron. “Give this to Friedrich, for the lock. He should be able to jimmy his cell and Kayla’s.”
Raina’s face fell as she took it.
Ryan gave her a weak smile and a gentle push toward the end of the tunnel. “Good luck.”
The minutes passed slowly as they waited in silence. Birdie clutched the chess piece as Rich paced the length of the short tunnel.
“She’ll be okay,” Sophia reassured him as he neared them again.
His eyes grew hard and he turned back toward the entrance.
“Raina doesn’t like being told what to do.” Ryan watched his brother drift farther away. “She usually does the opposite. We can’t be sure she’ll pull this off.”
Birdie thought of her brother, Jonah. He’d been the same way.
Sam stood and shook the loose dirt from his pants. “I need some air.”
“Sam—” Sophia began but he held up a hand to silence her. “I need some air.” He brushed past Rich and disappeared out of the tunnel entrance.
“There’s nobody out there,” Birdie reassured Sophia. “He’ll be okay.”
“Do you think we’ll ever go back?” Ryan blurted. “I mean, we’ve been here a long time now. What if the aventurine’s magic is all used up?”
Birdie’s stomach flinched.
“Don’t say that.” Rich had neared them again. “Just… don’t.”
Shuffling at the tunnel entrance drew their attention. Rich spun to look as Birdie jumped to her feet.
“Nein!” Friedrich surged into the tunnel in the guard uniform and helmet. He held Raina clamped close to his side.
“We have to get her!” Raina pushed at him but he held firm. “We can’t just leave her in there!” She dug her shoes into the dirt floor but he yanked her along.
“Let her go,” Rich growled.
Friedrich stopped short, his eyes growing wide. He released Raina immediately.
She stumbled away from him. “He wouldn’t let me get Kayla.” She shot Friedrich a dirty look and then bent forward, hands on her knees. “He dragged me out of the dungeon before I could even give her the lock pick!”
“What? Why?” Birdie glanced behind them. “Where’s Louisa?”
“I gave her the cask.” Raina straightened. “I’m hoping she got out, but Friedrich—”
“There was no time.” Friedrich announced. “The sun is rising. We must leave the fortress or risk capture.”
Birdie shook her head. “No. We’re not leaving the fortress, and we’re not leaving Louisa and Kayla behind.”
“As head counselor—”
“For God’s sake, dude.” Rich clenched his fists.
Birdie rushed to Friedrich and pushed the chess piece into his hands. “Here. You can end this.”
“You found it?” He gaped at the knight.
“We did. And now you have to return it.”
“Can’t we just keep it?” His mouth hung open in awe at the jewels.
Outside, a bell tolled, producing a low, slow rhythm.
“No, we cannot just keep it and we did not just spring you from the dungeon to have you make off with the chess piece. You have to give it to Elisabeth’s father. That’s the only way to end this and save us all.”
Friedrich wrapped his hand around it and scowled. “I should report you all. You left me in that dungeon to rot! I saw you go by and you didn’t even try to get me out.”
“You mean like you just did to Kayla?” Raina placed her hands on her hips.
“Report us where? You’re free now.” Rich stood tall in the tunnel. “So suck it up and do what Birdie says.”
Outside, the bell continued to toll.
Further away, trumpets blared.
“That’s some wake up call.” Sophia glanced toward the tunnel entrance. “No one in the fortress could stay asleep with that racket going on.”
“What do you want me to do?” Friedrich muttered as he turned to Birdie.
“You need to find Elisabeth’s father and return this to him. Tell him you found it across the river in the grottos near the Loreley.”
“That is a great story.” Friedrich’s eyebrow twitched.
“I know.”
“There is just one problem. How will I find Elisabeth’s father and, if I do, how do I get close to him?”
Sam ran back into the tunnel. “Uh, that won’t be a problem. He’ll be at the execution.”
“What execution?” Rich said. “Marielle and Peter escaped.”
“Kayla’s.”