Free Abducted by a Prince by Olivia Drake Page B

staircase lit by a flickering torch in a wall bracket. The steps went around a curve and vanished.
    The prospect of escape sorely tempted her. But now was not the time, for the Demon Prince might be prowling the corridors. She must wait until late in the night when everyone was asleep.
    Damien Burke had planned well for her captivity. But little did he know, Ellie intended to outwit him.

 
    Chapter 7
    In the dead of night, Ellie crept out of the tower chamber. The icy chill in the stairwell made her grateful for the hooded cloak. The pair of boots she’d discovered in the wardrobe pinched her toes, though that was the least of her worries.
    After finishing supper, she had intended to stay awake reading in bed. But an irresistible weariness had come over her and she had fallen asleep over her book, only to awaken a few minutes ago to find the room dark save for the glow of embers on the hearth.
    The problem was, she now had no notion of the time. It might be midnight … or it might be near dawn. If the latter was the case, then she needed to hurry. It was imperative that she put as much distance as possible between herself and Damien Burke.
    Descending the steep, curving steps in her long skirt was a slow process that required her full concentration. The torch in its wall bracket had long since guttered out and her only light came from the candlestick in her hand. Cold drafts of air swirled around her, so that she was forced to keep one gloved hand cupped around the flame.
    Heaven help her if she lost her only source of illumination. She’d never find her way through the pitch-dark castle. She might become lost in the dungeons, never to be seen again until one day someone stumbled upon her skeleton …
    Ellie pushed the fanciful thought out of her head. It wouldn’t do to spin stories when she faced a series of genuine trials. First and foremost, avoiding the Demon Prince.
    Over a supper of cheese, sausage, and fresh crusty bread, she had engaged Mrs. MacNab in conversation, asking questions while trying to make the inquest sound like mere, wide-eyed curiosity. Where was the kitchen? Were there stables? A gatehouse? Did anyone else live in the castle? Where did the laird stay?
    By the time she finished her food, Ellie had gleaned a rough idea of the layout of the castle. It sounded fairly simple. She was in one of the towers that marked the four corners of the fortress. A stone keep stood in the center of the castle yard. Once she managed to find that yard, there should be enough moonlight for her to see the gatehouse.
    Beyond that, she had no idea how the portcullis was opened, or if she would have to let down a drawbridge as well. But there must be a way out. She had to be as clever and resourceful as Princess Arianna in her storybook.
    At the base of the tower, Ellie arrived at a closed door and tugged at the iron latch. When it refused to budge, her heart sank. Was that why no one had bothered to secure her chamber? Because this lower door kept her imprisoned?
    All of her hopes were dashed in an instant. No! It couldn’t be true. She wouldn’t let herself be trapped in here.
    In a fit of desperation, Ellie set down the candlestick on the floor and used both hands to wrestle with the latch. She couldn’t see a keyhole in the gloom. Was the door bolted from the outside? Or was there a bar across it to hold her inside? If so, her plan was doomed.
    Beneath her fumbling fingers, the latch abruptly lifted with a loud, scraping protest. She laughed in relief, the sound a hollow echo in the gloomy stairwell. Praise God, the fastener had only been stuck in place.
    Then disaster hit. As she pushed at the heavy door, a rush of frigid air came through the opening and doused her candle.
    At once, a stygian blackness enveloped her. Ellie stood quaking in her too tight boots. She was afraid to move, afraid to step out of the tower and into the unknown. Heaven only knew what lay waiting for her in the darkness ahead.
    It might