28. Kristina

28

KRISTINA

I skidded to a halt outside the stable door. The whole roof was on fire and the interior was a solid mass of white smoke: I wouldn’t be able to see more than a foot ahead of me.

A terrified whinny came from inside. I plunged in.

I had to shuffle through the hay with my hands out in front of me. It was even worse than I’d thought: flaming liquid and bits of timber were raining down from above, threatening to set my nightgown on fire again, and the moving horses cast confusing shadows everywhere. I couldn’t see where I was—

A horse suddenly reared in front of me, its front hooves almost hitting me in the head. It had broken out of its stall but it was as lost as I was and it was liable to kill me in its panic if I wasn’t careful. “ Shh,” I told it. “Shh, shh, it’s okay.” I’d slipped in through the side door but the stable had big double doors, too: if I could open those, the horse could get out. But getting to them meant getting past it. “Shh.” It reared again and I had to fall back against the wall. The back of my neck lit up in scalding agony and I screamed and slapped at it, smelling burning hair. I approached the horse again. “ Shh. Trust me, please!”

I reached out...and managed to pet it. It snorted at me, uncertain...but it stopped rearing for a second. Heart pounding, I slid past it, lifted the bar that held the doors shut and pushed them wide.

Immediately, the horse shot past: I barely darted out of the way in time. Clouds of smoke followed it and the stable cleared a little: I could see the other horses now, still trapped in their stalls. I ran to the nearest one and started along the line, opening door after door. One by one, the horses ran to freedom. But I could see the roof sagging dangerously. The whole place was going to come down.

I freed the last horse, looked up...and Jakov was standing in the doorway. “Your Highness!” he panted. “Come on!”

I looked around. There was no one else there. He could say anything happened. Hit me over the head and leave me to die in the fire.

The roof groaned. “ Your Highness!” yelled Jakov. “Please!” He held out his hand.

What if Garrett was wrong?

What if Garrett was right? I searched around for another way out, one that didn’t involve going through him. But he was between me and both of the doors. “Back off,” I told him, my voice shaking. “Just back away.”

“It’s not safe here!” he yelled over the flames. “Come with me! Now!” And he raced forward and grabbed my wrist.

There was a splintering crack from above us.

We looked up just as the roof collapsed.