Kai had never felt such compassion for characters in the stories of old who were dragged along for a ride without being told the plan. If he wrote a book about the past week of his life, the plot would resemble a piece of Swiss cheese. Kai sighed deeply and idly wondered if Aleah would come down again. She had diligently kept him company before Elurra showed up, and he found her refreshing.
The women of the Amorian court were only ever interested in fashion, gossip, and flirting. They all bored him, but Aleah’s role as Elurra’s governess had given her a thorough education and sharp intellect. They had only spoken for a few hours, but during that time they discussed a wide range of topics. She was gone now, though. Kai sighed again, this time because he was pretty sure he was going to die alone and confused. At least the princess had known who he was and was interested in hearing his story. He reclined against the wall and started laughing.
“I guess I could always tell her my strange tale of romance and stupidity. I am sure it would amuse her greatly. I was so fixated on finding a bride to please my father I was blinded to the fact Yasmine, or Nitiri rather, was trying to murder me,” he muttered dejectedly.
Kai knew self-pity wouldn’t get him anywhere, so to distract himself, he idly examined his surroundings. He studied the tall wall of bars in front of him, separating him from freedom. He studied the tall wall of bars in front of him, separating him from freedom. The metal grating wasn’t set in a standard pattern. Instead, there were rectangles in varying sizes, from three inches to six inches wide. A metal grate towered above him, and he guessed it reached approximately fifteen feet before hitting the ceiling.
“Rock climbing,” he mumbled, the idea immediately appealing.
He pulled his warm blanket around him and shivered. He pondered for a moment before he tied it around his neck to form a cape. Kai grinned to himself.
“The amazing Prince Kai shall now scale the wall, a feat he has never achieved before,” he exclaimed in a corny announcer’s accent.
He imagined his cape billowing in the wind and laughed for a few seconds before taking on his self-appointed task. He grasped the cold metal in his hands. It felt like touching ice. He gasped but gripped the bars tighter and hefted himself upward, planting his feet on the lower slats. He scaled the wall easily and then decided he needed a greater challenge. He started climbing sideways. He tilted his body at a forty-five-degree angle and started climbing downward.
It was more work than the straight climb up. His hands were numb, and he missed a rung due to his frozen fingers refusing to bend. He slipped, and with a girlish shriek fell toward the ground six feet below. He faced an unforgiving rock that would surely smash his skull. His foot caught painfully on the bar, and his body jerked to a halt. He blocked his face with his hands in time to avoid crushing his nose when he collided with the bars. He gently swayed back and forth like a pendulum, adrenaline screaming in his ears, as his blanket fluttered to the ground.
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“You have to be kidding me,” he said with evident disbelief.
He reached for the blanket, but the ground was a few inches out of his reach. Blood rushed to his head, and the heat from his body started to leak out into the frosty air. He started to feel lightheaded and tried to hoist himself up to unhook his foot. Thankfully, he realized he would fall and break his neck before he succeeded in freeing himself. He stopped, although he knew his other option was slowly freezing to death.
“It’s a win-win,” he muttered sarcastically.
Either way, he would have to die of stupidity or cry for help. His head felt like it was going to explode. His heartbeat throbbed against his skull.
“Hello? Could I get some assistance?” he called.
No matter how loudly he screamed, no one responded, so after a few attempts, he gave up. The man was either gone or ignoring him.
Might as well dangle, Kai thought dejectedly.
He dropped his arms and exhaled slowly, swaying back and forth with his eyes closed. He was starting to think it was rather relaxing when unexpectedly, cloth fluttered over his head, and his bare chest touched the icy bars. He yelped and opened his eyes to see his shirt had joined his blanket on the floor. He looked up at himself, dangling from the side of a prison cell upside down in below freezing temperatures, shirtless. He laughed. He whacked his head in his mirth and laughed even harder. His body was shivering uncontrollably, but he had already accepted that he’d lost all shreds of dignity and sanity when he got himself into this predicament, and he would die as the biggest idiot who ever lived.
“Woe is Kai,” he giggled. He pictured Nitiri’s face when she found his body, blue as the sky, frozen as the snow, and crazy as a loon.
“Kai, what in the name of Yamoi are you doing?”
Kai opened his eyes and leaned forward, whacking his head again. “I’m rock climbing, of course.”
He erupted in a fit of giggles. All the blood in his head made his eyesight fuzzy, but he recognized Elurra and Aleah standing in front of him. Damond was standing at the doorway, a huge grin splitting his face. The two girls exchanged glances as if to say, “Well, he’s completely gone around the bend, hasn’t he?”
“Do I really want to know why you are upside down?” Aleah asked, a smirk twitching at the corners of her lips.
“Or why you sound like a cackling lunatic?” Elurra added.
He felt his ears getting red, although it was possible they were just freezing over. Aleah looked him up and down, and a bemused look grew on her face as he stumbled for an answer.
“How dare you insult me in such a manner? I am the First Prince of Amora, and I demand someone let me down before I catch my death of cold,” he demanded with as much indignation as he could muster.
Aleah burst into laughter, and more blood rose to his cheeks, which Kai hadn’t considered possible under the circumstances. The girls grinned at him.
I am never going to live this down.