Bianca and Tris were crouched in the wide barrel that served as a bathtub in the dressing room of the spare room Rose used to enter the castle. It seemed the safest, closest place to wait for her to arrive. Neither of them spoke. It was roomy enough for both Tris and Bianca to sit comfortably, leaning against the sides.

  Bianca had packed a bag with four dresses inside and believed that it would be enough to get her through the coming days if they were able to escape. Tris had not packed a bag and insisted that one set of his clothing in her bag would be more than enough if they were going to Sun Vine.

  By the end of their conversation about becoming partners, Bianca had agreed to everything Tris wanted, because what he offered her in return was very appealing. Too appealing. She worried he was lying, even though it didn’t sound like a lie, because she trusted him. After everything she had been through, even if his plan went awry, it couldn’t be worse than what she had already suffered or what she had ahead of her if she tried to sort things out on her own.

  The two of them huddled in the darkness, thinking of what to do, how low they would have to crouch if a portal opened up right next to the tub. They were watching the walls of the bathroom so carefully that they were both stupefied when someone tried to open the bottom of the tub. They were sitting on a trap door!

  Tris ground his fingers in his eyes, but refrained from screaming at the top of his lungs that he was a first-class moron for not trying to open the bottom of the tub.

  Bianca kept quiet also, but slowly stood up and offered Tris a hand.

  He got to his feet and, as quiet as the dead, they got out of the tub and waited.

  Underneath, the bottom of the tub was pushed open. Tris caught it and, peering down, saw the princess, Rose Trine, perched on a ladder beneath.

  “Hello, Rose,” he said brightly. “What are you doing here?” He turned to Bianca. “She’s come to visit us! Isn’t she a sight for sore eyes?” He turned back to Rose. “I was just telling Bianca that I hadn’t seen you in months, and that you were the last person I did see before I started training in this abandoned castle, and here you are! I’m so glad to see you. Come on up!”

  Rose’s face looked blank, like those were the last words she expected to come out of his mouth. She took his offered hand and came up the rest of the way into the powder room.

  “Do you know Bianca Frostine?” Tris asked Rose conversationally.

  “I think we met once,” Rose said slowly, like she had no idea what to make of Tris and his demeanor. His easy manner had knocked her off her guard.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The moment Rose was out of the hole, Tris dove in. Bianca was horrified to see him fall through the trapdoor headfirst. She tried to reach out for him, but missed him completely. She and Rose peered over the edge of the basin to see that Tris had landed on all four paws.

  They both gaped. He had turned into the serval he had promised he was. Under the hole, he was enormous. His ears were so large, Bianca thought he looked like he was part bat, with a thick black stripe on the backside of each ear. His eyes gloated and the black line of his mouth made a snarl. He had done the ritual one hundred times, and as soon as he fell through the hole, he became a cat.

  When Rose saw him, she yanked Bianca by her hair and, in a sudden jerk, pushed her headfirst through the hole as well.

  For the moment in which Bianca fell, she wondered what would happen. What part of her would hit the floor first? What damage would it do? Neither Tris nor Rose was as surprised as Bianca when she landed on Tris’s side. He was a cat, a large one, and he used his enormous cat body to catch her.

  She looked up from the feline cushion and saw Rose slam the trap door shut.

  Tris had told Bianca what to do if he was able to turn into a cat. He told her he was as large as an ox, except for one thing.

  “Servals have the longest legs of the cat family,” he told her. “So you will be quite far off the ground when you ride on my back. I should tell you, I won’t wear a harness, or a saddle, or a bridle. They are superbly uncomfortable, and they make people believe that I’m a real cat, which is the last thing I want. To make people think I’m this amazing animal, they should have me as part of their collection? No, thanks. All I ask is that you alternate the fur you hang onto, so the one spot doesn’t get too sore. Trust me. Don’t be scared. I won’t let you drop.”

  He gave her so many instructions because he would be completely unable to speak once he took serval-form.

  Now Bianca slid off his side and landed with her feet on the ground.

  Tris stood up, tall as an elephant, and knocked the ladder away from the trapdoor that Rose was on the other side of. He clenched his jaw, unable to comment on what had just happened, and crouched next to Bianca, waiting for her to mount him.

  Bianca did not want to get on top of him and put one leg on either side of him. He was different as a cat, but somehow he was obviously still the same person on the inside. The similarity began with the color of his eyes. If he had been his usual self, in his human body, she wouldn’t have thought it remotely proper to put her legs on either side of him. She didn’t even do that when she rode a horse. She was a lady who had never ridden astride in her life.

  Despite her discomfort, she was out of options. Needing a powerful ally, she did what no princess had ever done. She got on his back, swinging a leg over the side of his spine and wondering if it would be as uncomfortable as her riding instructor warned it would be to ride astride.

  Once she was settled on his back and he was free from his prison, Tris was anxious to be on his way. He was going to Frondwick. It was on the way to Sun Vine, and he was certain Rose had found another way to beggar the people there since they were her target. Tris hoped he would be able to hear traces of Rose’s influence if he kept his ears open as they rode through the country.

  As they escaped the castle and got out into the open, Bianca couldn’t help wondering about Rose Trine. Why had she been so anxious to get rid of them that she slammed the door shut between them? Why hadn’t she put up a fight?