She immediately recognized that voice. It was Leo. Leo? What was he doing grabbing her out of the ballroom into—whatever this room was?
“Leo? Is that you?”
“Who else did you think it’d be?” He sounded a bit exasperated.
“I don’t know. Some kidnapper. Or worse.”
“You are safe. It’s just me.”
Her gaze moved around the room. Even though her eyesight had adjusted to the darkness, she couldn’t make out anything, including him. “Leo, what are you doing? Why did you kidnap me from the ballroom?”
“I didn’t kidnap you.”
“Really? Because it sure seemed like it to me.” She turned around. Her hands stretched out in the darkness, searching for the door. “How do I get out of here?”
“Come with me.”
“No. Now turn on the lights.”
It took a couple of seconds but then a bare lightbulb lit up. She glanced around, finding that they were in some sort of passageway. And she couldn’t make out a door.
“Where’s the door?”
He pointed to a spot on the wall. It looked like the rest of the wall. And there was no door handle. She moved to it and tried to push it open but it wouldn’t budge.
“Bianca, stop.” The agitation had drained from his voice. “Let me explain.”
Having no success with opening the door, she whirled around to him. “Is there another way out of here?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Aren’t you even going to let me explain?”
She was mad at him. She didn’t think anything he had to say at the moment was going to change that fact. “No. Let’s go.”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “Follow me.”
He led her through a tunnel. In places the tunnel narrowed and they had to pass through it sideways. In other places there were wooden stairs.
“What is all of this?” she asked.
“So you’re speaking to me again?”
She huffed. If he thought that he was off the hook, he was wrong. She didn’t bother answering him. He could come to his own conclusion.
Not pushing his luck, the prince said, “These are secret passages that weave their way through the palace.”
“I’ve heard of palaces having secret passageways but I thought they were just works of fiction.”
“Now you know differently.”
“But how do you know where you’re going? There are so many different ways to go.” She stayed close to him so as not to get left behind.
“I learned these tunnels when I was a kid.”
“How did you keep from getting lost?”