Page 104 of The Stars are Dying

“You could stay. You won’t make it to the garden to complete your task and be back to the castle before twilight now. I could escort you back in a few hours, safe and sound.”

I didn’t want to find out what a few hours in here with him would entail.

“Thank you, but I’ll head back to the castle now on my own.”

“Your Highness,” a sultry voice said from down the hall behind him.

Drystan kept his attention on me, his tall form blocking my view of the woman. “Another time,” the prince said, finally straightening and dropping his arm. His jaw worked with ire though he’d been expecting the woman.

I nodded with absolutely no plan to be back here with him ever.

As I made to leave, I found a stunning blonde in a scandalous silk gown, midnight in color, poised in a doorframe at the end. I quickly turned the corner for the exit as my thoughts had been right. Drystan wasn’t here for any suspicious reason but, I wagered, a whole lot of sin.

The winter air chilled my heated skin when I stepped out. Heading back to climb the steps to the castle level, I walked in plain sight while the daylight began to dwindle.

“Look what we found.”

The leering voice stiffened my spine, so close I didn’t have time to react before a large arm was clamped around me. I turned to stone as we kept walking, Draven hugging me into his side as if we were lovers or old friends, but I felt his menacing claim. At his mention of “we,” my head turned just enough to find Enver on my other side.

“Let me go,” I warned, praying he would decide I wasn’t worth the petty entertainment.

“Do you have any of your key pieces yet?” Draven ignored me.

“I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

“We could find out,” Enver said, his eyes roving over me, and my panic started to rise with his meaning.

“You think I would have them on me?”

“Only one way to know,” Draven said, turning me abruptly toward him.

I reacted on instinct. My knee jerked toward his crotch, and while he groaned and slackened his hold I managed to grab Draven’s eye patch as Enver clamped a hold around me from behind. I let the elastic go, making Draven cry out as he stumbled back with the impact of it slamming back into place. Enver lost his footing with me, and we went tumbling too.

He let go to regain his balance, but I kept falling.

My calves met something solid before I was swallowed whole by a freezing embrace.

Then I was back in the lake. Floating and drifting in a numbing cold that stole my will to fight. I tried to open my eyes, but nothing glowed like I expected it to. No gold reaching for silver.

Air ripped down my throat when I was pulled with some force. I coughed violently on my knees, aware of someone beside me. Something warm was slung over my shoulders.

Warm.

Nyte had been warm when I’d felt him at the lakeside. He had to have pulled me from the water.

Yet I didn’t know how.

“I guess I spoke too soon.”

It was Drystan who held me. I wished for it to be anyone else.Anywhereelse. At least he wasn’t entirely abandoning his role of ensuring my safety.

“You could have been more prompt,” I chattered, panting and shivering so intensely as if I were becoming ice.

“Always room for improvement.”

“I’ll help her.”

Oh, thank stars.Zathrian was here. That forced my head up, and I found him about to crouch, but Drystan was already helping me stand.

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