Page 111 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

Meyah only smirked. “No, Lessia. See, I have rebels ready within every single one of your taverns. We couldn’t find those little Faelings of yours, but your loyal staff, on the other hand… Well, my people have orders to execute every single one should any harm come to me or my people.”

Throwing her head back, not bothering to smother the growl shooting up her throat, Lessia cursed to herself as Merrick’s magic drifted away once more, the fury rolling off him fueling her own.

This fucking woman.

“Why? Why risk this?” Lessia looked down again to stare at Meyah, unable to comprehend how this leader—the one who wanted a better life for those not esteemed by society, those like herself and Frelina—could do this. “My sister won’t be able to be a spy for you. They’ll kill her on the spot.”

Tears burned behind Lessia’s eyes, but she couldn’t let them fall.

Especially not with the smirking shifter staring right at her.

Another damned leader trying to find a way to make her submit.

“I don’t think so,” Meyah responded as she began retreating backward, the people behind her falling into step as they kept watchful eyes on the group.

With one jerk of the leader’s head, the animals shifted back into human form, straightening their clothes as they followed her back across the brow.

The rebel leader halted once she’d reached the other side, and as a few people began pulling the brow up, she called out, “The king finding out his own brother produced the creatures he hates the most?Andthat he’s kept it a secret! Oh! I think he’ll keep her alive just to get to you and Alarin. Your sister doesn’t look like she’ll do well with torture. But”—Meyah threw her a pointed look—“neither do you, and from what I’ve heard, they did quite grisly things to you. We’ll see—but I still think it’ll keep Rioner busier than he expected, and that’s exactly what we want for this next step.”

The brow rose with a loud creaking that had Lessia slam her teeth together, shielding the rebels from view for a moment.

When it landed with a thud on Stellia’s old ship, Meyah raised a hand. “It was nice to meet you, princess of Vastala. I don’t expect to see you again, so… farewell!”

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Lessia stared after the ship as it retreated into the fog that had started gathering across the surface of the sea.

The empty silence as the wind died down mirrored the feeling within her, and she dug her nails into the wood of the railing, feeling as if she might jump off if she didn’t hold on.

The others had tried to talk to her—apart from Merrick, who, as usual, understood that she needed some time to process what just happened—but she hadn’t been able to form words and had shaken off every soothing hand that tried to rub her shoulder or back.

She’d just gotten her back…

She’d promised to keep her safe…

But now her sister was on the way to, or already in, the one place their father had spent his whole life trying to keep them hidden from.

The place that had nearly broken Lessia herself.

Lessia’s hands tightened around the railing, so hard that shavings of wood pierced her skin.

She didn’t care.

She was so sick of these leaders who only took and took and took, not caring who they hurt in the process.

Meyah didn’t care for her people!

Like Rioner, she only wanted power.

As Lessia stared out over the calm sea, small islands broke through the white clouds dancing across the dark water, some with thawing snow still peppering their cliffs, and Lessia realized they were in the outskirts of Ellow.

Loche…

He was perhaps the only leader who truly had his people’s best interests at heart.

She knew he’d cared for her, and still, he’d turned her away because of what she’d done to his lands…

To Ellow.

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