Page 115 of Between Wrath and Mercy

Everything stopped.

The second the words left King Soren’s mouth, I knew I wouldn’t walk out of the throne room alive. I saw Queen Shivani’s arm immediately extend toward the king, pulling Soren’s hand into hers, with an expression on her face which told me she had no idea about the order. The queen started whispering desperately to the king, the desperation of a mother. Everything moved at half-speed, and I watched as Rainier reached for the sword on his hip. I had no idea what he intended to do with it, but I didn’t wait to find out. I acted on instinct.

Running down the stairs, I quickly closed the distance between us. Even standing two steps below me, Rainier was still slightly taller than me. By the time I reached him, his hand was on the hilt of his short sword. In a swift motion I didn’t know I was capable of, I swatted his hand away and unsheathed his sword myself.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to him as I launched backward, ignoring the tear I heard from my gown and nearly tripping over my train as I drew his body toward me. My free arm was around his neck, pulling him down to the ground hard, and he groaned. I was a step above him, standing over him with his back resting against my legs. With my free hand, I pulled his head up and back, baring his neck to the long blade—his blade—I held in my other hand. Against my better judgment, I chanced a glance down at him, those deep, green eyes gazing straight up into mine. Within them swirled fire and rage. I shook my head and trained my eyes on the king.

“You will not harm my daughter,” I gritted out, my voice dangerous. Queen Shivani’s eyes hardened as she took in the image of me with a blade to her son's throat. I could tell she had been arguing with King Soren on my behalf, but her jaw slammed shut as she watched me, familiar anger dancing behind her eyes.

“This is your only chance, Lady Highclere. If you step away from the prince right now, you can still leave this room with your life.” King Soren’s low grumble echoed through the room. No one believed the lie, and he knew it. The two guards on either side of the dais watched the king, awaiting orders. They were useless; King Soren was more powerful than both, although I wasn’t sure how his feeble body and mind might have affected his divinity. I watched his attention shift down to Rainier on the ground, then back up to me, and I hoped I imagined the flutter of realization behind his eyes. Hoped he didn’t realize I’d only been able to disarm Rainier and pull him down because he trusted me. That he was mine, and I was not a plaything.

At that moment, I had no plan. I obviously couldn’t kill Rainier. Grabbing him was an impulse. Panic started to rise in my chest, tightening my lungs and making it hard to breathe. Soren’s words had made me desperate, willing to do anything to stop him. I could feel my chest burning and knew I’d start gasping for air any second, the familiar, suffocating panic I’d felt so many times before. Rainier leaned against me, the warmth of his back pressing into my leg. I glanced down, and the moment my eyes met his, he closed them. I reached out and felt his heartbeat. Slow. He was calm. He trusted me. I saw movement in the corner of my eye; Dewalt and Lavenia moved down a few steps but made no moves to come near me.

“If you kill my daughter, what life will I have?” My voice sounded stronger than I felt. “If my daughter dies, so does the dream of peace, so does your son, so do you. The only curse she suffers is that from the gods.” I narrowed my eyes at the king. Even if he canceled his order to kill Elora, he’d die for giving it in the first place if I had anything to do with it. Rainier’s steady heartbeat focused me. “Elora is a child who did not ask to be the Beloved, who did not ask to be taken by the Folterrans. Do not touch her,” I growled out. I realized in horror how hard I was pressing the blade to Rainier's throat. With a sharp intake of breath, I watched a bead of blood trickle down, absorbed by his shirt. Before I could pull away, Queen Shivani stood.

“Soren, rescind the order.” The king gaped at her, shock and outrage mixing on his face. “No one will be killinganyone’schild today.” The stare she directed at me could melt steel. She was the only one in the room who knew what a mother would do to protect their child. Whether she suspected I was bluffing or not, she wasn’t willing to take the risk.

She turned to her husband and knelt, taking his hands in hers. I let up on my grip on Rainier’s hair, trying to press my divinity toward his neck as my fingers grazed his scalp. I heard a quiet rumble from him, and I realized he was purring at my touch. I would have laughed if the situation weren't so dire. Hair was sticking to my forehead and the back of my neck, and I felt a cool breeze across my face, lifting the sticky strands away. Where was the air coming from? I looked down at Rainier and saw his fingertips gently gesturing at his side, and I blinked.Hisbreeze. I started as I realized he was the cause of it. He had learned to summon the wind. I felt my lip tug upwards before I wiped my face of any expression. I pushed my leg into him, trying to support the way he was sitting; I knew he couldn’t be comfortable. Finally, the queen turned back around to face us.

“We will put a hold on the order, for now, but will not take it off the table. It will need to be discussed further.” She trailed off, extending her hands outward in supplication. I released my grip on Rainier and dropped his sword. My knees buckled, and I all but threw myself to the ground. Leaning forward, I buried my face into his back, a sob bursting past my lips. What the queen had promised wasn’t enough.

“Is her cunt that sweet?” I lifted my head to see the king addressing Rainier before his eyes locked on me. “Pray to the gods the dark prince thinks the same about your daughter, or I will not have to lift a finger.”

The move wasn’t calculated but animalistic. In one movement, I came up onto a knee and reached for my blade under my dress. Pushing Rainier down, I let the dagger fly over him. My aim was true, but so was his. A wild gust of wind blew across the room, knocking the blade off course.

The room erupted.

The guards on either side of the dais launched into the air, the stone underneath them forcing them upwards. I registered the king stumbling to his feet, the queen at his side, her hands grappling up his sleeve. I’d never seen a siphon before, but as she tore at his clothes to touch his skin, I recognized it as her trying to stop him from using his abilities. On me.

I was still on my knees when Rainier slammed into me, throwing me backward onto the stone steps. In one graceful movement, he slipped his hand behind my head as we slammed down, the small of my back and upper shoulders taking the brunt of the impact. I groaned as the edges of each step dug into my back.

“Stay here,” he growled into my ear, close.

He climbed off me and stood, turning around to face King Soren, his hands raised as if he were about to call upon his divinity.

I rolled over, wincing. When Rainier landed on top of me, he slammed my ribs into the steps we’d been seated on. Once my vision focused, it hit me that he actually shifted the ground below us, making the steps bow into a divot where I lay.

“Stand down!” The king’s voice bellowed throughout the room.

“I will not.” Loud and arresting, Rainier’s voice was calm, not showing a single sign of agitation.

“She tried to kill us both. She will not live.”

Without risking raising my head, I adjusted to watch as the king pushed Queen Shivani away, and in his hand, he held a ball of glowing crimson and violet fire. His dark green robes, made of silk, reflected the flicker of the flame. He glowered at his son.

“She tried to kill you afteryoutried to kill her daughter. Neither of you succeeded. You will both forget it and move on.” If my life hadn’t been on the line, I’d have argued with him. I had another name to add to my list of people I would kill before this was all over.

“And what of her threats to you?” Queen Shivani was seated on her throne, and her chin jerked to Rainier as she spoke. Her hands were clasped in her lap, appearing as if she were about to pose for a portrait.

“Mother, you wound me,” he said, almost teasing. “Did you truly think she could kill me?”

Yes. No.

The king released the fireball in his hand, although he still looked enraged.

“She will be executed, Rainier, by my hand or yours. I’ll give you three days to decide.”

I didn’t see the guards poised at the top of the steps waiting for their orders, and with a flick of Soren's hand, they rushed down the stairs. Rainier’s eyes met mine as one of the larger guards picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I kept my head lifted, maintaining eye contact for as long as I could. When I mouthed the one word he’d been waiting for, I saw his face twist in pain.

---