Page 67 of Warrior Princess
“This is Ellyndor’s duty, Lyanna. You don’t understand yet, but you will, so please…” He stretched out a hand to me. “Come with me.”
I stared at his hand intently, trying to remember all my interactions with Orion through the years. Secrets he already knew and didn’t reveal. He knew I was the lost princess since the moment I met him. He knew Sir Edric and vowed to him that he would take care of me. But… I never saw Orion and Caelan anywhere together. Whenever I was in danger from Caelan and needed a rescuer, Orion was never anywhere to be found. I should have realized sooner than now that they were somehow involved with each other.
Orion's eyes held a desperate plea, but beneath it, I saw the resignation of a man cornered by his own choices. He was no longer the friend I remembered, but a pawn in a much larger game—one I was unwilling to play.
“Never,” I finally said, my voice firm.
Realizing I wouldn't be swayed, Orion's expression hardened. “Then I'm sorry, Lyanna.” He raised his hand to signal his soldiers.
Before they could advance, Shiro acted. His body morphed rapidly back into his human form. Grabbing a chair, Shiro smashed through the window, glass shattering around us likerain. He turned back to me just as swiftly, grabbing my hand. “We need to leave,now!”
I attempted to dig in my heels. I couldn’t leave my father and Marcellus behind. “No! My family!”
“Your family is not who Caelan wants!” Shiro growled and tossed me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes. Without a second thought, he jumped out of the window, landing onto the ground below with the grace of a cat.
Orion shouted my name and rushed to the window we’d just vaulted from. “Hurry! Catch them!” he ordered the soldiers, who stood there dumbfounded.
Shiro bolted from the inn with me over his shoulder, carrying me away from the chaos. I slapped his back and begged him to stop, but he ignored me, intent on finding a safe place.
He set a relentless pace, his feet seeming to barely touch the ground as we darted through a warren of narrow alleyways. The chilly night air whipped my cheeks, but all thoughts of my discomfort vanished when I heard the distant shouts of soldiers trying to coordinate a pursuit. Every shout and command felt like a vice tightening around my heart. But Shiro didn’t slow down, not even to catch his breath.
Finally, when the sounds of our pursuers had faded, Shiro slowed to a stop in a darkened alley and gently placed me on my feet. “We have to keep moving.” He scanned the area for any sign of the soldiers and kept one hand on my shoulder to steady me. “They won’t stop until they have you.”
I straightened my dress and tried to regain my composure, thinking only of my father and Marcellus. “We can’t just leave them. We have to go back!”
Before Shiro could reply, a figure emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley. I tensed before realizing it was Ronan, his expression a mixture of relief and urgency.
His eyes were wide as he ran toward us. “There you are! I saw the commotion at the inn. What happened?”
“Orion turned on us,” I said quickly, the words tasting bitter. “He’s working with Caelan. He probably has been this whole time.”
Ronan’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. “I knew we couldn’t trust him.” He glanced around. “We need to get out of herenow. Eldwain soldiers are marshaled nearby.”
We moved swiftly, blending into the shadows as we navigated Marsten’s labyrinthine streets. Avoiding the main roads, we slipped through lesser-known paths and back alleys. Shiro led the way, his heightened senses alert to any danger, while Ronan kept a protective arm around me, his gaze constantly scanning our surroundings.
After a tense and breathless journey, we arrived at a small, secluded park on the edge of town. It was deserted at this late hour, the only sound the rustling of leaves in the gentle night breeze. We paused to catch our breath under the cover of a large oak tree.
“Are you alright?” Ronan’s voice was soft as he brushed a stray lock of hair from my face.
I nodded and tried to steady my racing heart. “I’m fine, but we can’t just leave my family behind.”
Shiro, who had been surveying the park, turned to us. “They’ll be looking for any excuse to get you back, Leila. But for now, we need to focus on keeping you safe. Your family knows how to handle themselves—they’re not the targets here.”
“What if they use them to get to me? Caelan knows I’d do anything for them,” I whispered. “We can’t—”
“Shiro is right, Leila,” Ronan cut me off. “Marcellus will handle them. He’s a strong blood mage. He won’t let anything happen. But they’re not who Caelan wants.Youare. We should have known Caelan wouldn’t forget about you.”
Caelan never once spared me a look when we were in Eldwain. He was so focused on his plan, I hoped he’d given up his foolish ideas about marrying me. I guess I was wrong.
“But—”
“I’ll go back to the inn,” Shiro volunteered. “I’ll take your family to safety.”
I nervously bit my lower lip and sighed, knowing that was the best I could hope for. “Thank you.”
With a nod, Shiro was gone, leaving Ronan and me alone in the park. I reached for Ronan’s hand. “Did you manage to send a message to Avery?”
Ronan nodded. “It’s sent. We just have to wait to hear back. But according to the girls at the fabric shop, Caelan escorted his sister out of the reception to safety. He doesn’t think she’s a threat and actually cares for her deeply.”
