Page 75 of Warrior Princess
I nearly gagged. “That’s an antiquated practice, Caelan. And quite frankly, it’s gross. The fact you’ve known all along just makes it a million times worse. Now release me! I’m never going to marry you!”
He pulled me flush against him. “You will. Whether you like it or not.”
“All you want is to rule Asteria, but I’m telling you now, Caelan, I won’t give you Valoria. I would rather kill myself than marry you.”
His expression darkened. “You would rather marry a barbarian such as Ronan?”
I furrowed my brows. “I never said I would marry him. I never said I would marryanyone. But if I had to, then yes, it would be Ronan. Because I love him. He’s the only man I’ll love in this lifetime. And no one can change that.”
Caelan's grip tightened momentarily, his eyes flaring with angry desperation. “Love!” He spat the word as if it left a foul taste in his mouth. “Such a frivolous emotion. It won't save youorValoria.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ronan fighting his way toward us, his expression one of fierce determination. His fur bristling and teeth bared in a snarl, Shiro, in his fox form, darted through the soldiers, creating a path for Ronan
“Let her go, Caelan!” Ronan roared. He gripped his sword tightly, ready to strike.
Caelan glanced over his shoulder, his smirk returning as he saw Ronan. “Ah, the barbarian comes to claim his prize,” he taunted, pushing me slightly forward to meet Ronan's advance.
Ronan halted a few feet away, his sword lowering slightly as he calculated the risk of striking me in his quest to reach Caelan. His chiseled face looked upon the prince, murderer, and would-be king with disgust. “Leila is no one's prize. She's her own person, Caelan. You can't own her, and you certainly can't force her to love you.”
Caelan's laugh was cold and humorless. “Oh, but I can force her to obey… Just as I will force all of Asteria to bow to me!”
“Over my dead body.” Ronan stepped closer, his sword now a clear threat.
“That can be arranged!” Caelan drew a dagger and pressed it against my side subtly enough that only I could feel its presence.
The tension in the air thickened as every soldier and warrior paused to witness the standoff, the sounds of battle momentarily fading into a distant rumble.
“Think about what you're doing, Caelan,” I tried to reason with him, my voice steady despite the fear coiling in my stomach. “This isn't you. You weren't always like this.”
Caelan's eyes flickered, and a shadow of something human passed over his features before it was quickly replaced by the hard mask of the cruel conqueror he had become. “I am exactly who I need to be for Eldwain and for all Asteria. If that means shedding blood, even yours, so be it.”
“Is that so?” My gaze met Ronan’s. He frowned as his crimson eyes met mine. I tried to convey everything I felt with simply my gaze, knowing it fell woefully short of expressing all the love I had for him. In one swift movement, I spun, grabbed Caelan’s wrist, and plunged his dagger into my abdomen.
Caelan’s hazel eyes widened in shock and he released the knife handle as if it burned his skin. I stumbled backward with a smile on my face, coughing up blood. “Now you won’t have meorValoria!”
Ronan shouted my name and rushed toward me, catching me before I fell to the ground. I felt the barest touch of his arms engulfing me.
“No…” Caelan looked at his bloodied hands in horror. “No!”
Thudding hooves in the distance dragged my attention away from Ronan’s face and I slowly shifted my gaze to see an army headed our way… with Marcellus at its head. I heard a distant shout as my brother called my name.
As Marcellus and his army closed in, Orion angled to block off his approach. Shiro, in his towering demon fox form, lunged at Orion and caught him off guard. The two clashed fiercely, a blur of movement and flashes of steel.
Orion was skilled in the art of combat and easily parried and dodged Shiro's ferocious attacks, but the raw power and unpredictability of Shiro's demon fox abilities proved to be overwhelming. With a swift, decisive move, Shiro's claws found their mark, slashing across Orion's neck with a sickening squelch.
His startled gaze fell on me as he clutched his neck and fought to keep the ribbons of flesh intact. “Lyanna,” he gurgled. The fae staggered to his knees, his face a gruesome mask of shock and pain, and then collapsed to the ground. His blood soaked into the soil.
Meanwhile Caelan, his face twisted with rage and disbelief, refocused his attention on Marcellus, who had dismounted and was charging towards his former best friend. Their clash was immediate and brutal, swords clanging with the desperate intensity of a final stand. Caelan, fueled by fury and desperation, fought with reckless abandon, but Marcellus was driven by a cold, resolute determination to end the tyranny, and matched him stroke for stroke as the Valorian army began to to fight against Caelan’s army.
Ronan gently held me and whispered reassurances, trying to stem the bleeding with his hand pressed against my wound. His eyes were filled with worry and love, but they never left mine, even as the battle raged around us. “You’ll be okay, Leila. Stay with me. Keep your eyes open,” he murmured. “I love you. You have to stay with me. Promise me!”
Far past speaking, all I could do was smile.
Each blow echoed through the air until the fight between Marcellus and Caelan reached a crescendo. Caelan maneuveredaround Marcellus and knocked him down, then aimed his sword at his neck.
“Now that Lyanna is at death’s door, you’re no longer needed, either!” Caelan spat.
Ronan growled and clutched me to his chest, then he pulled back and looked down at me with fury sparking in his crimson eyes. Offering me an apology, he laid me down gently on the ground. Vaulting to his feet, he grabbed his fallen sword and stormed toward Caelan, who somehow felt his presence behind him and whirled around to face him at the last second. The clash of steel rang out. The ferocity of Ronan’s strikes forced Caelan to stumble backward.
