Page 73 of What Fury Brings
Olerra unwrapped a bag of candied nuts, looked curiously at Andrastus, then tossed one high into the air in his direction.
On instinct, the prince opened his mouth and caught it on his tongue.
Olerra smiled, and the watching commoners clapped.
He glared at her. “I’m not a dog you can get to do tricks.”
“You said you wouldn’t eat from my fingers. What else was I supposed to do?”
“Stop trying to feed me.”
“Why? Food makes everything better.”
“Not everything,” he said pointedly before looking away.
“Everything,” she insisted. “Name one thing it doesn’t.”
He thought for a moment. “Bathing.”
“You’ve never had a slice of cake while taking a bath? Definitely better. What else?”
“How about a beating?”
“You don’t think chocolate makes injuries feel better? Next.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m not playing these absurd games with you.”
“Because you know I’m right.” She tossed another nut to him. He let this one hit the top of his head before it fell to the floor.
“Spoilsport,” she said.
16
They rode for hours through what felt like every street in the city. The herald even had to be switched out so her voice wouldn’t go dry.
Olerra tried to engage Andrastus, but he wasn’t having any of it. The man was so stubborn he put his father to shame. He was a true Brute indeed.
“Do you know how to have fun?” she asked him, utterly exasperated a couple of hours later.
They were along the outskirts of the city now. Soon they would cross the bridge over the Fren River before taking a road south back to the palace. There were hardly any homes around anymore, but Olerra loved the scenery. All the palm trees and flowering shrubs were a picturesque backdrop. Perfect for romancing her prince.
“Fun,” he repeated.
“Yes, a good time? Surely you’ve had one before?”
He said nothing.
“You won’t eat. You barely talk. You only tolerate the masses. What do you usually do as a prince in Brutus?”
“I didn’t realize having fun was a goal you had for me,” he said dryly.
“Of course it is. We’re to be married. You think I want our time together to be miserable? Surely there’s something fun we can decide on?”
There was a sound outside, a rumble that had the horses halting and whinnying. Up ahead, Olerra saw the bridge over the river collapsing, with her forward guard still upon it. They fell into the churning current below, which carried them and their horses away.
Before Olerra could so much as move, she heard the distinctshinkthat could only be that of an arrow.
“Get down!” Olerra shouted, throwing Andrastus to the floor and covering him with her body. A volley shot toward them. She heard the rear guard grunting in pain and falling off their horses. Arrows imbedding into the carriage door. The driver falling from her perch.
