Page 13 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
With all the force I had left, I tugged on my skirt. Without Fabrian’s full weight dragging it back, I dislodged it. I ignored the bits of my former groom that flicked into the air, andran. Harder and faster than I ever had in my life.
My heavy dress tried to kneel me, but I righted myself.
I wouldn’t die today.
I gripped onto the sycamore’s flaky bark. My fingers searched every crevice, as my toes dug in for support with practiced ease.
I am not dying. Not here. Not now.
Just as my right hand rose to grasp the lowest branch, I was snatched away. Strong hands circled my waist. I kicked and screamed as my feet dangled from the ground and I was whirled around. A breath later, an arrow dug into the bark, right where I had been climbing.
As soon as my feet touched the ground again, I turned, gripping my switchblade for dear life. My eyes met menacing black leather and the feared Rohen golden pendant.
The Dragon had come to slay me, too.
I raised my switchblade as if it was a sacred sword and met the prince’s darkened gaze head on. I was slight and knew shit-all about combat, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
He had to earn my murder.
It was my last defiant act in a life that had been nothing but meek.
The prince didn’t look afraid. Of course he wouldn’t. His was the name people were too scared to utter.
But I wasn’t expecting him to roll his eyes. With a speed that didn’t seem human, he swatted the switchblade from my hands. It fell to the ground with a laughable clink.
Gods, he was tall. And menacing. His ice eyes roamed over my veil.
Then he grabbed me again, pulling me to his chest, and whirled around. A breath later, another arrow struck the tree. This one had been aimed at his head.
“Interesting,” he said, sparing a glance at the arrow. The deep rumble in his chest vibrated through me before he took a step back, the heat of him no longer enveloping me. “We need to make this quick. I regret you had to witness that.”
He nodded at where Fabrian’ remains still gushed. Another wave of nausea hit me, but I swallowed it down.
That's what he regretted? He’d threatened my family and Clan, had killed Fabrian, but he was sorry I’dwitnessedit?
I tilted my chin as far as it would go. Vegheara blood was stubborn. “I won’t die as fast as he did.”
The prince sighed in irritation. I would’ve been offended if I hadn’t been terrified down to my quaking bones.
"I didn’t come here to kill you. Do you know who I am?" he asked, low and deep.
I nodded.
"Do you know why I'm here?" he asked.
If he wasn’t set on murdering me on my wedding day, then there was only one other option. A more terrifying one.
The Codehadbeen broken, this much I knew. By my parents, when they'd dragged me away from the Protectorate and the prince who now loomed over me.
"For me," I said, hating that my words shook.
"Good.” He grabbed my waist again and spun us around once more, as another set of arrows scarred the sycamore. As if we were tangled in some deranged dance, not moving to save our lives. My back hit the bark again.
The prince tilted his head, and studied the arrows. A strange, green liquid seeped from their tips. Poison. One strong enough to darken the tree’s bark and make it fizzle.
“There are exactly two ways to handle this and you get to choose which one you prefer,” he went on, sounding unbothered that someone was trying very hard to kill either me or him. Or both. "You can either come with me and have my Clan’s protection for the remainder of your days or you can refuse me and hope whoever is attacking both of our Clans right now doesn’t get a direct hit on you. Come with me, and I can promise you safety. Stay and I cannot."
I gulped. Who was stupid or powerful enough to take on the biggest, strongest Clans in all of Malhaven?
