Page 32 of The Shadow Prince's Ruin
She stares at me incredulously, and gives a soft laugh. “How would you stop him? You would do yourself a favor settling on someone more like yourself,” she says, and I find myself massaging my eyes, struggling to stay awake.
Was I not supposed to be strengthened by the sweet concoction? My tongue feels so heavy when I try to speak. “He is… who I want to…”
It’s too late when I recognize I’ve been duped. As I tilt to the side, Hawk’s mother is there to catch me and settle my head on a pillow.
“This is for your own good, sweetie,” she whispers just before I’m taken by a dark fog.
Chapter 12
Sylvan
Ismell wood, stale fabric, and something sharp and biting… spirit? My limbs are heavy as bags full of gravel, and my head lolls from side to side in a world that seems filled with slime instead of air. The uncomfortable sensation on my tongue feels like the obvious consequence of whatever potion I’ve been given, but as I try to move it and swallow, it becomes clear there’s cloth in my mouth, and that it’s tied to my head.
Panic sets in as my eyes open to near-complete darkness, but when I try to move my hands to find out where I am by touch, I discover that my whole body is bound.
I’m trapped.
My wrists are fastened behind my back, my ankles are tied together, and I’m attached to the insides of this soft coffin by a belt strapped around my waist.
This can’t be happening. Could they know who I really am and seized me for the bounty on my head? If Lord Kyran installedspies around me at Best Burgers Bonanza, then I am already a known fugitive.
I attempt to make a sound, but the gag rests so deep in my mouth my whine comes out muffled. I would have tried knocking on the walls, but every surface around me, including the lid I just pressed my forehead to, is cushioned.
I’m frantic with worry, but will not let myself be overcome with it. I am a Goldweed and my life cannot be snuffed out like a candle.
Think. Think. Think.
It’s then that something crashes outside my prison, making me flinch with fear, but the sound of the familiar gravelly voice soothes the cramps inside my abdomen.
“I ask again, where the hell is Sylvan?”
I want to embrace Hawk’s words, let them wrap around me and know that everything will be all right from now on. I utter a whine, but as he keeps questioning his family, it becomes clear that the same thing that keeps their voices dull is muting mine.
“I told you, honey,” his mother says. “I couldn’t keep him here by force. He left as soon as he realized he had the chance. You’re delusional to think a boy like that would stay. He was probably too afraid to tell you, since he knows who you are.”
My heart sinks. They’re trying to get rid of me. LikeI’mthe problem. LikeIcould somehow hurt Hawk’s future prospects. Helpless anger fills me with fresh determination and I move my bound legs around to feel for anything that could help me escape. Elves have superior vision in the darkness, but even I can’t see anything in this coffin.
“He wanted to go with me,” Hawk insists.
“Oh, I’m sure he did want something, just like that last pretty face, who you chose to drop your whole future for,” Hawk’s father interjects.
There’s a moment of silence, and then Hawk speaks. “Why would you fucking say that? You forgot about me for five years, so you don’t get to judge me now!”
“Oh I will speak my mind, because you’re literally here to ask for my help.”
Hawk’s mother clears her throat. “At any rate, you need to go. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be? You’ll have an easier time without him. Find yourself a nice boy with a clean slate. Someone who won’t know you’re wanted.”
I hear stomping nearby, so I shuffle around, but I’m barely making any sound, and humans’ hearing isn’t even as good as mine.
“For the right guy, I’m sure you’re a catch, son,” Hawk’s father says as if to soften the blow of his harsh words. “But you have to face the facts. Sylvan left. And Kevin testified against you. You need to make better choices, and that should start tonight. Focus on yourself and get across the border.”
It pains me to hear that they hound him like that. I don’t really know that much about Hawk, but the darkness of his shadow tells me he’s not had an easy life. He doesn’t deserve to be lied to about me when I most definitelywantto go with him, and make him mine.
My foot hits something hard and my heart skips a beat. I tap it several times, but the noise isn’t loud enough because of the rubber soles of my shoes. Where are steel buckles when one needs them?
“Sylvan wouldnotleave. So this is your chance to tell me the truth. What have you done with him?” Hawk growls, and I squirm at a series of noises that follow.
“Please, stop wrecking our home!” his mother shouts, with an edge of rage to her voice, but he doesn’t seem to listen, and the next thud sounds as if he were trying to break through.”
