Page 21 of The Princess of Nothing
I went quietly. The fight in me faded to nothing.
We trekked through the forest until the trees narrowed, and rotten leaves and ancient bark paved way to a well-trodden path. They cut down vines with their blades. The head guard used some sort of fire spell to scare away a redthorn viper when it crossed our path. Lizards darted up trunks as we walked through.
Cedric looked back at me with tortured eyes. “I’m sorry.”
His shoulders slumped. I couldn’t muster the energy to say a single word because the truth had stolen all happiness and hope from me and forced me into submission. Cedric was the light fae prince, which meant he was the one who killed my brother.
“You killed him,” I whispered. “You lied to me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My golden-eyed, bright, carefree Cedric was a murderer. I remembered my father’s last truth to me.“The light fae were the solises’ secret weapon, and the fae prince was the one who ran a sword through your brother.”
Tears stung my eyes. An immovable lump lodged in my throat. I couldn’t look away. I wondered if André had looked into his eyes when he’d fallen, if Cedric had cared as he watched my brother bleed out.
André was the only one who really cared for me growing up. We played knights and dragons up in our hiding spots in the castle. We would laugh and make fun of the dim-witted guards who tried to impress my father. I looked up to him. He kept our family together, and Cedric ruthlessly ripped him away from us.
“Please,” Cedric pleaded, his hands pressed together. “When I figured out who you were, I wanted to tell you I was a prince then, but you were leaving Berovia, and I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, but you need to listen to me.” He swallowed hard. Beads of sweat glistened on his face. “You have to understand why we all went to battle. I didn’t know you then. Your family were slaughtering the solises and declaring war on our people.”
My heart raced. I felt dizzy, and my hands were clammy. “I hate you.” The words came out softer than I wanted them to, childlike even. I cast my eyes downward. “You’re a liar, and you and your family killed mine.” Fresh tears fell thick and fast down my cheeks when we emerged through the tree line, where royal carriages awaited us.
“I didn’t.” Cedric proclaimed, his eyes bloodshot. “I’m not a killer.”
The guards’ grip on me tightened. I looked up at one. “Where are you taking me?”
“To the pits.”
My eyes widened. I looked to Cedric, and he looked terrified. What wasthe pits?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Time had been stolenfrom me as I rotted in the outside cages, meant for traitors and rapists in a place they called “the pits” outside the royal castle. Around me, hundreds of heavy, iron cages were bolted into the ground, each one with just enough room for one person. Surrounding the flat, large area we were kept in, were tall stone walls. An extra layer of protection in case a prisoner did manage to escape.
The humid morning gave way to illusions of wavering bars. Scraping my bare feet against the grainy sand mixed with dirt, I shuffled back to the edge of my cage. Hot iron burned my flesh as I distanced myself from a snake which had slithered through the bars and into my cage. Its steel eyes latched onto mine as the serpent stood, coiling its tail beneath him and puffing out a regal hood of red. My heart thumped, and venom spattered onto my feet. Flexing my fingers over small stones, I closed my eyes. Snakes were the most primitive of creatures; incapable of love or maternal instincts, they only wished to survive and hunt, and the redthorn viper was the most vicious of them all.
“Help!” I screamed loud enough to garner the attention of the guards. I heard their footsteps growing closer. Other prisoners close by watched it unfold, their eyes excited, looking from me to the snake. It was the only entertainment, I guessed. But I was on the receiving end of it.
My heart hammered in my chest, forcing a spike of adrenaline through my veins, but I had nowhere to direct it. I could not run, or move for that matter.
