Page 28 of The Princess of Nothing
I rolled my eyes. “Sure.”
“I’m being honest. If you choose not to believe me, then that’s up to you. Look, I understand not wanting to lose your rule, but—”
I clenched my jaw. “Stop! I can’t take this for a moment longer. I will say this only once. I will never, ever give up my birthright! My crown. My people. Never. I don’t care what you do, how much you torture me. I will not betray the ancestors. I was born a princess, but I will die a queen.”
His expression dropped. “Then I guess there’s nothing more for us to discuss.” He glanced back one last time before leaving through the doors.My jaw was aching from talking so much, and my throat sore. I’d used up what little energy I had, and now I wanted to sleep. I laid back on the bed, closing my eyes for a moment.
He couldn’t seriously have believed I would say yes. Even King Xenos had to have known I would decline. What sort of queen would I be if I easily gave up?
There was another reason he’d saved me. It couldn’t have been pity. He had a plan for me, I was sure of it, and if I were wrong, I’d surely be dead by morning.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cedric visited my dreamsthat night. I hovered on the edge of waking when he took my hand, relief sweeping his features. “Winter. I’ve been trying to reach you.” His eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles shadowed under them. “I’m working on finding a way to get you out of there.” He looked me up and down. Tears pooled in the corners of his golden-brown eyes. “I hate seeing you like this. My beautiful girl, so bruised and broken.”
I brushed my hand on his cheek. The scene of gray around us melted into a forest with narrow, time-chiseled trees and a red-leaf-carpeted ground. Dappled light poured through the canopy of oranges, yellow, and red.
I spread my fingers over his chest, my body clinging to his embrace, afraid to let go. “I don’t want to go back,” I whispered. A childlike innocence laced my voice. “Please, Cedric. Prince Kiros has me. He wants me to give up my throne. If I don’t, he said they’re going to kill me.”
His eyebrows pinched together at the mention of his name. “He’s a piece of work. Devious too. He knows exactly what he’s doing. I don’t care how much he pretends otherwise, there’s not a single good bone in his body. He’s a copy of his father through and through.”
“I need to get out of here.”
“I’m going to find a way.” He ran his fingertip across my top lip, his gaze regarding me. I searched his expression. He let out a deep, weighted sigh. “I promise. I miss you. I’m sorry this happened.” Desperation washed over his face as he gripped his fingers onto my arms. I flinched at the pain that didn’t come; it was a dream, I reminded myself.
He leaned his face forward, and the tingle of his breath made my legs tremble. His lips crashed against mine, sending butterflies swirling in my stomach. I wished it were real. It felt like it, but it was all an illusion, dream-walking, and it couldn’t save me.
“Find me again,” I begged. “Please.”
“I’ve tried. It’s difficult, especially from this far away. I will keep trying though. Have faith, Winter. I’ll get you out of there. I’ll find my way back to you,” he told me, fear shining in his eyes.
“Now you know why I don’t like solises.” I joked.
He thumbed my cheek. “They’re not all bad. Kiros and Xenos are exceptions.”
“But look how they treat us?”
