Page 32 of The Princess of Nothing
CHAPTER TWELVE
Treetops swayed inthe abnormally cold winds sweeping through Bluewater Province. Winds ripped through the sky, tearing leaves from their branches and collecting them into a carpet of green below.
The cloudless night beckoned me as I watched it. I shoved my foot into a loop of the rope I’d fashioned from the clothes in my drawers, then climbed over the ledge of my window. My breaths rattled as I gripped the fabric, feeling the strain on the pole I’d tied it to.
Tonight was the night I would escape. Day two loomed on the edge of midnight. The air bit my cheeks. I was almost at the bottom, the taste of freedom close to my tongue. I shimmied down farther. My heart leapt when my feet hit stone.
“Winter.” Cedric’s voice brought the scene crashing around me. The rope disappeared, and suddenly I was standing at the forest’s edge with him.
I blinked back tears. “It was a dream.”
His gaze flitted over me. “You look better.” He regarded my expression before continuing. “Are they treating you well?”
I raised my eyebrows. “They tortured me. Anything is better than that.”
He swallowed hard. “I mean now. Are they taking care of you?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “Only because I am of value to them now.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “What do they want?”
My expression darkened. “Prince Kiros has offered his intention to marry me, asking for full rights to be king of Magaelor.” My heart hurt as the words left my mouth. “He wants an answer by today. If I refuse, then they’ll kill me.”
“He said that?”
“He didn’t need to. It was implied.”
“What will you answer?”
I rubbed my arm. “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes,” I repeated. “What do you want me to say? No?”
He pressed his fingers against his forehead. “Of course not.” He looked at me, his eyes gleaming under the fake moonlight.
“I won’t go through with it. I just need to bide some time to escape. I don’t how, but I’m determined.”
