Page 50 of The Princess of Nothing
He nodded slowly. “This could work for us. I hope.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Are you close?” I questioned. “The wedding is the day after tomorrow.” My voice went up a whole octave. “I can’t go through with it, but I can’t run either. If I marry him, I hand over Magaelor. I’d rather die.”
Cedric squeezed my arms. “Don’t you dare consider—”
“Then get me out of here,” I stated firmly, interrupting him. It was a low blow, a thinly veiled threat, but I was desperate, and I meant it. I really would rather be dead than see Berovia rule over my people.
“We’re in Woodbarrow. We’ll be in Bluewater tomorrow evening. We have fast horses. I have a plan. I’ve been trying to reach you.” His gaze flicked around mine manically. “But I couldn’t spend all my time asleep, not when I had a mission to uphold. I promised you I’d get you out of there, so promise me you’ll trust me to. You won’t give up.”
“I’ll wait,” I said slowly. “Until the I do’s if I must, but I will run if you’re not there, like I did to Blaise, except this time it’s different. There’s more at stake. They’ll kill me if I don’t go through with it, Cedric. It doesn’t matter if Kiros loves me or not. Xenos is king and he doesn’t.”
His face flushed red. His hair was wilder than I’d ever seen. His bright golden locks darted off in every direction, and his pointed ears poked out through the strands. He wore a gold hoop in one ear—a new addition, or at least I’d not noticed it before.
He took my hand in his and pulled me close to him. He brushed my hair back, then ran the back of his hand down my cheek to my neck, pausing once to look into my eyes. “I’ve missed you. We got so little time before you were taken from me. Then we had only moments in the dungeons, in your dreams. I thought I’d die seeing you tortured and in pain. Everything you’ve been through.” He kissed my forehead. “My brave, strong woman. I’m proud of you. You’ve come so far, and it will all be worth it. We just have to get past this, then you’ll see.”
“They’re hiding dragons. They’re holding two of them down in these caves they use. The hole, which is underground. Kiros told me it’s where they would be taken. I saw them in the pits, being dragged out.”
“They’re close to the dungeons. I know what ones he speaks of.”
“We should go and help them escape.” I looked up at him, wild-eyed. “They’re siphoning their magic to use in place of a large army.”
He clenched his jaw. “Liars. All of them. They did that to us, centuries ago. Siphoned our magic.”
I dipped my head. “I know.”
“It’s disgusting. You know what happens after any creature is weakened and their magic siphoned? They become hollow husks. Their soul slowly fades to nothing. It’s the worst kind of death. Sorcerers don’t care about any creature that uses natural magic, including dragons.”
I cleared my throat. “I know you’re angry; so am I!”
He shook his head. “Let’s focus on getting you out of this vile place first. We can work out details after.”
I nodded. “Before this ends...” I reached up to cup his cheek, feeling him beginning to fade. “I need to do something.” I brought my lips to his, feeling them caress mine gently, then with more urgency. He deepened the kiss. We held each other until the room began spinning and I could no longer feel him pressed against me.
I felt likeair had been knocked out of my lungs. My eyes burned when I opened them. Still pink from the kiss, I jumped on seeing Kiros. I placed my hand over my racing heart. “You scared me.”
“I shouldn’t have come.” His cheeks burned too. It was still dark, but indigo had begun softening to a lighter blue and gray. Stars disappeared into the darkness.
“It’s so early.” I rubbed my eyes. “It’s fine. Is everything okay?”My cheeks burned with the thought of Cedric’s kiss.
Kiros chuckled. “You look like you’ve been caught with your pants down.”
My forehead wrinkled. “What?”
He smirked and sat at the end of my bed. “Never mind, it’s a saying here.”
“Oh. Right.”
“You don’t do humor much in Magaelor, hmm?”
I crossed my arms. “If you’ve come to my room early just to insult me,” I joked. “Then you can go.” I pointed at the door.
“I’ve come to tell you something actually. It’s important. I figured you’d want to know straight away. It was difficult to manage. It took a lot of work on my part. You’d be impressed if you knew how I duped Father into going for it.” He grinned. “Your friend, Morgana, the one you wanted to save. I negotiated her release. No one is none the wiser you were behind it.”
My world spun for a moment. I gripped the sheets, and my heart skipped a beat. Dizziness stole my breath. “She’s alive?” I choked back a sob.
His eyes gleamed. “She is.”
My tears fell thick and fast. Relief washed away everything else. I placed my hands over my mouth and nose. I couldn’t talk yet; my soul could barely be contained in my body.
