Page 37 of To Wake a Kingdom

Bleak determination on his face, Ronan tipped his chin. “Get the others,” he ordered Gideon, not taking his eyes off me.

Gideon took off at full speed.

I was shaking, my knees liquifying like melted butter. Ronan’s strong arm held me up as he pressed me closer.

“The keys. We need the keys for the cells,” I said into his chest. My skin was warm and clammy, and I couldn’t stop trembling.

Ronan placed a finger under my chin, tipping my face up. “It’s okay. We’ll move everyone. Don’t worry. This is going to be okay.”

Ashes in my throat, I answered with a nod. Except nothing was okay.

Gideon returned with Em and Noah and, to my relief, a set of keys.“We should clear out this part and then check the opposite end of the castle next. There may be more there,” he said.

Everyone set to work. Hands shaking, I began unlocking doors and then moved in to help lift one of the sleeping prisoners.

Ronan held a man by his ankles, and I grabbed his wrists. “Thorne, we can do this. Go and wait with Kianna.”

“I will not sit idle as my people are devoured by a curse they had no part in causing.” I glared at him, daring him to argue, but without hesitation, he said, “On the count of three, then.”

It was backbreaking work. There were close to two hundred people living in the castle, and only about half were already in the throne room. Thankfully, the cavernous space was more than adequate as we filed everyone in.

We worked through the night, and it was morning by the time we were done. Exhausted, we all sat quietly, surveying the bodies lying in neat rows like the wounded victims of war. Kianna slid down the wall next to me and took my hand.

“Thank you. All of you, for your help tonight,” I whispered, the knot in my throat like fire. “The people of Ravalyn won’t forget your kindness, nor will I.”

As I stared at the sleeping people, I felt the erosion of all my naïve intentions. The game I was trapped in had more rules than I’d ever imagined. Sobs devoured my body as I fell against Kianna, silently begging her for strength. Her arms wrapped around me, and we stayed like that for a long time as I wept an endless, winding river of my failures.

Strong arms scooped me up, and Ronan cradled me to his chest before he carried me through the halls. With my forehead pressed to his throat, my tears soaked into his skin. I took a deep inhale, filling myself with his warm and comforting scent. Gently, he placed me on my bed and Kianna scooted in, banding an arm around my waist. Cocooned in her shield, I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Seventeen

20 days left

“Don’tgripthebow;let it rest in your hand,” Noah said, squinting at a glass bottle that sat almost two hundred yards away. It was a nearly impossible shot, but I was becoming more comfortable pushing myself, testing the limits of the box that had once shaped the rigid corners of my life.

“I know,” I said, clenching my teeth. “You’ve told me that a hundred times.”

“Then do it right, Princess,” Noah said, his expression daring me to argue.

With a shake to loosen my shoulders and an irritated huff, I focused on the bottle, trying to erase the image of the decaying prisoner. After replaying it over in my head too many times to count, I’d begged Noah for an archery lesson as a temporary distraction. It was only partly working.

Em and Ronan were busy behind us, swords clanging.

“Easy,” Noah said, softly. “Remember—use your back to draw the bow. Not your arms.” He hovered close enough to touch the weapon and send it off course, trying to throw me off.

Slowly pulling on the taut string, I let the arrow fly. It hit the bottle dead center, and it shot off the log, crashing to the ground in an explosion of glittering shards.

“Yes!” I screamed and jumped up. “I did it! Did you see that?”

Ronan and Em were both clapping, and I blushed at their attention.

“Did you see?” I flashed a smile at Ronan. He returned it with an appreciative rake of his eyes that had me flushing about more than just my archery skills. A flush that had nothing to do with the fact he was bare from the waist up, a sheen of sweat highlighting the curves and angles of his flawlessly carved torso.

“Impressive, Princess Thorne. Woe be upon the man who ever tries to win your heart,” he said, a hand pressed to his sternum.

Noah clapped me on the shoulder so hard I stumbled. “Yah, he’ll get his balls ripped off anytime he opens his mouth.”

I glared at him, and he laughed.

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