Page 86 of To Wake a Kingdom

My heart withered and died in my chest, ashes clogging my throat and stinging my eyes. I had no choice. I would do anything to keep Ronan alive.

“But why?” I asked, searching for any answer that would stop this. “You can’t want me.”

He shrugged. “That is hardly the point.”

“No,” Ronan said through clenched teeth. “You don’t have to do this. Not for me.”

Esme sobbed quietly in the corner. I wanted to beg her forgiveness—I didn’t want this.

Erick nodded to a third guard standing in the room, who stalked forward, punching Ronan in the stomach so hard he folded in half, nearly collapsing to the ground.

“No!” I tried to reach him, but yet another guard held me back. Erick had orchestrated every move of this play.

“Do we have a deal?” Erick stalked so close our noses were almost touching.

Eyes filled with tears, I nodded.

“Thorne, no,” Ronan said as he tried again to shirk off the guards holding him. A blade found its way to his throat as he nearly ripped from their grasp.

“Take him away.” Erick gestured as I freed myself from the man holding me, running to Ronan.

Pressing my face to his throat, I felt the force of his hard swallow.

“Don’t do this, Thorne.”

“I told you I’d protect you, too. I can’t let him hurt you. I love you, Ronan.”

“We’ll find a way out of this. I promise,” he said before he was jerked away, and I didn’t know if he believed those words or if I did, either.

Erick gestured to his guards, and they took me by the arms.

“So, I’m to be your prisoner, then?”

“For now, yes. After the wedding, that will entirely depend on you.”

With that, they dragged me away.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lockedinmyroom,I paced as I unraveled like snagged cloth. Ronan had been the only thing keeping the demons from my family’s death leashed under my skin. Now they slithered over me, their touch numbing and cruel as a bitter winter wind. If Erick killed Ronan, there would be truly nothing left for me. Everything and everyone I loved was already gone, and he held all the pieces of my shattered heart.

A knock pummeled the door and Kianna flew in, followed by Noah and Em. At the sight of their concerned faces, I cracked, the last of my resolve lost in a pile of shards. Kianna wrapped me in a hug, and I cried on her shoulder as she made soothing noises. I hadn’t lost her yet, though it felt as if it was only a matter of time before someone took her away, too.

“It will be okay, Your Highness,” she said over and over.

“It’s not okay. We’re right back in the castle and as lost and hopeless as ever. I couldn’t break the curse then, and I don’t know how to stop this now.” I turned to Noah. “Have you seen him?”

He nodded. “He’s holding up.”

“Tell me the truth.”

Noah’s shoulders sagged. “He’s a total wreck. I’ve never seen him like this. One moment he’s raging, and the next he’s just staring into nothing.”

Pressure squeezed my chest, my heart ballooning into thin walls ready to pop. “This couldn’t have all gone more wrong. We should never have come here.” I sank down on the bed. “How can Erick get away with this?”

“He’s walking the line of his authority,” Noah said, rubbing his chin. “But it seems the nobles agree on the need to consolidate with Ravalyn. And there is no love lost between Ronan and any of them.”

“We’ll get him out of there,” Em said, crouching down next to me. “Don’t worry, Princess.”

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