Grabbing my waist, Dax lifts me onto the saddle. Numbly, I swing my leg over the animal, with Dax climbing up behind me. I settle against his hard chest, taking comfort in his strength.
“He can’t hate me forever.”
“We’ll see, Little Captive,” is all he says.
Wren canters his horse past us, taking the lead. “No stopping until we reach the Soren River.”
Quinn falls in behind him, throwing me a smirk. He is still speckled with blood. Between that and his scar, he looks every bit like a demon shot straight up from hell. But he doesn’t scare me. He bleeds, which means he’s still more man than monster. And although I have no life experience beyond the tower, I know this…
I’ve felt the grass beneath my feet.
The sunlight on my face.
I’m learning to ride a horse.
Two men pleasured me in two different ways.
And I saw four men die right before my eyes.
I can’t go back to living as Sybil’s willing captive. Not now, after tasting so much of the world in such a tiny amount of time.
Imagine what adventure awaits me tomorrow.
King John must die.
It’s the only way I can truly live.
15
WREN
“What’s it like being…magical?” Dax’s question breaks the monotony of the overcast morning. He hesitates on the last word of the sentence. “Does it feel different?”
Rapunzel’s reluctance to answer fills the air with a tangible tension. She watches the southern Rygard landscape as we ride by, staring off at the distant a. “Different from what? I know nothing else.” Her slight shoulders lift and drop in a small shrug. “This is all I’ve ever been.”
“So, how’s it work?” Quinn voices the question that’s haunted me since the day in The Cup and Crown when I learned Rapunzel possesses the power to heal.
What I hadn’t realized is that Quinn is equally curious. But I should have expected he’d be…invested…especially given his rather enthusiastic response to her yesterday morning. Sweet hell. Yesterday morning. It took all my discipline not to pull Dax from between her legs and stuff her full of my cock. To finally sate the primal need to fuck her that’s been burning inside me since I was sixteen. To leave my mark upon her flawless body, showing Rygard that I own its most sacred treasure.
Her movement is graceful when she touches her hair, her fingers trailing along the thick braid. Last night, we made camp by the bank of the Soren River, and while Dax assured Rapunzel we’d give her privacy, she politely declined to bathe. We three, however, took advantage of the refreshing water and washed off the afternoon’s battle.
The injury to Quinn’s arm, although still mending, isn’t severe—for him. If either Dax or I had been on the receiving end of that blow, the outcome would have been devastating.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter. Not anymore.” She glares pointedly at me, those green eyes full of accusation.
“What doesn’tmatter, Rapunzel?” I demand.
“If I tell you the story.” She pulls her gaze off me, gathers her heavy braid, and lays it across her lap. “My mother fell ill during her pregnancy. Desperate, my father called on a witch to save her, but it was too late. My mother was beyond even Sybil’s power. But the spell had been cast, and the magic flowed from her failing body to mine. For the duration of the pregnancy, I was the only thing that kept her alive.” Rapunzel drags in a trembling breath. Her sad stare sees past the barren landscape. As if she’s viewing ghosts through someone else’s eyes. “She died the moment I was born. And my father… Sybil said he changed in that instant. All that was good and kind in him died along with his wife. When he saw my hair, how it glowed golden, she glimpsed my future. To save me from him, Sybil claimed I died as well, and used a spell to prove her lie. They entombed me in my mother’s arms. But Sybil came for me while I lay in a sleep-death state. She stole me from the crypt and brought me to the tower. That’s where I stayed, mostly alone, for twenty-four years.”
Dax wraps an arm around her and hugs her tight against his chest. “So, Wren had it wrong. Sybil was protecting you.”
Rapunzel releases a long breath and swipes wispy hair away from her face. “Sybil was never the villain.”
“Thank fuck.” Dax unwraps himself from her and kisses the back of her head. “I wasn’t looking forward to killing a witch.”
Rapunzel opens her mouth to say something to him, but Quinn silences her by snapping in his typical ruthless way, “Tragic tale. Now finish it.”
“There’s not much more to tell. Sybil never held me against my will. I voluntarily remained in the tower to protect Rygard.” She bounces her gaze from Quinn to me. “Can you imagine the harm someone could inflict upon this kingdom if my hair fell into the wrong hands?”
