I spun to face her. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Quiet,” she hissed low. “They’re looking for us,” she warned.
“Who’s they?” I asked, dropping my voice to a whisper and looking behind me anxiously, feeling like a Vouna guard would grab me at any moment.
“The rebels,” she answered.
“Rebels?” I asked.
She looked at me with an expression that made clear she was unimpressed with my lack of knowledge.
“I can’t stand you,” she told me.
“And I don’t have time for this,” I snapped, turning to leave. Selene was all that mattered. But she grabbed my elbow.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“To find the Princess,” I said and tried to yank my arm away from her. She only pulled me closer.
“It’s not safe. I have to get you out of here,” she said.
“Let me go. I’m not going anywhere with you,” I told her, raising my voice in anger. Who did she think she was? Treating me the way she had—causing me to question my soul match bond—and now trying to keep me from Selene when she needed me?
No one would keep me from her.
“Quiet,” she hissed. “You’re so full of yourself. You truly don’t care about anything or anyone other than your dictator of a mistress,” she whispered angrily.
“I’ve had enough of you. Speak to me plainly or not at all,” I said, raising my voice louder in defiance.
She pulled me towards her, clamping her hand down across my mouth again and looking at the kitchen door anxiously.
I bit her.
She yelped and released me.
“You little bitch,” she whispered, clutching her hand. A part of me felt bad. I wasn’t the type of person that bit people. But then, I didn’t think I was the type of person that killed people either—and the tacky stickiness of my palms was proof of that.
“The rebels are a militia group formed by former Vouna guardsmen, Ardens loyalists, and various disenfranchised groups of the north.”
“Disenfranchised?” I asked aloud. “I don’t understand,” I told her.
“Of course you don’t. You don’t understand anything,” she said exasperatedly.
“Fuck you!” I responded angrily and attempted to leave, pushing past her. This wasn’t worth my time. Selene needed me. But she grabbed me again.
“Look,” she sighed heavily. “There are those in the north that wish to secede—that’s separate from the rest of the Kingdom. They’re angry over ever-increasing tariffs, a series of harsh winters and poor crops, and the erosion of smaller Houses and lands. House Vouna’s dismantling, coupled with what is set to be a deadly winter, has fuelled the growth of secessionist ideology. Former Vouna guardsmen provided the training and leadership necessary to bring the various factions of rebel groups together and now—well, you can smell the gunpowder,” she explained. “Does that make things clear to you now, princess?” she asked, mockingly.
I swallowed. “We’re under attack by rebels,” I stated, soberly.
“Rebels that want you dead,” she answered.
“Why me?” I asked, shocked and confused. “I’m nobody.”
“You’re somebody to a whole lot of people,” she said. “A disappointment waiting to happen,” she added coldly.
I ignored the insult. The dislike was mutual. “Who am I important to?” I questioned.
“You’re Percy Flores. Daughter of Oceanus Maria, the son of William Auster, the son of Prince Nikolas Auster. Do you understand now?” she asked.
