“Kylian was a ruthless child with a sadistic streak. One which my father not only condoned but also rewarded. When I was thirteen and Kylian seventeen, he decided I was a threat to his imminent reign and that he needed to be rid of me. One night, he beat me senseless and tried to take off my head with a hot poker. He missed, luckily.” Kai points to the slight scar beneath his left eye.
“That’s horrible,” I whisper. “Kai, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m used to it. I’ve taken his abuse my entire life. Anytime things didn’t go his way, I’d get a beating. If I ‘embarrassed’ him somehow, I’d get a beating. If I took an interest in politics or even combat, I’d get a beating. Eventually, I became so used to it that I stopped feeling the pain altogether. It wasn’t all for naught, though. Ladies do go wild for the scar.” He waggles his brows suggestively. I don’t acknowledge his attempt at diffusion.
“No one saw? No one tried to stop it?”
“My father and mother both knew. They encouraged it, actually. Said it was good practice for the future king to instill fear in his enemies and that I needed to toughen up. Kade was far enough apart from us in age that Kylian barely even noticed his existence. It spared him from being on the receiving end of Kylian’s fits, which I was thankful for.”
He’s quiet for a moment—the only sound that of our footfalls. He stares at the ground as he continues softly, “I tried to fight back. But he was always bigger, always stronger.” Kai shakes his head, sliding his hands into his pockets.
I pull him to a stop, forcing him to look at me.
“Kai. You are a thousand times better than him. Than all of them.”
“Beautiful savior.” He smirks sadly. “Don’t I know it?”
It dawns on me that there is more to Kai than I realized. I was so quick to judge him as a roguish party boy with no realcares or responsibilities other than bedding females and getting high. I wonder if he adopted that role to avoid his brother’s beatings, worried that if he took an interest in ruling and court matters, his brother would see it as a threat and make another attempt on his life. But the unserious second son, the debauched frat boy with a penchant for drugs, drinks, and females, would be of no threat to his brother’s crown. This act could allow him to keep his life. My heart aches for his sorrows, for his pain. For the times his parents neglected to save him. For the times he was met with a brother’s fist rather than any semblance of love or affection.
I lean in and plant a light kiss on his cheek. When I pull away, his expression is perplexed. He opens his mouth to say something when a scream erupts from deep within the maze. We freeze, turning back to Mar and Dover a few feet behind. Then the four of us break into a simultaneous sprint, led by the growing screams.
Cece and Sorscha suddenly spill around the corner, clasping each other tightly, their dresses torn and hair disheveled. They fall to the ground, panting.
“What happened?” Kai grips Sorscha by the shoulders, helping her straighten.
“Something—” She gasps for air, pointing in the direction they came. “There’s something in the maze.”
My stomach drops.
“They attacked us,” Cece finishes for her. Jace and Zadyn’s faces flash through my mind.
“What attacked you?” Kai urges, but I shout over him.
“Where are the others?”
“They told us to run, to get help.” Sorscha’s terror-ridden eyes snap to mine as she shakes her head and clutches Kai’s arms. “They’re still back there. We have to go back.”
“Where is Ilsa?” Marideth steps forward. Cece and Sorscha whirl to face each other, then spin around frantically.
“She was right behind us,” Cece breathes dumbfounded.
“Dover,” Kai snaps, “go with them. Get them to safety and send for help.” He passes Sorscha to his friend, but she wrenches herself free.
“Sorscha,” Mar starts.
“I will not leave them!” she shouts, her voice panicked. “Jace is?—”
Another shrill scream interrupts her protest. I break into a run, no longer able to refrain from going after them. My heart thunders inside my chest as I will myself to go faster and faster, praying I get there in time. The others are close behind. We burst into the epicenter of the maze, a circular space with a towering fountain in the center.
We find Jace and Zadyn locked in combat with the most disturbing creatures I’ve ever seen.
They stand well over seven feet tall on the thick hind legs of a horse. Their heads are a perverted twist on a wolf’s with an elongated snout and curling horns. Long arms extend from their humanoid torsos, ending in razor-sharp talons.
I spot Jace inside the massive fountain, sword slicing through the air as water sprays around him. I hold my breath as three creatures rush him. Jace slits their throats with a single swipe of his sword and sends them flying back on one of his winds.
“Jace!” Sorscha cries. He whirls momentarily, his eyes landing on me. My heart snags in my throat.
“Go!” he shouts before surging back into battle. A quick glance around, and I know we are severely outnumbered.
