That’s my cue.But before she could cut away, Topp grabbed hold of her elbow, not bothering to look back as he broke into a run, pulling her along. Her feet complied given her choice was to either run or be dragged behind him. She stumbled, glancing over shoulder, cringing at the sound of bile splattering and pained cries echoing.
Topp’s grip tightened, his voice hard. “Move, Elysia.”
Guards pounded past, sweaty and red, forcing him to shove through like they were going upstream. Elysia yanked against Topp’s hold, but his grip was a manacle. He shot her an annoyed look.
“Knock it off, will you?” His eyes were distracted, though, searching the surge of oncoming men.
One hand on her, his other snapped out, grasping a guard by the collar of his shirt. The man lurched back, his momentum cut short by Topp’s hold. The prince dragged them both now, barking out an order to the man.
“You’re with me, Lewis. Now keep up.”
The guard changed course without a blink, taking up the rear and watching their backs.
A quick glance told her it was one of Topp’s usual guards, one of the few he allowed near his rooms and even sometimes hada drink with in Relaclave. Frustration scrunched her face. The doors were being sealed, and it looked like she was about to be stuck with a babysitter.Great.
Elysia huffed, lungs burning and feeling cross from the unexpected exertion. She considered herself reasonably fit, but sprinting up several flights of stairs into the turret where Topp lived would knock the air out of anyone. Unless your name was Topp, of course. The man didn’t appear winded in the slightest.Ridiculous.
Elysia leaned against the cool wall, panting. She hated these stairs. Stone and unforgiving, only a masochist would make you run up them. Topp ignored her heavy breathing, his eyes darting around like whoever had poisoned the court might appear out of thin air.
Shoving a key into the door for his rooms, he unlocked it. Arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, he herded her inside in front of him. Snarling one last order, he followed her in. “Lewis, man the door.”
And with that, he slammed the door shut. Lights flicked on, a soft hum filled the room as they warmed.
His fingers, still covered in a dead man’s blood, were on her neck in an instant, gentle and efficient as he examined her. He stepped back, seemingly satisfied.
“Stay. Here.” He bit the words off, giving her a look before spinning around to leave.
Elysia stared at his back in bewilderment. The words were out before she could stop them.
“Excuse me?”
Topp stopped, his olive shirt rippling like water against his back as he breathed. Turning, his eyes latched onto hers, body taut like a bowstring. Her heart stilled. She had thought it a trick of the light earlier, but his green eyes were practically aglow in the evening light. She swallowed but did not move.
His voice was the sound of an animal pushed past their patience. “Tell me, was it for your father? Or just some harebrained vigilante justice for the House’s woman?Whydid you go after him, Elysia?”
Two long strides and he was there, hands grasping her wrists firmly. His brows drew together, incredulousness lifting his voice. “Do you haveanyidea how many women have met the undead gods because of that man? And you, you?—”
He broke away from her, wrenching open the door like he couldn’t stand the sight of her for one more second.
Lewis balked, his hand posed to rap on the rich walnut wood. “Sir, Benedict just reported that almost every person in attendance has taken ill. Even the king has fallen.”
Another guard loomed over Lewis’s shoulder, sweaty and out of breath.
Topp looked back at Elysia, his eyes narrowing in sudden suspicion. “You know, Lewis, I feel a touch of it myself. Benedict, you’re with me. Lewis, you’re staying here.” Grabbing his favorite hatchets off the wall, he slung on a leather harness and stuck them in. Worn steel glinted against the green of his shirt, and Elysia swallowed. Forget looking royal, he looked like a warrior of the woods.
“No one comes in or out of this room until I return, and that includes Miss Parker.” He glared at her knowingly before facing the guards again. “Benedict, go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
The guards complied, and Topp stalked out, whipping the door shut without looking back.
Elysia stood there alone, unease filling her chest. Guilt was such a sticky, inconvenient emotion. One she didn’t have time for tonight. A twinge of pain ran up her back into her neck and she grimaced.
Her father’s anger was a gross, misplaced thing. Logically, she knew that. Emotionally, that was a different story. But Topp—he was not so far off in his conclusions that she was playing some sort of lone, dangerous game. That she was in over her head and leaving a trail of destruction throughout Relaclave.
She should have pretended to be sick—but he’d dragged her up here so fast, and she’d been worrying about escaping instead of him.Fuck.That was a mistake. But it was too late to fix it now.
She pressed a firm hand to her sternum, but it did nothing to quell the uncomfortable feeling that she might be wrong about Topp. He’d beaten a man to death. Stuck up for her to her father and the king. Put his hand on her head and gently stroked her hair.
Elysia bit her lip, not wanting to think about it anymore. Looking around Topp’s chambers, she frowned, noting the utter state of disarray. He wasn’t usuallythismessy. Blankets, clothes, food. It looked like a toddler had been set free without supervision.
