Now would probably be a good time to sprint—or I don’t know, call someone—maybe. These three seem pretty pissed, and I’m positive I don’t have a clue who they are except that I’ve seen them around.
The three of them are wearing Bragr Recon colors, and I take a few seconds to analyze them, looking for weaknesses. If I ran, I’d outpace at least two of them, but the third looks like he could catch me in two strides.
I need to distract them if I have a hope of getting away. For the first time since school started, I realize that I may very well be in danger. “Ah, well, I’m going to be late for class, and I’m meeting with Ryker, so I should really get going,” I ramble as calmly as possible. I inhale slowly, trying to slow my racing heart. Adrenaline pumps through my system as the man at the center steps closer, now only four feet away.
“How very interestin’,” the one on the left starts. “One.” He holds up a finger. “Yer dark prince isn’t here. He’s on Kyrr with yer father.”What?Anders is on Kyrr? Why, and why didn’t he tell me? “And two…” Another finger. “Yer father ‘tis responsible fer my father no longer having a job and is currently bein’ stripped of his title.” My stomach bottoms out.Oh shit.It’s rare for nobility to lose their titles, which means one thing: he is responsible for illegal activity. My father would never strip anyone unless there was undeniable evidence.
The other two flank me, giving me nowhere to run. The one to my right is a man with auburn hair tied back in two war braids, and the look he’s giving me promises retribution. The one to my left is tall, his black coils shaved short, and his smirk says he’s enjoying this.
Focus. I need to focus.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Maybe I can call my father and ask if it was a mistake?”
The one to my left chuckles darkly. “Tis no mistake,” he hums. “Our families are as corrupt as they come.” He steps closer, three feet. “All yer father had to do was turn a blind eye. We aren’t hurtin’ anyone who didn’t already deserve it, and yerdaddyhad to go sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.”
The other two shuffle closer, and they’re all so big that I don’t stand a chance. All the training in the world won’t help me when I’m not armed. I discreetly tap my energy shield on, the cool metal of the bracelet humming to life at my touch. At least if they attack, they’ll have to move at the right speed to pierce through it.
“Let’s go,” the one on my right snaps. “They’ll be here soon. Bind her hands and gag her.” He reaches for me in one heartbeat, rebounding and growling. The second heartbeat, the one in front of me, boxes me in, a purple material in his hands that I’m assuming he plans to use for the gag.
I knee him where it hurts, and in his anger, his head slams down against mine, causing my vision to splinter as pain radiates across my head. Nausea swirls in my stomach, but I don’t think I’m concussed.
I feel my hands being yanked in front of me and wrapped tightly as my energy shield is ripped from my wrist.
“Please,” I beg, my vision finally clearing. I can feel my heartbeat throughout my entire body. My head throbs with every pulse. Here I was, thinking I didn’t need Anders. The one freaking time. “What areyou going to do with me? Kidnapping a royal is an immediate thirty-year sentence, if not banishment to work on one of the moons.”
“Just gag her already,” the one to my left says, ripping the purple material from the one in front of me, who’s on his knees, seething through his pain.
I should scream, but it gets lodged in my throat. When I try, it’s a sob that rips through my lips before the material is shoved into my mouth, making me gag. My feet aren’t tied, and I know they’ll take me if I don’t run.
I’ve never been in so much danger, and right now, all that training I’ve been doing my whole life is telling me to fight back. I shove my boot at the man in front of me and leap over his kneeling frame, launching into a sprint as soon as I land. If I can just get beyond this wall, I’m sure there will be students still leaving the dining hall who will see me.
The two men behind me roar as they chase after me. I don’t dare look over my shoulder to see how close they are. I use every ounce of energy and focus to get into the central courtyard.
Thirty feet. I run faster than I have before, thankful I’ve been running every day, and even more thankful I’m wearing pants and not a dress. My boots barely make a sound as I fly across the packed dirt toward the brick paths.
Twenty feet. An arm snaps out, wrapping around my waist and hauling me to him.
It happens so fast, I can’t even process how, but I scream through the material, kicking and flailing as fat tears stream down my cheeks. If they plan to take me, it will not be without a fight. I throw my head back and meet a hard chest.
“Dammit, calm down, Raea,” a male voice barks—and…and…I pause, my body going completely stiff.Wait, I recognize that voice. “What the hell is going on here?” he roars, letting me go and pulling the fabric out of my mouth, but he’s talking to the men behind me. As I turn, I see all three of my attackers now flanked by Cole’s friends. Cole’s hands are so gentle as he unbinds mine despite the lethal glare sketched across his features.
His blue eyes simmer with icy, unchecked rage as he keeps me close to his side. I inhale his woodsy scent and nearly sob as my adrenaline comes to a screeching halt.
“That bitch deserves to be spaced,” the redhead snarls as he’s shoved to his knees. My breath hitches, but my head is swimming from the hit, and now my thoughts are stuck on being spaced. It’s a practice that has been outlawed for over three centuries. The imperial guard used to take prisoners who couldn’t be forced into work and dump them in space. It was an immediate death sentence.
Cole just cracks his knuckles like he’s imagining cracking their bones. “Take them to the chancellor and tell her to call the Protos to escort them to Treon. She can alert King Bastian?—”
“No!” I beg. “No, please. If my parents find out.” I look up into Cole’s bright blue eyes and find how intensely they’re staring back at me. “Please, Cole. They’ll pull me out.” His jaw ticks, reminding me so much of Anders.
An ache settles in my chest, and there’s an unwarranted desire for Anders to be here, which is so damn irrational. But it’s probably because I know this wouldn’t have happened if my grumpy shadow had been here.
Cole’s nostrils flare. “Fine.” He looks up to his friends. “I’ll call Rhoan. He’ll know what to do.” Something in my gut tells me that whatever it is, it won’t be good. The kinder punishment might be sending them to my father.
One of Cole’s friends, I think his name is Luca, slams his fist into the temple of the redhead, knocking him out with a single strike. The one holding the dark-haired one sends him flying with a kick to his temple. I grimace and bury my face in Cole’s side. We might not be friends, but I do feel safe around him.
“Don’t let your friends kill them,” I whimper.
Cole chuckles as he wraps an arm around my shoulders, turning me around so my back is to them. “They won’t. Just need to keep them quiet until Rhoan gets here.”
