Coming to a decision, she slipped out of line and approached the jewelry merchant. “Hi,” she greeted the woman behind the cart with a smile. The woman looked up, but her own smile fell and her eyes widened.Strange. “Do you have any bracelets with shells?”
The woman’s mouth pulled into a sneer and her voice rose. “You’re her.”
Violet stared back, bewildered at the hostility. “I’m sorry, have we met?”
A man standing behind the cart with two other men glanced in their direction. “Everything alright, Maye?”
Those around them started chattering and the three men focused on Violet. Then it hit her.Oh, shit.“No,” she tried to explain to the woman, shaking her head. “I’m not Vivian, I’m her twin sister.”
Maye turned to the men behind her. “It’s the prince’s mate.”
The men studied her until one nodded. “It’s her.” He advanced toward Violet. She backed away and checked over her shoulder for Roman. That’s when she noticed a tattoo of a seraphim on the approaching man’s forearm.
Religious fanatics believed the gods were a type of angel called seraphim, who possessed three sets of wings covering their face, back, and legs. She’d heard a few royalists in the streets of Saltu, yelling for all to hear about her sister’s transgressions. They believed Vivian to be equivalent to the devil for shitting on the sacred mate bond.
This wouldn’t end well.
Violet turned to run, but someone grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back. She screamed from pain and fear. Her feet came out from under her, and her body slammed into the ground, stealing her breath. “I’ll find the general,” the woman told the men.
Her father’s words came to the forefront of her memory.Never give them your back. She sat up and rotated to face the man.
He came at her again, and she pretended to cower. When he got close enough, she grabbed his thigh and hit his kneecap with the heel of her palm as hard as she could.
Pain radiated up her arm, and the man screamed and stumbled back. “Demon!”
“Stop!” a woman from the crowd cried. Violet saw her try to run forward. “She’s telling the truth!”
Another man grabbed the woman around the waist and hauled her back. “Quiet, Bea.” The woman fought against him, insisting what Violet said was true, but the men didn’t listen.
One of the men grabbed Violet’s hair during the distraction, and she clawed at his arm. He started to drag her, and she cried out as her body scraped against the gravelly stone.
The hold on her hair released, and her head slammed against the ground. People around them screamed and backed away, and a loud thump, followed by a grunt, sounded from the man behind her. She pushed herself up in time to see Roman running to her side. “Are you okay, baby?” He tugged her into his arms, running his hands over her hair.
One of the other men, fool that he was, attacked Roman from the back. The crazed look on the prince’s face should have sent the fiercest of men skittering to hide, royal fae or not.
He spun, pushing Violet behind him, and grabbed the man by the head, then twisted it forcefully enough to rip it half off. Violet heard more screams from the crowd, children crying, and someone puking.
The last man tried to run, and Roman ripped his own hood down.“ENOUGH,”he boomed, silencing the crowd.“Seize him by order of the crown.”
People close enough to see his face gasped, and murmurs flew through the crowd. Two men caught the fleeing attacker and dragged him back to Roman.
Roman yanked him from the men’s hold and threw him to the ground. Onlookers tried to run, but the prince would have none of it.
“I am Roman Covington, your prince and future king,” he announced to the crowd. “Stop your retreat or you will meet your end.” Everyone froze. Some made it impressively far, but not far enough to escape his wrath. “This is what happens to anyone who dares touch what is mine.”
Roman lifted his foot high above the third man’s head.
No.Violet screamed Roman’s name and ran to his side.
He reached for her and grabbed both sides of her face. “I’m sorry, princess.” His voice trembled with rage. “I’ll make every single one of them pay.” Blood spatter coated his face and body, ruining his pristine white shirt. He looked like an avenging angel.
“There are children here,” she tried to reason with him. “You have to stop.”
His jaw ticked. Two men dragged Maye forward, and Roman stood to face the crowd. “I want all children under the age of nineteen removed. One parent or guardian may take them home.”
Parents yanked small children into their arms and ushered the older children away. Roman watched the crowd, and when they’d gone, he turned to the man on the ground and crouched. “The only reason I am not grinding your skull into the gravel is because of thekindandgenerouswoman you attacked.” He stood and snapped his fingers at someone close by. “Bring me a sword or a butcher’s knife.”
The man on the ground started screaming and tried to crawl away, but Roman slammed his boot down on his chest. “You will not die today, but youwillpay.”
