I won’t let you tell me you love me.
But let me say it once to you.
I love you.
A sob rips through me, one woven with sorrow and rage. I smother it down and catch my breath, heaving lungfuls of air as tears leak from my eyes.
“Highness,” Mr. Boris whispers, eyes darting between the hall that leads to our escape and the distracted guards.
“I’m not asking for your blessing,” Thorne says. His voice carries down the hall, sending warm shivers down my arms, my spine. How could I have forgotten how much I love the sound of his voice? “I’m asking you to treat her well. To love and trust her the way she deserves.”
“We must go,” Mr. Boris says, eyes pleading. “This is our best chance.”
“Unless…” Minka stares up at me with her head tilted to the side. “Was I right, Miss Rose? That this is bad news?”
I give a shaky nod.
“Very well.” Minka lifts a paw, claws extended, and gives me a questioning look. “Eye gouging?”
“What? No?” My voice is a rough whisper. “The two of you run to freedom. I…”
Stars, whatdoI intend to do?
My father’s voice echoes down the hall. “If we kill you, your control over my daughter ends. The sleeping spell is broken, which means we can shed your blood to our heart’s content without repercussions.”
My heart slams against my ribs. I straighten and push off the wall. My feet move before my mind knows what I’m doing.
“Try me,” Thorne says, his voice like a growl.
Then comes my mother’s voice. “Kill him.”
The guards surge inward. I catch sight of wings splaying wide from within the ring of soldiers. They knock a couple aside, but there are too many more surrounding him.
Rage and terror spark a fire in me, igniting something bright and warm and terrible—my magic. I reach for it, drawing it up. I don’t know how it will help or if it will, only that it’s all I have.
And I’ll use everything at my disposal to save the man I love.
“Stop!” The shout emerges from my lips as my magic surges outward. The colorful night sky blankets the hall, melting the walls and absorbing the floor until we appear to be floating midair. Based on the sudden shouts that erupt from the guards, the way they stumble back, steps uneven…they can see it too.
I have no time to marvel at that. No time to think of anything else as I shove my way past the terrified soldiers and plant myself in front of Thorne. Firm hands grasp my shoulders, but as they whirl me around, I see they belong to him. His wings splay out wide, knocking more guards off their feet.
“What the stony hell are you doing here?” he asks, voice strained with either worry, fear, or anger. Perhaps all three.
I shrug from his grasp. “What does it look like? The question is, why areyouhere?”
“I came to rescue you.”
“I already saved myself, you idiot.”
Something tugs at my skirt, and I find Minka climbing up my skirt until she’s perched on my shoulder. She scoffs. “Oh, did you now?”
“I had help,” I amend.
Thorne surges back suddenly, pulling me with him. A blade cuts the air just above my head, missing us by mere inches. Thorne’s wing slashes out, and one of the taloned joints at the end of his wing slices through the guard’s throat in a spray of blood.
“Stand down,” comes my father’s bellowing voice. “Now!”
The hall goes silent, aside from the grunts of the dying guard. I turn away from Thorne, but his arm encircles my waist, pulling me close to him. Minka hisses from her perch on my shoulder, while something presses against the front of my legs. It’s Mr. Boris, and his teeth are bared at the king and queen. My parents stand frozen, colors flashing over their faces, painted by my illusion. Father’s hand remains outstretched in a silent order for his guards to remain at ease while Mother stares at me as if she’s never seen me before.
