He seemed to consider for a moment. “If your father agrees to the terms, then yes.”
A bloom of hope flared in my chest, swallowed by a wave of nausea. If Father accepted, I could unite theKingdoms. Would I have to see him again? Would he somehow take me back to Stonebriar? I wouldn’t leave it up to the Gods, if he tried to drag me back, I would plunge a knife into my own heart.
“Solas and I trained last night. I want to keep training while I am trapped with you,” I said, trying to steady my voice.
He scoffed. “You wantme,” he said, “to trainyou?” His tone was smooth. Mocking. But there was heat beneath it. Interest.
I straightened, rising to the challenge in his voice. “I figured you would like a fair fight.” I mused, and he hummed in response. “I want you dead, remember? As soon as this deal is finished, I want to pull your beating heart from your body and crush it under my boot.” I poured sweetness into my voice, drenching it in innocence.
“Such pretty threats.” He huffed a quiet laugh, breath brushing my ear. “Are you going to beg me to let you train?” His voice dipped, slow and deliberate as he rolled his hips against my ass. “I liked the sound of you begging.”
Heat crept across my face and I cleared my throat. “No. I will never beg you for anything again. That wasn’tme.Idon’twant you,” I snapped, trying to wiggle away from him in the saddle.
“Ah, I see,” he said, satisfaction dripping from his voice. “Pretend all you want, my little prisoner, but I can hear the way your heart quickens when I’m near you.Smellthe way you react to my words.” He inhaled deeply as if proving a point. “Even now, I can scent your arousal. When I touch you… Youlikeit, even if it’s laced with…” He paused, thinking. “Anger. Oh, youhatethat you like it, don’t you?”
“The only thing I hate is you,” I muttered. It feltviolating that he could sense my feelings, even ones I didn’t want to acknowledge myself.
“You are lying again,” he chuckled darkly, and I threw my elbow into his hard abdomen. Pride swelled in my chest as a small amount of air whooshed out of him, and he went quiet. Truly quiet. No teasing. No provocation.
I folded in on myself and crossed my arms against my chest.
We had trailed through the woods for hours, and my hips ached with every rock of the saddle that slammed me against the heated wall of muscle that I still wanted to stab. My eyelids had grown heavy, and I had drifted to sleep against Winston’s mane. I dreamt of a crown sinking in the ocean. Lost forever.
Find the pieces.
The voice made my eyes snap open. I quickly closed them when voices carried around me. “She is different to what I thought she would be,” Solas said in a hushed voice. The sound of the horses’ hooves almost drowning out their voices.
“She is exceptional.” The Commander’s voice was filled with a sadness so old it felt heavy on my heart. “It’s different this time. She is different. I cannot bring myself tohateher. When I kill her, it might just kill me along with it.”
My heart pounded rapidly in my chest. Had I misheard him? He was going to kill me.
I felt the Commander shift behind me. The sound of hooves drifted further away. I kept my eyes sealed shut. Did he know I was awake? Did he know I heard? Warm fingers brushed against my temple, pushing my hair off my face. I resisted the urge to press into the touch, or flinch.
“You are having a nightmare, Little Drownling.” He sighed, hand lingering as if he didn’t want to pull it away. Itried to keep my breath even and my eyes shut. Eventually his hand moved and I risked cracking open my eyes. The late afternoon sun-bathed us in an orange glow. No longer were we in the dense forest. The large, enchanted trees had given way to vast rolling hills in the distance. We were weaving through a town, neat buildings with flowerpots gathered at their doorsteps lined cobbled streets. Fae stopped what they were doing as we rode past. Some kneeled. Some bowed. But none of them seemed scared. If anything, they seemed delighted to see the Commander of Death darkening their streets. One thing was clear. I needed to get away from him and find their king myself.
Twenty-Nine
Manipulation
We came to a stop in front of a large building with a wooden sign hanging off its front. I couldn’t read the writing but judging by the mouthwatering smells wafting from the building, there was food waiting inside.
I wasn’t used to the bright colours of the buildings or laughter echoing through the streets and I found myself captivated by their culture. A culture I was taught was beastly.
Large hands encircled my waist, lifting me off the horse with ease. He pressed me against his chest, sliding me down his body until my toes touched the ground. My hands rested on his forearms to steady myself. He had told me I was safe and made a small light flicker back inside my icy chest.It is all a lie.
I looked up at him through my lashes. “Thank you,” I said politely. I could lie too. “For keeping me safe. I…” I paused for effect, looking into his soulless eyes. “I am grateful for you.”
A pained expression passed over his face and a familiartingling feeling pressed into my skin. His eyes squeezed shut and he stepped away from me, turning his back to me. “Follow,” he grunted over his shoulder. Shadows coiled along his skin, burrowing into him as if they were trying to tear him apart.
Solas gave me an apologetic smile, holding the door open for us.
It was crowded inside. Cups were brimming with ale, servers topping them up from large jugs with even larger smiles. These Fae did not look intimidating. They lookedhappy.It was so far from the savages that had been painted in my mind since I was young. A path seemed to clear in front of the Commander. Wide-eyed patrons smiled and dipped their heads in awe, some even bowed. I thought it strange; Commanders did not get this respect in my Kingdom.
We sat a wooden table, and a bright-eyed Fae female walked up to our table with confidence, hips swaying. My eyes lingered on her exposed navel, a metal bar stuck through it, glinting with every step. My cheeks heated as my eyes wandered up. Her top crisscrossed over her breasts, so tightly that they bulged. Straight blue hair hung just above her shoulders, and she beamed at the Commander with a stunning smile.
Something ugly twisted in my stomach.Hunger,I told myself. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the edge of the table. I was hungry.
She said something in the Fae language and the Commander laughed, that genuine chuckle spilled from his full lips like music. Thehungertwisted deeper, and I swallowed down bile. The Commander glanced at me from the corner of his eye, an arrogant smirk ghosting across his mouth. “Food and ale for everyone,” he said.
