“Furious?” Rorin asks.
Pruella shrugs, “furious that whatever plan he'd cooked up with Eiser might not happen all because ofyou." She laughs coldly, "that’s when he developed a new plan. Truss me up like a prized animal in hopes of dissuading you fromher.”
I swallow the argument building in my throat, centering my focus on keeping my Wield contained to that one tendril.
"Unfortunately, you both played your parts very well. Clearly, I did too, seeing your obvious hatred of me."
"A-hem, she would have hated you either way— bit prejudiced this one." Rorin jests, and I send my elbow into his ribs, “Oof.” He grunts,“play nice."
“Thisisnice."I dig my nails into my palms and push him back mentally, “I guess being Hadar’s darling wasn’t a good enough gig? Daddy's tyranny was too much; we made rebellion look so nice, and you thought you would…? What? Come over and rough it on the dark side?”
The princess sucks in a sharp breath, "Ithoughtthat you two of all people would understand. Royal heir to royal heir."
"Where does he think you are?"
"At this point, I would think he's taken notice of my absence.” She shrugs. “I was supposed to be negotiating on his behalf in Suram, while he pushed his efforts on Sorrel. He said my 'pleasing disposition' would serve the Hadarian cause well in a neutral state such as Suram. I ran into your party before I made it there, and changed course."
Her willingness to lay out her father’s intentions so plainly makes it hard for me to believe any of it is genuine. Rorin must agree, because when I glance up at him, his brows are pulled tight. He searches her words for the lie, his lip curling up. "Youdidn't change course; we killed your escorts and took you." He snaps.
Her willowy shoulders lift again, "it got me the same result in the end. Although hospitality is certainlynoneof your strong suits."
"I'd say you still having that head on your shoulders was incredibly hospitable of me." I move the tendril off her hands, sliding it up the center of her chest to wrap around her throat. Her neck cranes back as she watches the magic move, swallowing the knot in her throat. "Fine. You can keep it for now. I'm feeling gracious."
I yank the tendril away, and in the next beat, Millie comes waltzing back in to retrieve the princess. Rorin’s shocked to see her, leaning in to whisper, “how did she know when to come back?"
With her gone, my back relaxes, melting into him. I resent the natural way our bodies meld together, howeasyit is to recline against his chest. "She was standing outside the door," I grumble, allowing myself another moment like this.
He rubs his left hand up and down my arm, dropping his chin on top of my hair. "Do you think the princess is telling us the truth?"
Spinning around, I look up at him through my lashes. "Don’t read too much into this.” I quip, wagging my finger between us. “You're still sleeping on the chaise."
"Ouch." I hiss, jolting upright. My forehead meets a hard surface, and panicked, my snaps open. I’m engulfed in darkness. The only light streaming in comes from the split in the wood beneath me. The sound — andfeel— of gravel is amplified by the small cabin, the strong scent of pine hitting my nostrils.
I try to lift my hands, wanting to rub at my eyes, wanting to see better, but I feel an ugly weight dragging them down. The fingers on my right hand reach across my stomach towards its opposite, and the cool feeling of metal runs underneath them.
"No." I gasp. "No, no, no, no, no." My heart begins to race. "No, this isn't real." The words come out raspy, my throat raw as if I haven’t spoken in days, and I claw at the wood underneath my back.
Wood splinters off, puncturing my nailbeds, but I don’t care. I scratch harder, crying out. "Ple-ase… PLEASE!" My body shakes, slamming my shoulders down onto the wood slats. I try to calm myself while the reality of the situation I’m in washes over me. I’m not getting out of this. I amnevergetting out of this.
“ARGH!”
My breath comes out in short pants, both eyelids fluttering closed from the lack of oxygen. I can hear the faint sound of someone calling my voice —Ezra.I think sourly. "I hope you enjoy finding my corpse." I curse quietly, letting the words be the last breath I exhale before succumbing to the dizziness plaguing me.
"Eveera." The voice calls again, but I ignore it, pushing the sound of him out of my mind as much as possible. If there's one thing I don't need in my final moments, it's to die hearing his whiny voice.
My body jerks again, the sound of my name growing louder. "Just let me go… please. I just want to go." I choke out—
"WAKE. UP!"
My eyes fly open again, but this time I’m met with two frantic kaleidoscopic eyes swirling with concern above me. Fresh air fills my lungs, and I gasp in a breath, my body bolting upright.THUNK!"Shhhhittt!" I hiss, bringing my hand up to my forehead.
Rorin's doubled over the side of my bed, his hand pressing the same place on his own face. Looking around, I see that my sweat’s soaked through the sheets. "I—I'm sorry," I mutter, my hand dropping from head to chest, where I feel the heart inside still racing.
"It's fine," he grunts, rubbing the red welt blooming on his tanned skin, "what was that?" He growls, angling his head to the right to look at me.
"A fucking nightmare."
I swing my legs over the side of the mattress and pad across the cool floor into the bathroom. My reflection scowls disapprovingly when I pass the mirrored wall, heading straight for the shower.
