My eyes turn black amidst my tears.
“I have to get out of here.” I shield my face as I sprint through the back doors of the room.
Someone shouts from behind me, a familiar voice but different from the one that screams my name in my nightmares. I listen this time, and what I hear pushes me faster than I’ve ever run before.
“Run, Briar!” Maines screams from the distance, doing her best to hold off the guards.
I blast through the castle doors leading me toward the north gate. The shadows of the night dance off each column of the castle as I enter the courtyard.
You’re almost there.
Keep moving.
My lungs bark in protest as I violently strain to keep up the speed at which I move through the grass, like a deer through the forest. If I make it, I can disappear. I don’t know where, but I’ll figure that out later.
“Going somewhere, Princess?” I smash into a hard body, the impact making my teeth ache. Thatcher had shifted in front of me, stopping me from making my exit.
“Move the fuck out of my way, Thatcher,” I spit, my lungs filled with fire. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“Actually, this does have something to do with me. I have big plans for my future, and one of those plans involves winning your hand in marriage during these trials,” he cackles wickedly. “Bringing you back to your father right now will show him how wonderful of a husband I’ll be to his daughter, don’t you think?”
He lunges to grab me, but I dodge his hands. Before I can regain my composure, he shifts again, wrapping his arms around my waist. A scream leaves my throat that isn’t all mine. Squeezing me tight enough to crack my ribs, he shifts us into the castle, the blurred night passing us by as we return to my father’s study.
The impact from the shift leaves the room spinning as we land with a thud. Breaking free, I spin, throwing my entire body into my swinging fist that lands directly on his nose.
“You fucking bitch,” he howls. “I’ll make you regret that once you’re mine, Princess.”
I stare at his face—hints of bruising still pepper his jaw from my brother’s beating. It probably took the healers hours to fix the damage he caused. I move to throw another punch when the door swings open, shadows pouring in like a fog entering the room. My father steps over the threshold, his eyes blazing with hatred toward me.
“That’s enough, you two.”
Stepping forward, Thatcher rubs his nose. “My king, I caught her escaping near the gates. I stopped her at the last second and brought her back.” He bows in his direction.
I roll my eyes as my father dismisses him to the corner.
“How dare you embarrass me like that in front of our kingdom. This marriage is for your own good, you ungrateful shit. You will go through with this and let these men compete. You will do this with grace and dignity, and you will not act like an animal, or the people you love will pay.”
I stare back with an intensity that could light the world aflame.
He doesn’t back down, “This kingdom needs allies, and you’re my ticket to get them. Isn’t that right, Barlowe?”
My brother enters the study, refusing to make eye contact with me. I rush in his direction, my nails digging into my closed fists. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me? You lied to me again!”
“Why did you truly think he came home, Briar? He’s also been helping me recruit only the best and strongest men to compete for your hand in marriage. He’s known for weeks,” the King of Daramveer cuts in as I stand there, flabbergasted.
“Briar,” Barlowe whispers, “I never wanted this to hurt you. Father said this was for the betterment of the kingdom, and as head of this army, I must think of the people.” He cuts his eyes in our father’s direction. “Trust me.”
“Trust you? Think of the people?” I scream. “What about what’s best for me? You’re going to force me to marry someone who doesn’t see me as an equal but as a link to the kingdom? I’ll never go through with this. You both are dead to me.”
Barlowe turns to our father and says, “I agreed to help, but not like this. She didn’t deserve to be publicly humiliated with zero warning.”
“You know how I like to do things, son. Don’t think for a second, I don’t know what you’ve been up to. Are you questioning how I run my kingdom?”
Barlowe turns to me again, a flicker of hurt showing in his sharp eyes. “I told you to trust me, Briar, so please trust me.”
The thought of trusting him ever again makes me laugh. “Trust you? You are as insane as father. He must be casting illusions in your mind for you to believe the shit that comes out of his mouth.”
Thatcher shifts across the room, slamming my back into the stone wall. “Don’t you dare talk about my King in that manner.”
