A bowl of stew was placed in front of him, and James forced himself to take a sip.
And nearly spat out the contents.
It tasted like a handful of pepper had been added to his dish by a disgruntled soldier, rendering it entirely inedible. James said nothing, because Carlo would only see it as an opportunity to blame Ahnna, and he was in enough of a mood that he might get over his boredom and hurt her. Waiting until the prince’s focus was on his own meal, James tipped the contents out and then used his foot to bury the stew with snow before feigning finishing the meal.
“It’s hard to swallow,” Carlo said dreamily between mouthfuls, blood drying on his face and the marks from where the rope had been around his neck livid. “Even after all you’ve endured, you’re still strong.”
James didn’t answer, only angled his body so that he could lie down next to the stake. It hurt to breathe. Hurt to move, and he prayed that sleep would soon take him despite knowing it would only deliver him to another day of horror.
Beyond, Ahnna moved among the men to collect their bowls, then set to washing them, her hair hanging in clumps around her face as she silently did their bidding. James couldn’t watch it, so he forced his eyes shut.
Exhaustion claimed him. Dragged him down and down, so thatwhen the screaming began, James thought it was part of his dreams. Except the screaming didn’t cease when he woke, and he sat up to find the camp had turned to chaos.
Some soldiers were running in circles and screaming, while others sat on the ground weeping. The air was a cacophony of voices, men talking to themselves, talking to trees, talking to the sky, and at least two of the tents were on fire.
A nightmare. It had to be.
Then Ahnna appeared before him. All traces of apathy and defeat were gone from her face, replaced with fierce determination. Her wrists were bound, but she had a knife gripped in one hand. “Cut me loose,” she hissed, shoving the blade into his grip. “We don’t have much time.”
We.
Only a lifetime of training on the battlefield kept James from gaping at her in shock, because gone was the broken woman who’d refused to even meet his gaze and back in her place was the indomitable Ahnna Kertell who’d saved his life so many times before.
And was now saving it again, despite all that he had done.
Gripping the knife hilt, James sawed at the ropes binding her wrists, trying not to jostle her broken arm. In the snow by his feet, he saw the remains of his over-peppered meal and understood immediately what she’d done. “Poison?”
“No such luck, but there’s a hallucinogenic lichen that grows on the trees.” She took back the knife with her left hand and then cut the ropes binding his wrists. “These idiots can’t stomach watching a woman answer the call of nature, so I’ve been able to gather it without anyone noticing. Sorry if that offends your sensibilities, Your Highness.” There was a bite to her tone that suggested that for all she was saving him, James was far from forgiven.
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Your tongue is as shocking as always, Princess.” James swiftly unbound his ankles. “Where is Carlo?”
“I don’t know. Did he eat?”
“Yes.” James scanned the chaos that was the camp, but he saw no sign of the prince in the darkness. “I’m going to kill him.”
“If we cross paths with him, I’ll fight you for the privilege.” Ahnna picked up a sword that one of the hallucinating soldiers had dropped. “But we can’t linger. I don’t know how long this will last, so we need to get the horses and put distance between us and them.”
She hefted the long blade in her left hand, and he asked, “Can you fight off-handed?”
She gripped the weapon, hazel eyes murderously bright as she lifted it so the tip rested against his throat. “In my sleep. So watch your back, James. The only reason I’m not killing you now is that tonight, you’re the enemy of my enemy.”
It was no idle threat, and despite the sting of the sword tip against his throat, James felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her, because seeing Ahnna like this ignited every part of him. “Understood.”
They set off through the camp toward the horses. Some soldiers barely seemed to see them, but others had not wholly lost their wits and attacked. He and Ahnna cut them down, fighting back-to-back as they worked toward the lines of horses.
“Get Dippy and Maven!” she shouted, not seeming to be hindered at all by the broken arm hanging at her side. “I’ll hold them off!”
It felt wrong leaving her to fight, but untying the horses required two hands, so James flung himself first at Maven and then at Dippy. Both animals were agitated and skittish, but he got their bits in their mouths, not bothering with saddles. Catching hold of Ahnna’s hips right after she stabbed a soldier in the chest, he lifted her onto Dippy’s back. “I’ll lead him. You hold on!”
He cut the lines of the other horses and then vaulted onto Maven’s back, heading down the trail at a gallop with Dippy’s reins in his hand. The other panicked horses followed, and it was a chaos of animals fighting for space on the trail until their faster mounts pulled ahead.
Only for a familiar figure to step into their path.
“A marvelous turn of events!” he shrieked. “A fight to the glorious end!”
Carlo tipped his face into the moonlight, and James sucked in a breath as horror pooled in his stomach. The Beast had pulled out one of his own eyes, and it now dangled bloody and mangled against his cheek.
