Taking a few steps out onto the grass, I inhaled deeply. The night air was working wonders on my exhausted senses. Though I was only engulfed in the bliss for a few precious momentsbefore a familiar male voice sent all the unease rushing back to my stomach.
“Fancy seeing you here, darling.”
I bristled at the sound of him. Following the voice, my body whipped around to face Prince Colyn. At first glance, he might’ve appeared somewhat innocent, his tall frame leaning against a narrow fruit tree as he threw a small orange up and down in his hand. But there was a poisonous desire burning in his gaze, and immediately I stepped a few feet back, ready to dart straight back into the ballroom.
“Don’t even think about running, sweet one. We both know you came out here for a reason… Are you bored of your little princeling already?” He tossed the orange up into the air again, catching it quickly in his open palm. “I can show you what a real man feels like.” A dark shadow flickered across his face, churning the unease in my stomach into a heavy dread. Though my obvious fear seemed to only entice him further as he pushed away from the tree with a grin and prowled closer, dropping the orange onto the grass.
“Don’t be afraid now, I can be gentle.”
Absolutely not.
My heart leapt, sending my once-frozen feet springing into action. I bolted towards the ballroom door, but before I’d made it more than a metre, my arms were suddenly pinned behind me as a loud, piercing scream flew from my lips.
“Let me go!” I yelled, thrashing wildly. Oblivious to my protests, the man wrenched my body away from the doors.
“Hush now,” he chided. The golden light of the ballroom faded with every step as he hauled me deeper into the palace grounds. “If you didn’t want this you should’ve worn something other than this damned gown. I’ve seen the way your prince has been watching you all evening, only unlike him, Itakewhat Iwant.”
“No, please, stop!” I begged, tears welling in my eyes.
He chuckled, his breath heavy with the stench of alcohol. Then, keeping my hands pinned, he threw me roughly against a tree. The bark felt like daggers scraping my back as I collided against it, the pressure forcing all the air from my lungs – so much that when I tried to scream again, it came out barely louder than a whimper.
“Stop squirming!” he spat before smearing his lips over mine.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. All I could think about was how foul he tasted until, like a whisper in my ear, I recalled the calming words of the village mother.
‘Even the strongest of menfolk have a weakness, dear child.’
A weakness…
Thanking the Ancients for anatomy classes, I swung my knee up. Hard. Aiming directly between his legs. Immediately, he stumbled to the side, doubling over to clutch his lower body.
“Little wretch,” he cursed.
Finally, I saw my chance. Shoving away from the tree, I dove past the hedgerows and sprinted back through the grounds. My legs ran until they ached, and then they ran even more. We hadn’t gone far from the ballroom, but I didn’t know these grounds well. The panic, mixed with the dark of night, transformed the pretty flower beds and neatly trimmed hedges into a dense, wild maze. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. My sprinting only stopped when my body painfully thudded against hard metal armour.
“Gotcha!” Behind the cold chestplate, a man called out to someone nearby, “We found her, sire.”
A thousand butterflies burst from my heart when I saw just who he was calling out to.
“Naria!” Lukas rushed towards me. My exhausted knees buckled at the sight of him, the relief turning all my limbs to jelly. I hadn’t realised that I’d collapsed until he was kneelingbeneath me, his warm arms supporting my wilting upper body as I landed in a heap upon his lap. “Where were you? Someone heard a scream from outside. Are you hurt?” His expression was heavy with concern and dark anger.
“I needed some air.” My words spilled out between ragged breaths. “Colyn found me… I tried to get away but—” A sob forced its way up my throat before I had a chance to finish, and any remaining dignity was washed away with the relentless tears that followed.
“Shh, you’re safe now,” he murmured in a gentle yet reassuring tone. Not moving from the grass floor, he jerked his chin towards a nearby guard. “Search the grounds! Search the entire damned palace if you have to! Find Prince Colyn. And when you have him, lock him away in the dungeons.” His commands were strong and powerful, almost as if I was laying across the lap of a king rather than a young prince. “Whatever happens, do not let him leave this palace tonight.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The guard bowed then swiftly scurried off to alert the others of the urgent new plan.
When we were alone, the tears only fell harder, as if for some reason I’d been holding them back before. Beneath all the blubbering, I hated how pathetic I must’ve looked. I don’t know how Lukas was able to keep me in his arms while I crumbled to pieces, but he did. He held me close, the rise and fall of his chest grounding me as I tried my hardest to steady my breathing.
“Thank you for searching for me,” I said in a quiet voice, eventually finding a moment between sobs.
“You needn’t thank me.” Lukas brushed a stray hair away from my face. “What kind of prince would I be if I left my fiancée to wander the grounds all night long?”
A strange feeling gnawed at my toes, and I wasn’t sure if it was guilt or just a chill in the night air. This moment felt far too intimate. Glancing up, all I could see was his perfect bronze face,surrounded by a halo of stars against the inky black sky above. He was so close, it would be so easy, so natural, for our lips to meet.
No. I couldn’t do this.
Clearing my throat, I changed the subject. “Won’t the King and Queen of Hallshire be furious if they hear their son is in the dungeon?”
