The thud of boots grows louder. Lightning flashes, silhouetting the shadows of their feet. Where is Mama?
“It’s the princess!” a voice calls out. “Don’t hurt her!”
That’s the last thing I hear before the world snuffs out.
Chapter Six
Cold.That’smyfirstthought as consciousness trickles back into me. I’m freezing, teeth chattering, damp clothes sticking to my chilled skin like a death sentence.
Upside down.That’s my next groggy thought. I’m upside down andmoving. Groaning, I shift slightly and realize my wrists are bound together with a thick coil of rope. What in the Tides—
“Oh, good. You’re awake.”
Awareness crashes into me at the sound of Zevayr’s gravelly voice. He has me thrown over his broad shoulder, a muscled arm bracketing my thighs in a vise.
Without warning, he stops and tosses me onto the ground. There’s enough fresh snow that I sink into it painlessly, butwhat the actual fuck?
“What—what is the meaning of this?” I sputter, teeth clacking together as I hold up my bound hands.
“You tell me,” he snarls. He crouches to my level, his face a mask of pure wrath. Fresh injuries mar his tanned skin—one eyenearly swollen shut, purpling bruises darkening his cheeks and jaw. “Who attacked us?”
“I don’t know? It looked like Rebellion.” Why is he so angry atme? “Untie me immediately.”
He ignores my command. “Did you know about the attack?”
Tides, the man has lost his mind.
And I’m not about to help him find it.
“This is ridiculous,” I grit out. Scorching fury burns through my veins, but it does nothing to ease the chill in my bones. “Untie meright now.”
“Not until you answer my questions.Did.You.Know.About.The.Attack?” His face is inches from mine, gray eyes swirling with unchecked rage, and for the first time since waking up on his shoulder, a flash of fear cascades through me.
This is the Dark Commander.
He’s responsible for the deaths of thousands of Tundraynis.
He could summon lightning and kill me where I sit.
So I do the only sane thing I can think of—I rear back and bash my forehead into his nose. There’s a satisfying crack, and he falls backward, his large hand stemming the flow of blood.
I jump to my feet andbolt.
My feet stumble, off balance with my hands bound. I barely make it a few steps before a fist twists in my loose hair and yanks me back. Sharp pain bursts across my scalp as I crash onto the ground—just before Zevayr throws himself over me.
“Get off me!” I shout, slamming my bound fists against his chest again and again, but the insufferable man is a solid mass of pure muscle. I don’t move him an inch. “I’m the princess offuckingTundrayn!”
His large hands close around my wrists, forcing my arms over my head. Tides, the entire length of his body is pressed against mine.
“Out here,” he snarls, his hot breath fanning my face, “you are the princess ofnothing. Answer my questions, and maybe I’ll let you go.”
For a moment, neither of us says a word. Our gazes lock in a stormy battle, his gray eyes still crackling with electric rage. I imagine mine look the same. He shifts slightly atop me, his grip tightening on my wrists, his other arm braced on the ground near my head.
Another lick of fear crawls up my spine as my brain registers our position.
His proximity. His strength. His anger.
I’m alone, in the middle of nowhere, with a largemanmounting me. Who can hurt me in many different ways, if he so chooses.
