“You’re insane if you think she’ll still want you after that,” Caiden says.
“That’s why you did this? I told you, we are done. You won. She’s all yours.” I press my fingers against her neck. “She’s still breathing.”
“Just shock from watching you. Probably a broken heart. It’s hard on a person finding out they aren’t who you thought they were, isn’t it? Maybe the two of you are even now.” Caiden flashes a smile. “Put her in her carriage.”
“She needs medical attention,” I argue.
He makes a show of looking around the destroyed village. Flames are already eating through most of the buildings. “I’m afraid you might have killed the doctor.”
I grind my teeth and walk away from him before I do something I’ll regret. Killing him will only end with more death. My sister and Sabina. Caiden made it clear before we left that it’s not just my sister’s life on the line. He’d sacrifice anyone who ever showed me the faintest bit of kindness. Even Sabina isn’t safe from his wrath.
After I close the door to the carriage, I manage to make it to my horse. The injuries have reached the point where the pain is a buzzing constant. It’s not going to ease, and it’s not going to heal without treatment. With any luck, it’s already becominginfected, and I’ll be dead soon. Then Sabina will be safe from me. And Caiden can no longer hold my life against my sister. She’ll be free to make her own choice. If she wants to serve the emperor without me to control her, she can. If she chooses to take the other way out, I’ll be waiting for her in the afterlife. But at least it will be her choice.
Caiden sits too tall on his horse. He’s too smug. Too fucking sure of himself. Even his father was afraid of assassins. Of revolutionaries. But this spoiled new emperor thinks himself invincible. And largely because I’m riding behind him, making sure I stay alongside Sabina’s carriage.
He’s caged me like he’s caged her. I hope she is the one who ends him. That she can get her friends to safety and use whatever magic it was that she was gifted in the temple to destroy him and his legacy. I used to think that maybe this empire could be salvaged. Now, I want it all to burn.
The servants and soldiers who were sent ahead already built the tents. It’s a spot we stop at regularly when making the annual trek to the winter estate. A large clearing set between tall pine trees, a half hour ride from a village that we haven’t destroyed. Partially due to the entertainment they provide our soldiers and partially due to the fact that I lied when I told the former emperor they had no traces of relics.
The town is swimming in them. Word seems to have spread over the years that this village is the only one that’s safe from the enforcer’s wrath. Every time we pass through, I sense more magic. People must be hiding a fortune in relics here, thinking the land is somehow shielding them from me.
It’s my only solace against the horrors I committed for the former emperor. Every time we passed through, I get the satisfaction of knowing there are more relics he couldn’t touch.
“I’ll take your horse, enforcer,” a young man says as I climb off my steed. I hand him the reigns silently, then cross to the carriage.
My cheeks heat when I knock. My cock aches at the memory of what I encountered when I opened the door this morning. What I wouldn’t give to be those fingers between her thighs.
Sabina opens the door, her face pale, eyes red. She’s been crying.
“Yes?” Her tone is cold. Her voice somewhere far away. Like she’s disconnected from the present.
“We’ve reached camp, Your Majesty,” I say.
“I’ll stay here.” She reaches for the door but freezes, her gaze catching something behind me.
“You’re awake, little raven,” Caiden says. “I was worried you’d followed through on those threats to join the dead. Come, we need to celebrate.”
She stares at him, face impassive, devoid of all emotion. I’ve never seen her like this. It’s the look of defeat. Like someone who’s lost all hope. I want to shake her, yell at her, remind her who she is and what she’s capable of, but I turn away, admitting defeat of my own.
I wanted her to hate me. To make her realize I’m not worth the risks I know she’d take for me. I got exactly what I wanted but it’s more painful than I expected.
Ten
Sabina
The conversation and obnoxious singing from the guards and legionnaires are so loud, I can’t hear the music. A barmaid leans next to me and shouts over the din, asking if I want anything else, though I haven’t touched the ale that’s sitting in front of me.
Caiden sips his drink, watching me out of the corner of his eye while he smiles and laughs with the legionnaires. His men joke with him, slap him on the back, knock their glasses against his while they make bawdy jokes and laugh too loud when someone passes out from too much drink. He wanders the tavern, interacting with nearly everyone. He’s the life of the fucking party.
These men think he’s one of them. That he cares about them. It’s a good way to ensure they’re more loyal than they were to his father. Every single thing Caiden does is for a reason. Calculated. Masterful. Brilliant. I’ve underestimated him.
He knows I want him dead. He’ll expect me to try to kill him in his sleep. He might even expect me to try to seduce him.There’s no point in playing the compliant princess. He knows me too well. I gave too much away.
It’s going to take more than that. I know I’m not required for his plans. Especially once Ludis has the crown. Which means I need to kill him before that, but I’ll get one chance. If I fail, there’s nothing preventing him from killing me.
He returns to our table; a smile plastered on his rosy face. He plops down next to me, then wraps his arm around me, pulling me against him. “C’mon, Sabina, have some fun. Everyone else is having fun.”
I glare at him.
