“Bless the Sleeping Gods, woman. That’s not who I am, haven’t you realized yet? I’m not abandoning you to the mercy of these people.”
“Don’t be stupid,” I hiss. “Go. They will kill me either way. No need to make you complicit, and what he said about making you his slave? Leave. Run away, now.”
“That’s touching,” he growls. “You care for me?”
“I never said that.”
He grins. It’s unexpected and so different from the wolfish grins he has worn so far. Softer. Younger. “You’re smitten with me.”
“Not in your wildest dreams.”
We start up the stairs, Stepfather’s goons shoving us once in a while for good measure. I stumble on the slippery steps, and Valen steadies me.
“You want my body, but above all you’re curious about my mind, my ways, my sparkling personality,” he whispers from behind me, the grin lingering in his voice, his warm hand lingering on my waist.
“You’re delusional,” I breathe.
“You think my beastly side is fascinating. Admit it.”
“Please, shut up?”
We clear the stairs, and the men reassemble around us.
“You need someone like me to pull you out of your shell,” Valen says as we resume walking. “Force you to face your fears and get over them. I volunteer. Pick me!”
I shouldn’t be laughing under such terrible circumstances. “You’re truly deranged.”
“Guilty as charged.” Now he bares his teeth, sharp canines flashing. “We wolves are known for our wild side.”
“Gods, what sin am I paying for?”
And why do I feel so light, lost in this banter with Valen, when we’re heading to this duel that might end my life?
“I won’t hurt you,” he says, as if reading my thoughts. “You know that by now, right?”
I swallow hard. “You say that now, but what if you lose control? That wild side you just mentioned?”
“It takes a lot to cause that. Don’t worry. I have superb discipline over my body.”
“Sadly, your confidence doesn’t convince me. What would it take for you to shift and become a beast?”
“Shock. Rage. A challenge from another male. A rut.”
“Rut?”
“Uh.” He lifts a hand and rubs the back of his neck, his mouth twisting in a grimace. “This subject isn’t suitable for children’s ears. Change of topic, Princess.”
“I’m not a child. And stop calling me that.”
“Can’t do that. You’re my princess in her ivory tower. Let your hair down to me!”
The banter distracts me as we move through the manor, but now we enter the great hall, and I blink. I’ve never seen it so empty. The tables have been pushed against the four walls, leaving the center free. In front of the tables are lined the noble guests, dressed in their finery, aloof and disdainful, only their eyes betraying them, hungry for bloodshed and violence.
The urge to start laughing uncontrollably grips me, but I can’t give in to it, or else I’ll end up on the floor, breaking down and weeping.
So I press my lips together and swallow the inopportune hilarity at the situation I’ve found myself in. A noble daughter of a noble human house, excited just this morning about the future and meeting her husband-to-be, ready to take on a dangerous journey to reach him and get out of this poor excuse of a life.
Only to find said life cut short.
