‘Fucking hell!’
‘What the fuck caused that?’ Benny calls to us as he holds the reins of two of the remaining horses, which are continuing to rear against their restraints. The sound of the hammering hooves of the escaped horse fades with distance.
‘I don’t know …’ I start to say, still sprawled against Ruben.
A reaction like that feels worthy of Mortidem himself, and yet as I stare through the trees a static prickle rises on the back of my spine.
Hot.
Familiar.
And utterly unwelcome.
I know exactly who I’m going to see before he even steps into the light.
Not Mortidem.
Worse than Mortidem.
Kyor fucking Knavin.
His eyes meet mine, and they are hard and angry. ‘Well, Rose, it doesn’t look like your heart stayed broken for long.’
Chapter 18
My disbelief lasts for less than a heartbeat before it’s replaced with something a whole lot hotter. Pure fucking rage.
How dare he say that to me?Hewas the one with the Godsdamn redhead!
‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ I spit as I push myself up and move away from Ruben. The horses are still whinnying, but by some miracle Benny and Caz are keeping them calm. A real fucking miracle because the sight of Elska should be enough to send anyone running. And yet my eyes barely flicker to the wolf. They’re fixed entirely on the icy irises of the prince.
‘What are you doing here?’ I repeat, a tingle of magic thrumming in my fingers.
‘Following you,’ he says simply, as if that makes sense.
I don’t know how I don’t laugh at the absurdity of the statement. Instead, I shake my head in disbelief. ‘What? Why? Youabandonedme.’ I wish the words didn’t sound so pathetic. That the hurt didn’t tremble in my tone. I wish the ice would come from my fingers and slice his skin just so he could know a fraction of the pain he caused me, and yet none comes.
As I stand there, his eyes lock on mine. Soft. Unwavering.
‘Not willingly. Never willingly, Rose.’
‘And the pretty redhead on your arm? You didn’t willingly have her there either, I take it?’ I bite back.
‘She is new to court. My father bade me show her around.’
‘And you were just being a great prince? Taking a nice stroll under a beautiful clear sky? You couldn’t even pretend to be heartbroken for more than a couple of days!’
‘Those clear skies were at my father’s command,’ Kyor interrupts me. ‘He was worried people would notice I was … emotionally compromised. That I was showing weakness.’ His jaw is tight.
I try to scoff, but the sound gets trapped in my throat.
Across the way, Benny coughs loudly. ‘I think us three need to take the other horses over there. You know, away from the wolf … and erm, yeah. See if we can chase down the other one. Well, probably not chase, but you just …’ He shoots Ruben a look. ‘Are you coming?’
It takes Ruben a second, but then he’s striding towards Benny and Caz. A minute later, the three of them are gone, giving Kyor and me some semblance of privacy. Not that I’m sure I even want it.
It hurts to look at him. To see him like this, relaxed among nature like we’re back in the Retterheld rather than clutched in the poisonous bosom of the High Hold.
It hurts to meet those bright blue eyes staring into the heart of me, to feel the pull to run to him, as if nothing has happened between us.
