Blake hauled me back toward Flame.
“Let me go!” My resistance was worthless against his grip. I twisted, trying to glare up at him.
“You have inflicted injury upon royal property.”
I stared at him. “I defended myself against a tyger who wanted to kill me for no reason. One without a rider, no less.” My eyes flickered to Flame, who watched us both. “He’s fine.”
Blake didn’t respond, dragging me like I weighed nothing.
“What were you even doing lurking around my hut in the dark?” I fumed.
“I was informed that Flame had escaped the royal tyger dens. I followed her tracks through the snow.”
My jaw dropped.Her.
I stole a look at the enormous beast that had been chasing me all night. Flame was the young queen tygress everyone was talking about. She was the future of the great Tyger Warriors.
And I’d thrown my dagger at her. My stomach churned.
Blake added casually, “Flame is the only tygress capable of breeding. Her value is beyond price.”
I could feel the color draining from my face as Blake tied my hands together in front of me with rough rope. The moon lit his face in cold silver as he worked, his expression unreadable. He didn’t pull the knots tight, but they held firm.
Then he paused, frowning. He lifted my wrists slightly, turning them in his hands.
There were slight bruises visible even in the moonlight, purples and reds from where he’d grabbed me outside the tavern, attempting to see my Marks. His jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything.
The fear hit all at once. I stared down at my bound wrists, chest tightening.
Edith.Injured, lying in the snow with no one to find her until Quinn came in the morning. And what would she do without me? We’d barely been able to pay the king’s exorbitant taxes. The amount I earned was essential to our survival. And now, without me, what would she do?
Why in the Kingdom of Sky had I stabbed that tygress?
I glanced at Flame. Her ears flicked like she could sense my ire. I looked at the cut on her shoulder. It wasn’t even bleeding anymore.
And yet that small wound was enough to ruin me. To ruin Edith.
I was going to lose everything—my freedom, my future—because I’d made the mistake of crossing paths with Blake Axefire.
“The tygress is fine,” I argued, hating the thread of desperation in my voice. “If you let me go, I swear you’ll never see me again.”
Blake didn’t say a word. Didn’t evenlookat me.
“I won’t dance or sing or—”
“Singing then?” he asked, eyes darting to my face. “Is that what you were doing in the tavern? The reason everyone was so entranced?”
I buttoned my mouth shut again, cursing myself and squeezing my eyes closed.
Blake shook his head and stepped up behind me. His tone was all mockery as he whispered, “After you.”
We were standing by Flame now. I tipped my head back, staring up at the tygress’s large copper form. She stared back, unblinking. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest at the thought of touching her, let alone attempting to climb onto her back.
Flame turned her great head toward me, and her nostrils flared, eyes turning silver again.
But then, to my surprise, she knelt slowly until her stomach was flat against the ground. I felt, rather than heard, Blake’s sharp intake of breath.
Without warning, the Ambush Master gripped me around the waist and hoisted me onto the tyger as if I weighed nothing. I leaned forward, trying to keep from tumbling off the other side. Her fur was surprisingly silky and soft against my skin. My dress pulled high on both sides, exposing an indecent amount of leg.
