Page 78 of Beauty

Is Reymon standing out there wondering where the kings arenow, or has he figured out that his own life and that of his whole family willbe weighed and judged as meaningless in the wake of my own?

I spent years trying to be taken seriously as a prince.

What does it mean to have this power inside me if I neveruse it? What kind of king am I if I keep walking away from people like Reymonand the Harpers because I’m waiting for the right fight?

“Your Highness,” Roan begins.

Reymon runs for his daughter. I can see plainly what willhappen. Two soldiers move to intercept the shopkeeper. It won’t matter thathe’s trying to protect his child or that he’s woefully unarmed. They’re smilingand hauling swords over their heads.

And I realize something.

The right fight is the one in front of me.

“Go on then, Roan. Protect my sister.” I break from thegroup.

Roan hisses in my ear. “And let you have all the fun? Not onyour life, you bastard.”

I hear the sonic boom blast past me. It sends the soldiersscattering.

Chaos rules around me as everyone starts to run.

I hoist my sword and a fierce joy takes hold as I finallygive in to my instincts and begin the good fight.

ChapterTwenty-Four

Bronwyn

“Princess, what are you doing?” Niall jogs beside me,churning up dust as we run. “We need to go the other way. Is there somethingyou need from town? I don’t think we should go back there.”

Damn straight we shouldn’t go back there, but I can’t run.Not this time. The village is under attack, and it has something to do with me.

And I’m not about to let the village go down in flameswithout me there to help defend it.

“You don’t have to come with me. Just give me my knife andwe can part ways. My father should have told you. I’m rather stubborn when Iwant to be.”

Niall reaches out and grabs my elbow, hauling me around. Hiseyes are fixed on mine. “I can be stubborn, too, Princess. I say we’re leaving.I cannot allow your soft heart to put the whole kingdom in jeopardy.”

He starts to pull me close, most likely to haul me over hisshoulder, but there’s a low growl from my right. Kaja is at my side, staring upat Niall. The brown fur on her back stands straight up, her perfectly whiteteeth on display.

Niall gasps as he looks down at the wolf.

I rather like having a wolf for a cousin. “I would backaway. Kaja has been looking for someone to eat, and you don’t want to be on hermenu.”

I try pulling myself free, but Niall holds fast. His face,previously worried, settles back into the stubborn mask of one who isn’t goingto allow himself to be swayed by anything.

“I think I’ll take my chances. I’m quite a hunter myself.There’s no dumb animal alive who can take me down. Call off your dog. I don’twant to hurt her, but I have a mission to complete, and I intend to do so.”

I hear a shrill cry and then the unmistakable sound of asonic weapon being fired in the distance. Vampire tech. Dante really is in thatvillage. “You would sacrifice a whole village to complete your mission? You’vebeen living here for months. Those are your neighbors. They’re dying.”

If my words move him, he doesn’t show it. “And more will dieif Torin isn’t stopped. This is a small village. People are dying all over thecountry. So yes, I will sacrifice whoever I must in order to see you safely toSir Giles and the army he will be able to build around you. You will be afigurehead. That is your true value, not as some crazed woman wielding a swordin the defense of peasants. The nobles will back you. You will be the rallyingpoint. You’re far too important to risk.”

There will be no reasoning with him. He’s a true believer,an absolutist, and he doesn’t really care about me beyond the fact that I canfurther his mission. “Then take the damn knife. Find another girl to play mypart. You were going to do it earlier. I don’t need the knife anymore. Mybrothers will know who I am.”

Niall’s eyes widen. He finally drops my arms. “Beckett andCian? The kings are still alive? They must have gone mad by now. They’re yearspast the time to bond.”

That’s exactly what Torin wants everyone to think. Keepingthem from finding a bondmate is one more reason he closed off Tír na nÓg. “No,they are alive and well. They’ve bonded and come into their power. So I’mturning this whole figurehead thing over to them, and I’m going to go and dosomething right for a change. I’m going to fight for the people around me. Letme go.”

He shakes his head, grabbing my arm once more. “I can’t letyou go. You’re our best bet. And you could be lying about the kings.”