Page 55 of His Realm

But he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, and instead waved a hand. Men clad all in black came into the room, looking like the ninjas from every movie I’d ever seen, some coming up and over the balcony, two from the other end where heavy curtains were bunched, and another three from the king’s bedroom.

In movies, on TV, people always spent precious seconds trying to figure out what was happening instead of paying immediate heed to their flight reflex. That had never been an issue for me. When there was no way to win a fight, I ran, and so I turned and beat it out of there.

Once I was outside of the king’s quarters, in the wide hallway, I had a moment to think: should I leave the palace or run for the wing I shared with Varic? From a practical standpoint, there was no real choice. If I ran outside, I could be murdered and no one would ever know. I had to get to my guards. And Zev.

Pleased that I was wearing my sneakers, which gave me better traction on the polished marble floors, I ran up the stairs in front of me fast and then bolted down the hall.

“Where are you running to, my consort?”

Cirillo was on my right. “Don’t touch me!” I roared at him in warning.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he answered, easily keeping pace with me. “But I ask again. You’re a human trying to outrun vampyrs the king has set against you, who himself, I’m certain, has raised the alarm and marked you as a traitor and assassin.”

Which made sense if you thought that the whole plot had been mine and I had lulled the king into trusting me, and then, in a private audience with him, had exposed my true murderous intent because of…? God. It could be anything. Perhaps I wanted Varic on the throne now, my own quest for power far more important than the love for my mate. I had to hope no one would believe that, but I was only a human, after all. Perhaps Varic being away had truly driven me mad.

“For a human, you do have great stamina,” he told me, and I had the urge to run him into the wall on general principle.

“Stop if you want to live!” someone yelled behind me.

“Will you heed?” Cirillo asked me.

It was like he was reporting on my activities in real time, interested in the answer for some article he was writing. It was maddening, as was the fact that running beside me, he wasn’t even winded. Meanwhile, for the second time in two days, I was running as fast as I could, with him basically loping beside me.

“Concede or die!” they yelled at me.

“My consort, they sound earnest.”

I didn’t answer him, just ran, wishing for the hundredth time that I’d remembered to take my cell phone with me. I could have called ahead if I had.

Right before I neared the black marble of my and Varic’s wing, more men came up both sides of the stairs. I had to dodge, and at the last moment, one guy stepped into my way. I squared my shoulders and hit him. Four years of high school football didn’t let me down, and I ran right over him, a foot on his chest as I went.

The second I crossed onto the black marble, I yelled for help. Interestingly, the guys chasing me stopped, not following, which told me precisely who they were—not hired assassins at all, but instead, the king’s guard.

Zev came rushing up to meet me, running with his sword sheath in hand, followed closely by the others, Dae-Jung there as well.

“Hold there in the name of the crown prince or—Cirillo?” Zev sounded confused as the others flanked him and me.

“Oh dear God,” Cirillo gasped, those pale blue eyes of his having gone wide in wonder. “Do you yet live, wolf?”

Zev stepped in front of me and faced Cirillo. “Take no further step toward the prince’s consort, or you will be butchered where you stand,” he warned, his voice going arctic.

“No, no, no,” Cirillo said, hands up in deference to Zev. “I ran with the prince’s consort.”

“Did he?” Zev asked me.

I nodded.

Zev made a tiny motion with his hand, and then I bent over, catching my breath.

“What is going on?” Brenna asked harshly as she reached me.

She was scared, and I totally understood that.

“Perhaps your barrier,” Dae-Jung suggested softly. “More men continue to fill the hall.”

“Yes,” I said and sank to the floor, folding my legs behind me, sitting on my haunches as I concentrated on my breathing.

Zev turned from the people in front of him then and crouched down beside me. “Tell me what’s happened.”