Page 100 of Ruling the Green

She shook her head, her eyes going watery.

“Are you here with your parents?” Another no. “Your friends?”

“No.”

“Do you have… anyone?”

A sniffle.

“No.”

“Okay. Listen to me. We are going to get up. You’re going to hold my hand as hard as you can. And we are going to run to the palace. Understood?”

She nodded.

I grabbed the rock with one hand and her hand with the other.

Then we jumped to our feet and ran.

There was no straight path.

The military had arrived, though I wasn’t sure if they were trying to calm the chaos or simply enjoying engaging with it.

Either way, armed men in violent situations couldn’t be trusted.

The girl and I wove in and out between swinging swords and grappling bodies. But each time we had to move, it felt like we got further and further away from the palace.

Where was Jet?

Was he okay?

No.

I couldn’t worry about him.

I had to keep us safe.

This was no place for a small, defenseless girl.

“Cora!” a man called as he moved into our way.

Beside me, the girl—Cora, I assumed—cried out and tried to yank away from me, tried to flee on her own.

I turned to look back at her delicate face, the old injuries.

Right.

Because we needed more dangerous men to deal with.

I turned toward the embankment, ignoring the burn in my thighs as we ran upward.

Almost near the top, I felt Cora’s weight yank backward. Then we were both falling, rolling over each other, grunting as elbows and knees collided with soft spots.

When we landed, I found myself sprawled over the girl, staring up at the man with the black eyes and, if he was capable of hurting the girl, just as black a heart.

“Give her back to me. She’s mine.”

“Not anymore.”