Page 102 of Ruling the Green

The guard’s gaze slid from my face up to my head, where my crown was still pinned to my hair.

I took a twisted sort of pleasure in the way his eyes widened, in how his posture straightened. Worried, no doubt, about his job.

“My Princess,” he said, ducking his head, his gaze on my feet as he opened the door.

Vishen rushed inside with Nira, and I followed behind with Cora.

“Where the hell is Jet?” Vishen demanded.

I glanced back out the doors, searching for him in the crowd.

But I saw no one.

The doors slid closed.

And my heart seized.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Jet

“Serin!” I roared, swinging the stolen cudgel at someone who lunged toward me, a face twisted in the kind of rage that came with this sort of mob mentality.

I had my sword in its scabbard, not wanting to use that method if not completely necessary. The cudgel allowed me to keep people away, knock them down, knock them out, without doing any major damage.

I doubted anyone would show me the same mercy, not with the clear, bottled-up anger finally bursting out of everyone.

But it didn’t matter.

I just had to find Serin.

She couldn’t be out in this.

People were driven to bloodlust and anarchy.

I watched the women breaking free and fleeing, some of their men running backward, swinging at anyone who lunged toward them as they disappeared into the woods.

My stomach flipped as an arrow whooshed past my ear, lodging in the arm of a man behind me.

My head whipped around, finding the shooter.

Her arms were still raised, an arrow in the bow.

She was older for a competitor, her body honed with thick muscle, her height that of a man, with her short silver hair pushed back from a bloodied face, her keen golden eyes on me.

Another arrow flew.

Right past me.

I heard a howl of pain.

She nodded at me as she nocked another arrow.

“My Prince, you need to get inside the palace,” she called over the chaos all around.

“I’m looking for my wife,” I called back, moving closer to her. “Have you seen her?”

“Left!” she called, taking a step back, arms aiming. But I was faster, cocking back and swinging the cudgel.