Page 30 of Ravenrose

Breaking eye contact, he turns to face the advisor who’s dancing nervously behind him. “No trace of them? Any of them?”

His advisor clears his throat before he speaks. “No, Sir. The villagers and the nobles, along with the better part of their army, appear to—” He swallows, clearing his throat once again, tapping the top of his own leg as if to give himself the confidence to say what he must next. “They seem to have all disappeared through unknown means. Only the first line, a small contingent of the castle guard, and a handful of servants, remained at Rosecliff once we breached the walls.”

Once you cheated, I thought to myself.

“She’s truly their sister? The princess? We are sure?” another advisor asks, eyeing me with suspicion.

But I keep my gaze on Theo. He knows who I am, and there is no question in his eyes as he studies me, no doubt deciding what is to be done with me.

“Might I suggest, Sir,” the nervous advisor starts, continuing only once Theo gives him a nod. “While I do support a prompt execution,” he levels me a distasteful look, “if you insist on keeping her alive, you could use her as leverage—against her brothers.”

My heart drops to my stomach. I hadn’t considered that. Not once. Why hadn’t I considered that? On the rare occasion that humans capture fae, they never let them live.

Never.

No, let them kill me. Death might be bad, but being kept alive—far, far worse.

“She could be a useful source of information,” the second advisor states. “We could torture her for the location of the rest of her people.”

My heart is beating so fast, and it’s difficult to keep my face neutral; I worry my fear betrays me. Riven’s voice echoes in my ear, a reminder of all our training sessions. “Never let them know what scares you.”

“Mmm,” Theo hums, his thumb grazing the line of his jaw as he considers me—studies me. And whatever he gleans from his perusal makes him smile. “Unfortunately, torturing a princess is not on my agenda for the day.” He shoots me a wink, which I’m quick to return with a flash of my fangs.

He laughs, the sound too light given our current circumstances. Amusement flashes to seriousness, only to cycle back to amusement again as he stares at me. “Fel’s sister…” he muses, his words coming out almost absentmindedly, barely audible, just enough for my fae hearing to pick up.

Fel? Why only Fel? Although he is the heir, it just seems… odd. I’m Riven’s sister too. Perhaps more so, considering the fact that we’re twins.

A small smile spreads across the prince’s face, and I already know without question he’s decided my fate. Turning, he sweeps back to sit gracefully in his seat. “Captain Rusic led us to a significant victory today.” His voice booms, loud enough for everyone within the tent to hear. Cheers rise at his words, and several of his personal guards bang the hilts of their swords against their armour or shields in agreement. “The walls of Rosecliff, walls that have stood for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, fell to Kovaria in minutes,” Theo boasts, and suddenly I’m struck with the overwhelming urge to hit him. My fingers curl in my shackles. “Such a victory deserves a reward, does it not?”

More shouts, more bangs.

I glance around nervously, my heartbeat quickening, unsure of where he’s going with this.

“As a reward for his bravery, strategy, and for leading Kovaria to a brilliant victory, I gift Captain Rusic the Sitari princess.” He smiles down at the growing look of horror on my face. “To do with as he pleases.” Theo’s lips curl into a dark smile. One I would not have thought him capable of.

“Sir,” the shrill advisor stutters out. “We don’t—” he starts, but the prince cuts him off.

“We don’t keep fae prisoners. No, we don’t. I know. However, we’ve never captured a royal fae before. And we all know the captain is owed Valrose blood. So I believe this little Valrose here is a fine gift.” Theo smiles, letting his eyes roam my body as if it’s something to be desired. The look he’s giving me turns my blood to ice. “I’m sure he can make some use of her.”

Chapter 15

ROWAN

It’s dark and cold in the tent belonging to Captain Rusic.

With my back pressed hard against the wooden pole and my hands bound behind it, I shift in a futile effort to ease the ache in my shoulders. I test the restraints again, twisting my wrists until the iron bites into my skin. There has to be a weakness, some way out. But the cuffs remain stubbornly secure, my wrists bleeding and raw from my efforts.

Everything hurts.

At least the physical pain keeps my mind off the deep chasm of emptiness in my chest, one that threatens to swallow me whole the second I acknowledge its existence.

I fought like hell when they dragged me here. And though I lost the fight, it took four of Kovaria’s finest to remove me from the prince’s tent and deposit me into this one. I can only hope I left more bruises and cuts than I took.

Oh, how I wanted to smack that godsdamned smirk off Theo’s face as he watched them drag me away. Amusement danced in his eyes while his advisors exchanged nervous glances, clearly rattled by the prince’s decision to keep me alive.

“Ayer will do himself a favor by putting this one down—quickly,” one of the Kovari soldiers said after they’d managed to wrestle me to the pole. After I bit his friend hard enough to draw blood, he shoved a dirty scrap of cloth into my mouth and tied it behind my head.

The one I bit eyed me warily. “Feral, that one.”