Page 58 of Ravenrose

“Will you keep still?” Impatience breaks through my cold facade as the princess flinches away from me, utter panic in her eyes as she once again evades my hand.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I growl. The words come out harsher than intended, sounding far more like a threat than reassurance. I curse under my breath, my frustration with her, with Theo, and this situation only growing.

She freezes. Fear dances in her eyes, and gods, she’s looking at me like I’m one word away from breaking her where she stands.

“But you said…” she starts, her voice wavering slightly before she looks away, for the first time unable to meet my eyes.

I drag a hand down my face, releasing a deep sigh of annoyance—or maybe exhaustion. “I know what I said, but just—just keep still. Alright?” I make an effort to soften my voice, unsuccessfully, by the way she just stares back at me. Indecision and distrust are written all over her face.

Well, Princess, the feeling is mutual.

This morning wasn’t only a good lesson for my men, but for me as well.

Her mere presence has caught me so off guard that I hadn’t considered how little I know about the princess—and what she’s capable of. She’s not the heir, so any power she might have would be minimal. A non-threat.

Her brothers—I know everything about them. I studied them for years; mainly Fel, but Riven too. Especially considering he is just about to take command of a contingent of Sitara’s forces.

Yet their sister?

Nothing.

Not even her name.

Staring down into forest green eyes, I can’t quite seem to recall it—it’s possible I never knew it at all—her brothers were my priority. When studying the fae, I was only interested in learning how to defeat them in battle.

How to make them bleed.

I knew she existed, of course, and there were always rumors and gossip circling about the pretty and poised Rose Princess. They said she was everything a rose should be: delicate and demure.

Though, delicate and demure don’t quite describe the scene I witnessed this morning—with Serik. She’s a rose alright… a rose with thorns.

Overlooking her during my studies might have been a dangerous mistake.

I make a mental note to speak with Hayes later. He conducted extensive research on the fae kingdoms’ history and royal lineages. He might know her name, and if I’m lucky, maybe more.

Theo certainly knows her name, but I hadn’t bothered to ask him for it before we set out. And the way she’s glaring at me right now, I doubt she’d give it to me if I asked.

Once again, I curse Theo for saddling me with this… distraction.

On my third attempt, I catch her.

I move quickly, my hand whipping out, capturing her bound wrists before she can jerk away. I grip them tightly, easily fending off her attempts to tug them free while I loosen the knots.

Realizing what I’m doing, she finally relents, pausing to watch my every move. Her breaths come fast, while her entire body stays rigid, leaning away from me.

The rope falls away once the last knot is undone, revealing the princess’ raw and bloody wrists. She’s made it so much worse for herself by constantly fighting against them—trying to slip free.

I loosen my grip, turning her wrists in my hands, inspecting the damage. But she’s had enough. With the restraints gone, the princess takes advantage of my loosened grip, ripping her hands away lightning-fast, all while taking a couple of hesitant steps back for good measure.

I allow it.

“Run, and I will hunt you to the ends of the realm.” Shadows creep into my eyes as my gaze darkens. I let that settle, let her feel the weight of the threat in my words. “You might outrun my men, but you will never outrun me. So don’t even think about it.”

I eye her, making sure she’s fucking listening for once. We don’t need a repeat of last night. Gods, she looks like hell. Dirt and dried blood are smeared across her pretty face. There are new tears in her dress, leaving her legs exposed, both of her knees scraped and bleeding from various falls she’d taken before she learned to keep enough slack in the line attached to Dash.

Every time she fell, Dash dragged her several feet before I could pull him up.

I grit my teeth at the state of her. Whether I like it or not, she’s my responsibility, and Theo, for whatever the fuck reason, wants her alive and breathing. And the last thing I want to do is have to throw her over my horse for the rest of the journey.