Page 89 of Hunger & Harmony

“Niko!” I gasp, mustering the strength to stand when he’s suddenly in front of his aunt.

A sickening crack sounds as I stumble towards them. The Archduchess remains silent, eerily calm as Niko gets in her face. He possesses a death grip on her bloodied wrist, bruising into her very bone.

“You don’t have a second chance. If you look at her wrong, I shall have your head.”

His threat doesn’t visibly unnerve her.

“Am I not allowed to look out for you?” she asks, as if he isn’t fracturing her wrist with little effort. “You wish not to disturb her, so I took matters into my own hands.”

“It isn’t your place,” he growls, and I place my hands on his back.

“N-No,” I whisper, tugging at his shirt. “Don’t . . .”

Niko hesitates, and I feel him lean into my touch.

“That won’t solve it,” I say.

Slowly, he relaxes his grip. The Archduchess steps away from him, her back to the wall as she cradles her crumpled wrist.

When he turns, I search his eyes. The fury dissolves from his irises, back to burgundy, before he averts his face.

Regret pulses between us, and I drop my gaze, too. I see my blood on his palm. It still smears across the Archduchess’s hand, too.

“All you need is to feed from her.”

The quiet of the moment snaps. I hold my hands out to Niko as his anguish radiates in waves.

“I refuse,” he says, so low, I barely hear him.

“She is bonded to you,” she retorts. “Your future Queen⁠—”

“I don’t want a queen!”

My eyes widen. He turns his back to me, whipping around to snarl at his aunt.

“I don’t even want a throne.”

I clutch my heart. It aches, it burns, it beats so hard I’m scared it’s breaking apart.

More than even yesterday, I understand. I am ruining him, and it’s unraveling me faster than I can handle.

“Resistance is futile,” she says. “You delay the inevitable.”

The inevitable.

Shaking my head, I stumble back. When my hip bumps the table, their attention turns to me.

So, I run.

I run, and run, and run.

I let the tears flow, each hiccup and sniffle and pathetic sob celebrated in the solace of my room.

Because it’s noise.

And I won’t let my silence strike him down.

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