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“One target is, of course, the King of Peyrus!” Theron gazed about indulgently as the crowd fucking booed my father. “Now, good citizens, the other target is a Velesian child, whose mother sits here beside me.” He looked down at me with a predatory grin. “Princess Elara, you have a choice before you. Either you save your father, or you save this poor woman’s child.”

The woman began to wail, a sound that strangled the breath from my throat. She slumped forward in her chair, her shoulders racked with sobs.

My eyes moved to Rook, whose jaw was set as he gazed back at me.

Both.His command echoed through my mind.

I nodded, only slightly, so no one else would see it. Both. I could do both.

“Now, Your Highness,” Theron said, spreading his arms wide, “I would advise you to hurry.” The ground underfoot rumbled, and a horn sounded to my right.

I sprinted ahead as the rumbling continued, and the crowd cried out in surprise. No one expected me to move this fast.

I could save them both. The tiny figure on the platform was barely visible, it was so small. I could save them both.

A roar to my left caught me off guard, and a lion was racing across the sand towards me. Rook had told me not to stop.

There was a loud crash behind me, and I knew the floor was starting to give way. Sand rained down on me, peppering my hair and face.

The lion advanced and sprang into the air. I pushed harder, moving faster, and it missed me by a foot. There was another crash, and the lion’s roar faded as it tumbled into the collapsing floor.

I’d made it more than halfway. I was nearly there. My father’s head was raised, and I could see blood running down his forehead. They’d beaten him. Rage coursed through me, and I willed my limbs to move even faster.

A roar sounded right behind me, and I cried out as something slashed my back. I stumbled forward, turning onto my back in time to see the lion rising into the air to pounce on me. I scrambled backwards, narrowly avoiding its immense paws. The ground rumbled again, and my fingers clawed into the sand as I tried to propel myself back faster. The lion’s paws shot out to swipe at my leg, landing a gash in my calf. I bit back a scream, tears pricking at my eyes,and kicked the lion in the snout with my other foot.

It jerked backwards, pawing at its face, then the ground beneath it gave way. It fell to its death, leaving me teetering on the edge of a yawning precipice. I struggled to my feet, the gash in my leg searing with pain. Shit.

I pushed on, running as fast as I could. I felt blood running down my back. Fuck fuck fuck.

“Elara!” My father was so close. “Elara!”

I’d almost made it. 50 feet. 20. 10.

I threw myself onto the chains, pulling them up and throwing them onto the spiked iron door that lay, spring-loaded, beside my father. I didn’t even meet his eyes as I turned on my heel and ran for the other platform.

My father’s cries were drowned out by the elated shrieks of the crowd as I sprinted for the crying child. I could make it. I’d not lost that much time with the lion.

50 feet. 20. 10. 5. The child raised his tiny head, tears tracking trails through the sand on his face.

Four feet.

And the door slammed shut.

A hot, wet spray hit my face. All that was left of the tiny figure was blood, and a little hand, reaching out towards me.

Someone was screaming, and it wasn’t until my throat became raw and tight that I realized it was me.

Chapter21

Rook

The door opened after two sharp knocks, and I was met with Drusilla’s pale face. “I didn’t know what else to do,” she said quietly, waving me into the room and swiftly pushing the door closed behind me. “She won’t get out of the tub.”

“How long has she been in there?”

“Since she was carried back up here.” Drusilla wrung her hands, then threw them up helplessly. “She refused a healer, and she’s scrubbed herself to the bone. I’ve tried speaking to her, but she’s just sat in the tub, and won’t speak. I didn’t know who else to call for.”

I nodded. “It’s alright, you did the right thing. Come on, take me to her.” I followed Drusilla to the bathroom.