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He pressed a kiss to my forehead, then bolted into the night. He disappeared around the natural bend in the wall, and I stood, wrapping my arms around myself. The cool, lonely howl of the wind, and the song of insects were my only company. I should have been nervous about being so close to the castle in my night gear. Instead, my thoughts snagged on a memory from earlier in the day.

Is there anything you need from me, the prince had said. My gaze snapped to the highest point at the wall. Surely the prince would help if I went to him. Begged him. And I would. To get my sister back safely, I would do whatever it took.

I didn’t know where Chol had gone to, what his plan was. Could he even do anything? I contemplated my options. I could, right now, tell the guards at the entrance—no, demand that I speak with the prince immediately. With the support from the prince and his resources, he could probably find Melody before sunrise. He could rally his guardsmen to…

I stepped to bring myself to the front gate, but paused. Chol’s sources had been from the guards, but they’d proven to be untrustworthy. I couldn’t know which guard had access to the armory, which among them would gladly silence a lone woman who knew too much.

I questioned why I’d wasted time coming this far. What if the ship was docked at the port and she was on it? What if Melody simply went to someone’s house for the night? I fell against the stone wall, digging my fingers into my head.

If the ship was there, it would have a crew running it. I’d be outnumbered and overpowered. Without magic, they might simply kill me and toss me into the waters. Then Melody would be completely on her own.

And she wouldn’t have stayed at someone’s house without letting Kenzie know. She wouldn’t let her worry like that. She was too kind. My lip trembled as heat surged behind my eyes.

My heart stuttered in my chest when a horrendous thought sprung to mind. What if they killed her? What if this was her last night in this world? That thought alone made my knees buckle, and I dropped to the ground. If that were the case, I would gladly throw myself at the corrupt guards in hopes that they’d bring me to her, so that she wouldn’t be alone. So that we would go together.

I rested my hand over my stomach. Tears fell to the ground. She didn’t deserve this. She was too good, too pure. I had been a wretch of a sister, treating her like some brainless doll on a shelf. But she was strong, and she’d been discovering her magic. She had too much to give the world. Her light couldn’t be snuffed, it just couldn’t.

Where the hell was Chol?! I leaned back, resting my head against the rough rock, staring up into the starry sky. “Please, protect my sister. She has too much to offer this world. Don’t let this be her end. Take me instead. Please.” My cheeks became wet, and my lip developed an inconsolable tremor. I didn’t even believe in the gods. After the loss of my mother, I determined they couldn’t exist. Better to acknowledge their lack of existence than a world in which they looked down upon us and simply didn’t care.

But I would beg, barter, and bargain with any person or deity. “Please don’t do this to her.” With my hands clasped in my lap, I bowed, bending until my forehead kissed the ground. “Please,” I repeated in a whisper.

Not a shift in the breeze. No sign that any being heard my cries, or cared. I wanted to curl up on my side and die. To admit defeat that the world had done its job, leaving me thoroughly destroyed.

When I heard the clip clop of hooves, I knew where Chol had gone. He appeared with two horses, reins in hand, guiding them through the grass.

“We’re going north,” he said.

40

Nicholas

Unimpeded moon and starlight cast a silver glow along the grassy route, giving the horses enough confidence to keep a steady pace.

It had been divine intervention that I hadn’t raced home. After watching her fade into the distance once she’d left the ledge, I hadn’t been ready to leave the memory of us intertwined in each other.

Those castle walls had felt more like a cold prison cell lately, and she had become my escape. The soft scent of pine in those woods, the salty sea air, the taste of her tongue, her warmth around my cock.

Her gentle scent fused to me, to my clothes, and racing home would only steal it away sooner. So, I’d taken my time.

At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, hearing my name on her lips. But her cries filled the streets with anguish, and I ran faster than I could think.

I could still hear it replaying in my head, the way she broke in my arms. This fierce woman who an hour before had run straight up to a man and decked him in the face. The woman who discovered me in the shadows, on a mission for the people of her village. Who, in all honesty, did a pretty good job of kicking my ass. She’d cried, calling out for me, her lifeline. An unknown, furious feeling consumed me, driving all of my senses, honing them, wielding me for one purpose—to help her.

I assured Ella that our journey would go much faster once the sun broke over the horizon. She was tense, understandably. We continued in silence for a stretch of time, leaving me to consider how rash I’d been in my haste to get these horses from the royal stables.

I’d snuck into the castle, removing the majority of my dark leather-lined outfit. As the prince, I took myself to the stables. One of the guards had left to relieve himself, and the other sat half asleep against his spear. With deadly efficiency, I commanded them to ready two horses and remain by the stables for the duration of their shift. That way, we would get far enough away from the city that no one could intercept.

Regret settled in my stomach. I should have ordered them to not report the activity at their shift change, to keep my actions private. But at the time, I had no other focus than giving Ella and me time to head toward the refugee camp.

Leaving her behind at that wall filled me with a cold emptiness, but I needed to be myself to get those horses without fuss, and if she saw who I was… I knew that would introduce another set of problems. The thought of her running from me had the dread of loneliness planting in my chest, and I refused to let it take root. I wouldn’t allow that option.

“We should give the horses a rest before the sun rises. That way we won’t have to waste time during daylight,” I suggested over the near rhythmic and in sync steps of our horses’ hooves.

She didn’t say anything, and I felt like I could read her mind. “We’ll make it there before a ship who left the docks tonight would, even with a few breaks. The canal is aptly named. All its winds and curves are a nightmare for ships to navigate. The travel last time took a day and a half. We’ll make it there hours before any ship would. I promise.” I stared at this woman who had drawn me in from the first moment I’d laid eyes on her, her posture stiff and straight astride the saddle, facing forward as if in a daze.

“Okay,” she choked out, a pathetic attempt at sounding believable. I feared she may be slipping into despair, and I wanted to pull her into my saddle and hold her tight. If she would fall apart, I would be there to keep her together.

I hauled Nyxia, my black and silver mare, to a stop, tossing one leg over and dismounting with ease. Ella had struggled to stop Maxon, her tug on the reins uneven, leading the chestnut stallion in circles.