Page 42 of Fit for a Prince (Fit For A Crown #1)
Chapter thirty-nine
“ Y ou’re alive.” Atlas rushed to me first, the relief on his face calming my panic briefly. “I had hoped this was where you had disappeared to.”
“What are you two doing here?” Lochlan asked, raising the tension in the room as the brothers all looked at each other.
“The entire castle is hunting for you and Diaspro.” Cedric swept me a ghastly look, and the relief I’d felt vanished as fast as it came.
He hasn’t told anyone yet. “Father is convinced she cheated in the duel. Rumors are being spouted about her drugging Lochlan to weaken him, or that she used magic-infused weapons.”
Lochlan rolled his eyes. He should have been pleased to hear that the spectators believed he’d been cheated, but apparently that was even more insulting than to lose fair and square.
“There were no drugs,” Lochlan said, his voice a low simmer. “But there’s still a deeper story, and I’m not letting the guards near her until she spills every word of it. Even if I have to bleed it out of her.”
He took a step toward me, and my bruises throbbed to remind me how happy he was to make good on his threats. I moved back an inch, but right as I did, Atlas stepped in front of me.
“The guards know of this space, too,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time before they think to check it. Right now, what’s important is that we get Diaspro out of here and somewhere safe.”
“She’s not going anywhere.” Lochlan reached for his belt, producing another dagger he’d stashed away for the duel. “Our fight never had an official victor. Which means she’s still mine.”
“What?” I moved out from around Atlas, noticing him flinch when I left his protection. “You lost, Lochlan. I should be free from you.”
“She’s right,” Cedric said. “She was named victor after you ran off. She’s free from you. But she can’t simply go back to how things were before.” His stark voice clawed into me, quieting my soul and raising my fear. “Father won’t allow it now.”
The look he gave me was deeper than the one I’d seen across the arena.
The first time he’d truly seen me, he was full of disbelief; this time he was a full-blown believer.
My brain felt like it was dissolving into dust, leaving me defenseless as the only secret that had shielded me crumbled before Cedric’s eyes.
I had to run, but he was standing in front of the only exit, blocking the ghost in its coffin.
“He won’t bother to chase her down if we get her out of the kingdom,” Atlas suggested. “He’ll lose interest.”
“But I won’t,” Lochlan hissed. “I demand she tell me how she learned those skills. No woman can fight at that caliber. If she tells us the truth, perhaps she’ll be worth sparing.”
Atlas turned to face me, and my stomach dropped when I saw that same desperate curiosity burning in his eyes. They wouldn’t give up now; not when they were so close, not when I’d gone too far.
“Tell us, princess...” Lochlan tightened his grip on his blade. “Tell me where you learned to take down a prince. Tell me how an Ivalonian woman was allowed to learn combat skills.”
“Or how a noblewoman can win Leopold’s favor with a disgraced family and no public opinion.” Atlas stood alongside Lochlan, but with zero threat in his eyes. He sounded lost, longing to untangle the mysteries that held him bound. “And how you’re able to get into our heads...”
I stepped back until my spine hit the wall, my legs trembling and hands vibrating as the horror of my past reflected in Cedric’s eyes. I twisted my ring.
This was it. A stretched lie would have to snap eventually. I prayed I could survive the whiplash.
I hid as long as I could. Forgive me, Mother.
“Because she was trained how to think like us,” Cedric called out, and both brothers looked back as he whispered the name that haunted my soul. “She’s—”
I ran, letting the air whip across my ears so I couldn’t hear his voice. It didn’t matter though. The brothers still heard him, and Cedric still caught me in his arms. I screamed and thrashed, but there was no escaping now.