Page 92 of Merciless Prince

“Don’t bother,” Derrick said in a breezy tone, as if he’d read my thoughts. “This is the Knight’s second-favorite winter house. There’s no one here but us.”

“Why are we here?” I asked in a low voice, hating that he was the only person I could speak to right now.

He lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. “Not sure. All I know is that you should’ve done what I said at the castle.”

“You mean I should’ve let you fuck me?” I spat out, narrowing my eyes.

“Would’ve saved us both some trouble, wouldn’t it?” he said. He rubbed the bandage on the side of his neck and grimaced. “You know, you’re lucky there’s an on-site doctor at the castle. If he wasn’t there to stitch me up, I would’ve bled to death, and then you’dreallybe fucked.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m so lucky,” I muttered, rolling my eyes upward.

Killian’s footsteps thudded over the deck a few seconds later. I turned my head to see him trudging back toward the car with a shovel in his left hand.

I was already cold, but the sight of that shovel made me even colder.

Killian opened the door and leaned into the car, fixing me with a dark look. “Get out.”

My heart dipped into my stomach, and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then, on trembling legs, I stepped out of the car.

He moved behind me and put a hand on my left shoulder. “Walk,” he commanded, roughly pushing me forward.

Once again, I did as he said, slowly heading toward the flat patch of land on the left side of the property. Derrick trudged next to me, hands in his black jacket pockets.

“Stop here.” Killian handed me the shovel. “Start digging.”

I took the shovel and stared up at him. “Why?” I asked, heart thumping painfully in my chest.

“Why do you think?” he said, face like thunder. When I didn’t reply, he picked up a large stick and traced a rectangle in the snow. It was about two feet wide and six feet long.

My chest froze over, icicles on the inside. “Please don’t do this,” I said, wildly shaking my head. “You can’t kill me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Killian’s eyes narrowed, and he motioned to the grave-sized outline in the snow. “Dig. Now.”

“Please, Killian!” I said, falling to my knees. “I’m sorry for what I did to Derrick, okay? I swear, it’ll never happen again!”

“See?” Derrick crowed. “I told you she made the whole thing up.”

That wasn’t what I meant at all, but there was no point arguing. I ignored him and kept my gaze on Killian’s face. “Please don’t kill me,” I said, voice almost cracking with terror. “You know I don’t deserve it.”

“Don’t beg. It won’t change anything,” he said, cracking the knuckles on his right hand. “Start diggingor I’ll make you.”

I picked up the shovel again, eyes blurring with tears. It was easier than I thought it would be to move large heaps of the snow aside, but the work was difficult on my hands. Within half an hour or so, my palms were blistered, and two of my fingernails had cracked down to the quick.

“Take over,” Killian said to Derrick, noticing that I was slowing down due to the pain in my hands.

Derrick did as he said, flashing taunting smirks at me every few minutes.

When the grave was about two feet deep, the shovel made a loud clanking sound, and Derrick looked up. “I’ve hit the ground,” he said. “It’s totally frozen.”

Killian’s lips twisted as he assessed the hole. “It’s deep enough,” he finally said. He turned to look at me. “Get in.”

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. “Please don’t do this.Please.Just… just talk to me.”

“It’s too late for that, Shay. Get in.”

“No.” I shook my head and planted my feet in the snow, wishing I was actually strong enough to stand my ground.

Killian took the shovel from Derrick and brandished it menacingly in my direction, forcing me to edge closer and closer to the hole. I lifted a palm. “Killian, I—”