Page 25 of The Crimson Princess (The Ravengale Chronicles #1)

“We grab them as they come to us. We wait on them in the woods. And as a bonus we can use this to train our future guardians. Night hunting will prepare them for the portals. I can take a group of them out to the forest and teach them how to kill a were.”

“You are not a teacher. You are the future queen.”

“Respect does not come to those who sit and watch. You didn’t. You fought Macklemore. You defeated him. This is my chance to show the gales I’ll lead by example, not command.”

“You have proven yourself by your mother’s side. Your safety is paramount and there is no gale that would not agree. We’ll use our elite military officers. They know what they are doing. You can stand down.”

My heart leaps with the dismissal, my push back instant. “It’s not that simple. The frostburns will fight our people unless I’m involved.”

“Explain. And make it good.”

“Years ago, I was in the forest and one of them bit me. The frostburn died. It must have been their alpha as they seem to want to follow me. What I’m telling you is that they’ll fight for me. They’ll listen to me.”

“This is insanity. You are not their alpha, Satima.”

“Tell them that and make them listen.”

“Your smart mouth will be the death of both of us,” he snaps.

“Doubtful,” I dare say. “We’ve both survived much worse.”

“By a small measure,” he assures me.

“You’ve learned to risk too much from your mother.”

I barely contain the flinch that follows. “I’m making myself a ruler my gales want to follow.”

He grits his teeth, seconds ticking by before he offers a begrudged, “You’re as stubborn as she was.”

“Is that your way of granting me permission to run this mission?”

“Against my better judgement. Yes. It is decided. I’ll have a group of our elite report to the edge of the forest at sunset tomorrow.” He flicks dismissive fingers in my direction. “Now go to bed. ”

“Yes, my king.”

His brow lifts and I amend to, “father,” and rotate on my heels, heading toward the opposite side of the room and the exit closest to my tower, but only a foot into the walk, I cannot go on without a cautious and honest effort at speaking my mind.

Drawing a deep breath, I halt and turn to face him. “I cannot leave without speaking on another topic.”

“I can barely contain my excitement, daughter .” Sarcasm drops from his words.

Obviously, he does not welcome my opinions, my duty to Ravengale motivates me to press forward. “I do not know what the book has revealed to you that motivates your actions with the druids.”

“I am your father and your king. You do not need to know.”

My spine stiffens, his disregard for my true standing just plain cutting. “While this is your kingdom, it’s my future, if it even exists in my future. Every part of me screams not to trust the druids.”

“This is my decision.”

“I’m omniscient ,” I announce only to be swatted like a fly.

“Sensing magic doesn’t make you a judge of character.”

I open my mouth to declare myself an empath as well, but the words hang and roll on my tongue with uncertainty.

I’m not fully convinced they’re created with truth or combative frustration.

I do know things and to that point, I know what I speak next to be true.

“The druids want what you have. The vampires simply want to survive and thrive in peace.”

“You are far too fond of our vampire visitor. That is quite clear.”

He may be right, but that doesn’t make me wrong, either. “If anything happens to you, I will need allies not enemies.”

“And yet,” he counters smartly, “you would make the druid prince your enemy?”

“What stops the druids from gaining ground here in Ravengale and then using the sorceress to claim full control? Think about it, King Killian. Because I believe that’s exactly what they will do.

And the only way to claim the throne is to kill us both.

I beg of you , as your daughter, and the future queen, to please think about what I have said here today.

” With that, I whip around and start walking again.

He doesn’t stop me.

Once I’m upstairs in my room, I lock the door, and for a moment, I just lean on the hard surface.

What does my father know that I do not, and how do I bridge that barrier?

It certainly won’t be with that beast of a book that I cannot access , I think with utter frustration.

My father is not the ruler of worlds, not as long as he kneels to that book.

Pushing off the door, I walk to the window, and shove it open, the moon a bright light illuminating the sky.

Toren , I whisper in my mind, still able to taste him on my tongue, feel him next to me.

Princess , he answers all too easily, as if he was waiting on the edge of my mind for me to reach for him. You’re back in the castle, out of trouble’s way?

If the castle is truly out of trouble’s way, then yes, I confirm. Did the guards suspect anything?

No trouble. Arrogance was, as you suspected, a divine intervention.

My lips curve in a smile. I’m certain you performed expertly in that department.

It’s nice to know you believe I performed expertly, princess. There’s a purr to his voice as suggestive as the way he often looks at me.

As much as I seem to like his flirting, now is not that time. Bellar was waiting on me in the forest .

He’s silent a beat and I can feel the tic of his anger. Did you let the frostburns eat him?

He blinked away , I say before I blurt , Can I trust you, Toren?

I’d tell you that words are not actions, Satima, and to never trust anyone who has not shown you their trust, but we’re a little different. You can feel the truth in me. You know I will not hurt you.

I’m not worried about me. Will you hurt my gales?

I’ve already answered that question. Not unless they attack my kingdom .

It’s a fair response and he’s right . It’s been asked and answered, but I needed to hear it again. How imminent is the threat from your brother?

As imminent as him getting his hands on the sorceress.

In other words, now, if that’s already happened. Do you think the druids will join him?

Yes.

It’s not the answer I’d hoped for, but it’s the one I expected. Do you think they already have?

I don’t know, Satima.

And if Ravengale joins the druids as well as your brother, they’ll come for you.

Make no mistake, he says, if they gain that much power, they’ll claim your kingdom and come for mine, but I am not an easy adversary to conquer. Neither is your father, if he opens his eyes.

And if he doesn’t?

Then, princess, we lose our kingdoms and that’s not an option for either of us.

I will never let that happen, I counter, wishing I could say the same of my father.

Nor I, Toren counters. Rest, princess . I’m one blink away if you need me.

I feel the moment he breaks the connection between us I barely understand.

It simply exists, but rather than contemplate the strange bond, and connection I feel for the vampire king, his words have reminded me of Bellar’s ability to blink.

More so, the moment both me and the frostburns believed he planned to grab me.

My gaze sweeps the courtyard and the still of night, when I detect a slight shift in the shadows.

I shut the window, sealing myself inside the shelter of the magic that guards the castle.

I’m safe here. We are all safe within the kingdom’s boundaries that the great King Killian protects. But for how long?