Page 44 of The Crimson Princess (The Ravengale Chronicles #1)

He blinks us to the living room and there’s a romantic table set-up in front of the window.

I’m shocked to realize it’s dark outside.

He’s been gone all day and I’ve been in the simulator just as long.

My belly clenches as I realize how close to goodbye we are.

We settle into our seats, and I find a meal of rare steak and well-buttered potatoes awaiting me, as well as some sort of soup.

“This is from one of my favorite places we didn’t get to go to together,” he explains.

“It looks good,” I say, swallowing hard, not sure what else to say. Everything feels weird right now, like we’re one breath from transitioning from lovers to enemies.

I reach for my goblet when the doorbell I didn’t even know he possessed rings, and I want to scream with the interruption. Toren grits his teeth and pushes to his feet. “I’ll get rid of whoever it is.” He blinks out of view and I stand up, a bad feeling grinding at me.

Toren’s not gone long, but there’s an urgency about him on his return that’s impossible to miss. “My brother’s rebels have attacked several of our cities, no doubt a distraction to keep me away from the Challenge.” I round the table to meet him by the widow as he adds, “I have to go.”

“I’ll fight with you. I’m ready. I want to fight.”

His hands settle on my arms. “You can’t. We can’t risk them seeing you and telling your father. Not like this. Not now.”

“If I kill them, they can’t tell anyone.”

“No.” The word is absolute. “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“ Damn it, Toren. I can’t just stay here.”

“You have to. You will.” His hands fall away from me.

I sense he’s about to blink and I grab a hold of him and a moment later, we appear on the rooftop of one of his ancient cities lined with cobblestone streets and walkways.

In the process, I’ve changed into my battle gear, and Toren has done the same.

I have no blade, and no idea where mine is, but I have my magic.

He grabs me and pulls me in front of him. “Are you crazy?”

“No. I am not crazy, but you are if you don’t use me for the resource I am.

” It’s in that moment that we’re attacked.

Two rebel vampires appear next to us, blades in hand, in confrontation.

I yank one of Toren’s blades from the holster on his leg, the magic it possesses humming in my hand, and I shove it in the vampire’s heart.

It’s the kill spot. I learned that in the simulator when the fake Ruhn had taunted me with my inability to get there.

The vampire drops to the ground just as Toren’s attacker does the same. My blade appears in Toren’s hand and he offers it to me. “If you’re going to fight, you need this. I kept it safe for you after you were attacked.”

I accept it and it feels oh so good in my hand. I shove his back in his holster, and say, “Now where?”

He motions to the edge of the rooftop where Stefan joins us, none too pleased to see me. “What the fuck is she doing here?”

“Killing assholes,” I say. “Any questions?”

Stefan opens his mouth to snap back and Toren holds up a hand. “Just go with it.”

It’s then that Tabby and Gideon appear on the rooftop, a group of warriors behind them.

Toren gives them a look over his shoulder and waves them forward.

They all rush to the edge of the roof and appear to jump, but they blink mid-air.

Toren then indicates to the ground, and me, him and Stefan are there in a blink.

And so, the killing truly begins.

One rebel after another and I’m in my element.

This is what I do. This is what I have done for ten years of my life and with each kill, each use of my shield, I manage to hold it a bit longer.

The sun has pierced the night when the battle concludes on a remote portion of the cobblestone street of one of three villages we have fought inside this night.

Gideon, Tabby, and Stefan are all by our sides in conquest.

Tabby’s eyes glow with approval as she looks me up and down, and confirms I’m unscathed. “You didn’t fight like the princess who got taken down by two werewolves tonight.”

“There were dozens of werewolves and I made a mistake I won’t ever make again.”

“That’s the way to do it,” she approves. “And you made no mistakes tonight. Thank you for fighting with us. ”

“Yes,” Gideon agrees. “For a yoga-loving pussy warrior princess, you did okay.”

Tabby scowls at him. “Have some respect. Consider who she is.”

I laugh and Toren slides an arm around me. “I need a minute with Satima before we head to Ravengale.”

They all nod, a palpably darker mood amongst us all. Stefan steps in front of me. “You really were a warrior princess tonight. My respect to you.” He blinks away and the others follow their marshall.

Toren catches my hand in his and leads me into the alcove outside a stone encased cottage I’ve come to know as the way the villages’ retail stores and restaurants are designed.

It’s a tiny space, the stone sheltering us from prying eyes, and I’m barely against the wall before he’s kissing me, a wild, passionate, desperate kiss that leaves me panting.

“You were incredible out there,” he says, his voice rough, urgent, “the way you fought by my side.”

“I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.”

“There are many things I want to say to you right now, Satima, the clock has run out on us. We have to go back. And we don’t have the net I’d planned for travel. We won’t have any time together when we get to Ravengale. You have to return to the castle.”

“I know,” I whisper. “I figured that out already.”

“This isn’t over. We aren’t over.” He kisses me again, and when his lips part mine, we’re standing at what we call a “divide” between worlds, in this case the one separating Bloodstone and Ravengale.

Both sides of a divide are protected by each kingdom’s magic with only one well-guarded door used for approved passage.

“I crossed over last night to find out where the werewolves are hiding,” Toren informs me, proving he is still quite capable of bypassing the approved entrance into Ravengale. “They’re spread throughout all the villages on the east side of the forest.”

“There are dozens of villages. And you went without me?”

“You need to be able to tell your father where you were for the hours you were missing. And yes, there are dozens of villages. They’re all infested. I purged the Essex village. The rest require attention.”

In other words, he went to my world and fought our enemies, and without knowing this, I stood beside him tonight to fight his.

There has to be a way that translates to peace between the vampires and the gales, but Toren doesn’t give me time to express this or ask questions about the werewolves.

He blinks us to the other side of the divide, no push back from my father’s magic.

None. Not even I should be able to pass in this part of the divide, but then I have more of Toren’s ancient vampire blood in me now than I do gale, and a part of me fears my father will know.

A big part of me fears my father will know.

Toren blinks us again and we’re in the forest, a location close to the castle. He cups my face and kisses me hard and fast. “Just remember,” he says speaking in earnest, “everything I do from this point forward is about securing your kingdom and mine.”

“What does that mean?”

But it’s too late.

He’s gone.