Page 24

23

The sun was only an hour from full noon when they reached Argos. The caravans pulled up outside the main entrance into the city, and Kassandra hopped out with Cian. Homes made of pale stone stretched along roads winding upward to the large hill in its center, where imposing buildings with sweeping arches loomed. There sat the heart of the city, where the leader of Argos lived, as well as the main government buildings for the city.

An extra wariness threaded through the Myrdinian troops, and they wore more weapons than they had while traveling. Kassandra hadn’t seen Lodan since they parted this morning. They’d rolled around in his bed all night, barely sleeping, and she’d lost count of how many times he’d sealed himself inside her, but when she’d woken in his arms in the morning, she wanted him again. He seemed just as eager, and they’d ended up on the floor somehow.

She was fairly certain the caravan departed late because of them, too.

Each time I see you, your beauty hits me so hard, I can’t take a breath. She ducked her head, and her cheeks grew warm. Had he really said that? Had he meant it?

Two of her guards, Darius and Sebastian, stepped forward. Darius said, “You’re to come with us.” He didn’t look at her face.

Over the past few days, her guards had grown friendlier, talking to her occasionally and giving her more space as she walked through camp, but today, they were both as stiff and unfriendly as they had been her first day. “Am I working with Jason today?”

Cian rounded the corner and bounded over to join them. “Come on, let’s go explore the town. I’ve never been to Argos.”

“No,” Darius told him, and for the first time, she noticed the rope he carried in his hand. “The Sardi needs to come with us.” He’d started calling her Kassandra two days ago.

“Put your hands behind your back.”

“What? Does Lodan—the Warlord—know about this?”

The guard still didn’t look at her. “These are his orders. Turn around.”

Confused, she obeyed. Not that she had a choice, not if he’d ordered it. “What does he want me to do?”

Cian came to her side. “Yeah, why are you trotting around a tied Omega?”

No reply.

Darius pointed at the road in front of them. “Walk.”

They walked past all the wagons on the hard-packed dirt road leading into Argos. The Argosian people milled about, gaping at the soldiers as they entered the town. The farther they walked, the more people streamed into the streets, all headed in the same direction.

So many people.

A stone lodged in Kassandra’s stomach, and icy cold fear shot down her spine. She stumbled, and Cian took her arm, squeezing it gently. She hadn’t realized he’d remained at her side.

A man wearing rich, well-draped clothes stood on the roadside. The kind of clothing favored by men in her father’s court. He stared at her, his gaze growing hard. He pointed. “I recognize her,” he yelled. “It’s the Sardi princess.” People with hate-filled eyes turned toward her. So many eyes.

She trembled and staggered again.

The Argos nobleman spat in the street as she passed. Others followed, shouting at her, spitting, and pointing.

It was her worst nightmare come true. Crowds of people all staring at her. Hating her.

“You’ll be all right,” Cian whispered, gripping her arm tighter. “Don’t let them see how much they upset you.”

It was hard to hear him. Buzzing filled her ears, and her breath came too fast, yet she didn’t think she was getting any air.

The road swept to a large fountain with ivy curling over the basin in the center of a large square. It seemed like the entire town had gathered, spread out in a semi-circle facing the fountain, where Xander stood, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Xander’s voice floated over the murmuring crowd, and he pointed at Kassandra. “Here. We show you proof of how things have changed. The Sardi princess will soon bear the Warlord’s child, and that child will prove the Blood Laws are gone. The Sardi are destroyed.”

The crowd raised their fists in the air and cheered.

Kassandra tripped again, and if Cian hadn’t steadied her, she would have fallen on her face. The Argosians were close with the Sardi, her father had wanted her to mate with one of their leaders, yet here they were jeering at her and praising her capture.

The guards pressed her forward, and everything became a blur. The crowd, all the eyes, the fountain, she barely saw any of it. She did, however, hear the vile things shouted at her as her guards ushered her to Xander.

Lodan ordered this.

Lodan wanted her paraded in front of Argos like this.

Tears burned, but she gritted her teeth and bit them back. She was a prize of war. A token Omega. Exactly as he’d told her when he captured her. The last two nights were nothing, simply an Alpha taking an Omega. She’d known he was her enemy. Steeled herself against him at all turns, but the last two nights, it hadn’t felt that way, and somewhere along the way, he stopped feeling like her enemy.

Good thing she was getting a reminder of the truth. He’d always be her enemy.

She squared her shoulders. They may see her fear, but no one would see how much this hurt. How much it felt like a betrayal. He’d told her Myrdinian Alpha’s would die for their Omegas. That they’d walk to the ends of the earth to see them smile. “All those pretty words he told me about Myrdinian Alphas being different. What a crock of shit.” Then again, he’d told her that’s how Myrdinian Alpha’s treated their mates. She and the Warlord weren’t mates.

She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud until Cian answered, “I was deceived, too.” He stared at Xander as they marched up to him in front of the fountain. “No one I choose to care about treats others this way. This is cruel. They’re acting like the Sardi.”

They wended through the crowd until they drew to a halt near Xander. For the first time, Kassandra felt the full weight of the number of people surrounding her. About as many as when she was ten and had fallen to the ground with a vision during her father’s feast.

There was no escape.

Her breath came faster. She needed something to focus on. Anything. Her gaze landed on the fountain. It was made of beautiful white marble, exquisitely crafted, with a horse appearing to rear out of a clamshell at the top. Think of horses.

She trembled uncontrollably, so cold she might never be warm again.

“Get out of here, Cian,” Xander barked. “This has nothing to do with you.”

Cian scoffed. “Is this a taste of Myrdinian freedom? Tastes a bit like what I’ve supped on with the Sardi for the past thirty years.”

Xander stepped closer to them. “Leave now.”

“It’s all right.” Kassandra turned from the fountain to Cian. “You don’t want the crowd to focus on you. Trust me.”

But Cian didn’t leave.

A hush blanketed the crowd. “Welcome, Myrdinians, welcome,” a familiar voice called. The crowd parted, revealing a tall man wearing a dark purple tunic with gold thread, the symbol of Argos embroidered on the breast.

“Are you Leader Ambrose?” Xander asked.

Kassandra already knew the answer. She’d met Leader Ambrose at the palace when her father wanted her to marry him. He looked much the same.

“Yes. I see we have the honor of receiving the Myrdinian army.” His gaze landed on her, and his brows lifted. “You have the Sardi princess.”

“She’s our prisoner, and proof the Blood Laws are over.”

His lips spread into a smug, small smile. “I see.” His gaze sharpened on hers. “Your options have really narrowed haven’t they?”

Cian leaned closer to her, his shoulder brushing against hers. She appreciated the contact. The reminder that not everyone around her hated her.

Xander frowned. “Her only option now is to bear the Warlord’s child.”

Ambrose turned to him. “Where is the Warlord?”

“He walked directly to your estate to speak with you.”

“Then I’ll go meet him there.” But he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he walked over until he was only a few inches away from Kassandra. He bent to her ear. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have spurned my hand, then you wouldn’t be a whore for the Myrdinian army.” His foul breath clogged her senses.

She twisted her face to get as far from him as possible. “What have you been doing during this war, Ambrose?” she asked. “Did you fight?”

He drew back, his nostrils flaring. “You can refer to me as Alpha Leader, and I don’t answer to Sardi scum anymore.”

“It’s a fair question,” Xander said. “One the Warlord will want fully addressed.” He crossed his arms. “We know the Sardi passed by here about a week ago. Did they send messengers?”

Ambrose tilted his head. “They asked for aid. We didn’t grant it.”

“Do you know where they went?”

“I might.”

Xander slid his sword from its sheath and pointed it at Ambrose. “You may be used to the word games and tricks played at court. I prefer a more direct approach. Either tell us, or you will meet my sword.”

Next to her, Cian gasped, and his hand tightened on her arm. She didn’t think he was afraid though.

Ambrose’s face turned purple. “The king may have mentioned a fortress up in the Dorian mountains.”

Xander nodded. “Good. You’ll tell Lodan exactly what you know.” He jerked his head toward the road. “Now.” Without a glance at her, he marched Ambrose away, heading toward the hill behind them.

Cian grabbed her elbow. “The little spectacle is over. Come on.”

Neither guard protested as he led her back to the road or when he withdrew a dagger from his waist and cut the ropes at her wrists. The crowd pressed in on them, hissing and spitting out more taunts.

Fear swamped her again, choking the breath from her lungs. She panted, trying to breathe, but couldn’t. She choked and clawed at her neck. She needed air.

Cian dragged her along the road out of the city, faster and faster until he reached a tent in the Myrdinian camp. He tossed open the flap and called out, “I need help.”

Greta struggled to her feet. “What happened?”

“She was paraded in front of Argos like some kind of trophy. She doesn’t look well.”

Kassandra choked and tried to suck in more air.

The healer clutched at a walking stick, leaning on it to hobble to Kassandra. She scanned Kassandra’s face, then pointed at the chair she’d vacated. “Sit.” Using her walking stick, she pointed at a blanket on her bed. “Wrap that around her, and up around her mouth, too. Try to get her to breathe into it. It will help her breathing slow.”

Kassandra heard them, but it was like they were at the end of a long tunnel. “I don’t like crowds. I don’t like crowds.” She said it over and over.

Greta limped over to her table and opened a jar. “Let’s get you a sleeping draught. Good thing I had you pull all that valerian root earlier in the week.”

Cian wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, tucking it up around her mouth. “What’s wrong with her?”

Greta kept her back to them. “I’ve seen this before. Deep fear can freeze someone or cause an attack of some kind, like she’s having.” She turned, a steaming cup in her hand. “Give her this, it’s weak so it will be more for calming than sleeping.”

Cian fetched the cup and handed it to Kassandra. She took a long sip. The taste was flowery, and the warmth hit her stomach and eased into her. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath. Then another.

“Good girl.” Greta walked over and peered into Kassandra’s eyes. “Good. Good.” She ordered, “Tell me what happened. What do you mean she was paraded around?”

Cian described the crowd in Argos and how the guards walked her through the streets up to the fountain.

“Did anyone hurt her?” Greta spun toward her. “Did anyone hurt you?”

Kassandra shook her head. “No. No one hurt me. I can’t handle a lot of people looking at me. I … it’s pathetic.” She lifted her cup back to her lips. “I’m sorry. I’ll be all right.”

“Pah, it’s no trouble.” Greta peered at her again. “Fear is a funny thing, and not something easy to control.” She turned to Cian. “Lodan could see she was frightened, and he did nothing?”

“He wasn’t there, but the guards said it was on his orders,” Kassandra said.

“I’ll have another bed set up in here. You’ll sleep with me tonight.”

Kassandra cupped her drink, letting the last of its warmth thread through her fingers. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

If Lodan came for her tonight, she was afraid she’d reveal exactly how much he’d hurt her, and she didn’t want to let him know. If he could still treat her as an enemy, she’d do the same.

Tonight, she would remember why she hated him. Tonight, she would escape.