Chapter 3 #2
We lay down and I buried my face in his chest. It felt like the right thing to do. He exhaled deeply, then ran his fingers through my hair, combing out my long-ruined braids. The casual touch was soothing. I could already feel my eyes drifting shut.
His hand strayed lower and suddenly the heat of his body was stifling. I pushed him away, shuffling back into a sitting position, wondering what on earth made him think this was an appropriate moment. ‘One of us needs to stay alert,’ I said. ‘You sleep, I’ll take first watch.’
Yann frowned. ‘That should be my job,’ he said, though he made no move to sit up.
‘I’m not ready to sleep yet,’ I lied. Yann didn’t protest. He settled down and fell asleep faster than I thought possible for someone lying on a bed of half-rotted leaves. I couldn’t help but envy him.
Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled.
I tucked my knees into my chest, hoping it wouldn’t come any closer.
No matter how many years Father had spent teaching me to defend myself, the half-rusted daggers we’d brought with us were barely enough to stave off a human, let alone a pack of half-starved wolves.
I fought the temptation to wake Yann. I resented him for falling asleep first, even though I’d told him to, and I resented myself for resenting him.
Time drifted by. Soon I was flinching at every gust of wind, every scurrying insect. When the bushes near Yann started to rustle, I shot to my feet at once, gripping my knife tightly. I held my breath as the scurrying intensified. Then a shadow emerged from the bushes, and all my fears solidified.
It was an enormous wolf, almost as long as Sovereign and half as tall. I readied my dagger, heart pounding. It didn’t notice me at first, distracted instead by the scent of horses. I remained frozen, praying it wouldn’t turn around. As long as I stayed perfectly still, maybe it wouldn’t notice me.
It might have worked had the horses not panicked.
They reared in unison, straining against their tethers.
Sovereign’s rope snapped and she bolted, tearing off into the trees.
Yann startled awake, rolling over just in time to avoid being trampled as the wolf began to bark at Father’s terrified horse.
‘Run!’ I cried.
It was a mistake. If the wolf hadn’t noticed me before, it certainly did now. It barked again, this time at me. Then it lowered its muzzle and growled.
‘I won’t hurt you,’ I stammered, taking a step back. ‘Please, we’re no threat. We’re only travellers.’ It couldn’t understand me. Why would it?
Yann started yelling something, but the wolf took no notice. The creature had decided I would be tonight’s dinner.
Was this how I’d die? Not at the prince’s hand, but from a simple wrong turn and a curious dog? I would have laughed if it weren’t so tragic.
‘I’m so sorry I brought you here,’ I choked out.
Yann burst towards me. His horse shrieked. And the wolf pounced.
I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for death.
But it never came.
There came a canine yelp, then the hot splatter of blood on my cheek.
For a moment I thought the wolf had impaled itself on my dagger, but there had been no impact.
I stood frozen, terrified of what I would find when I opened my eyes.
Would it be Yann’s blood? The wolf’s? Or had something worse joined us?
I forced myself to look.
The wolf lay at my feet, gargling its final breaths, its throat torn to shreds.
Yann was frozen mid-stride, paralysed in terror.
And between us stood Prince Raleigh, cleaning his hand with a bloodstained handkerchief. He had never even drawn his sword.
‘Hullo, my darling bride-to-be.’ Prince Raleigh smiled broadly, as if we were passing each other at the market. ‘Whatever are you doing here, so far from home?’
‘How …’ I could barely speak. How could he have found us so quickly? How had he known we were gone?
‘Thank you for saving my life, Raleigh,’ he suggested.
‘How are you here?’ I said instead.
He looked annoyed. ‘You don’t really think I believed you needed a full day to say your goodbyes? I’ve been right behind you this whole time.’ He seemed oddly pleased with himself. ‘It helps that you’ve been wandering in circles.’
My stomach dropped. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You have to be careful in this part of the woods at night.’ He touched one cold finger to my forehead. ‘It’s so easy for your mind to play tricks on you.’
I felt it then, the same slippery feeling that had plagued me all night. My thoughts lost clarity, my conviction melting away. I heard my knife fall to the ground, but I was never aware of letting go.
‘Don’t touch her!’
Raleigh turned to face Yann and my consciousness crashed back into me. ‘You must be my rival, then.’
‘I’m her fiancé,’ Yann said.
‘See, I actually have a funny story about that.’
Yann hurled a fist at him, but Raleigh caught it before the blow could connect. ‘Ah.’ That grin was back. That terrible, malicious grin. ‘So the baker’s dog can bark.’
Yann tried to pull away, but the prince’s grip was too tight. ‘Let us go,’ he cried.
‘Let you go?’ Raleigh’s voice dripped with mockery. ‘My boy, you stole from me. I think that warrants a punishment, does it not? How do you usually deal with thieves in these parts? I’ve always favoured a good hanging myself.’
It took me a moment to realise he was addressing me.
‘You can’t!’
‘I may have been lax in my duties of late, but I am the lawmaker in this region. I can punish thieves however I choose.’ He tightened his grip on Yann’s hand, eliciting a drawn-out groan of pain. ‘And he stole something very dear to me.’
I no longer cared what happened to me. If Yann died here, I would never forgive myself. Bile rose in my throat as the weight of my decision tried its best to tie me down. I fought it off. This was for Yann.
Without allowing myself the luxury of second thought, I stepped closer to my two fiancés. The prince was motionless as I approached, peering down through his lashes. I laid a hand on his arm. ‘Spare him, please.’
Raleigh said nothing. He watched my hand like he was waiting for me to strike him.
‘Please. For me.’ Swallowing every emotion that seared through me, I placed my other hand on his cold cheek. ‘It’s a bad omen for someone to die on the eve of a wedding.’
The prince was frozen beneath my touch. Caught off guard, he almost looked mortal.
‘I suppose I shouldn’t let something like this tarnish our union,’ he said at last. He regarded me for an eternal moment longer, then turned back to Yann.
I kept my head lowered; I couldn’t bring myself to see his expression.
‘Did you hear that, boy? My bride has convinced me to let you live.’
‘She isn’t—’
‘Clara dear,’ Prince Raleigh said, the sharpness of his tone startling me, ‘tell this baker who you’re engaged to.’
Yann. I was engaged to Yann. There would only ever be Yann.
‘You, Your Serene Highness,’ I said, dropping into a trembling curtsey.
I could only hope Yann knew this was an act.
As long as we were both alive, I’d find a way to reunite with him.
This wasn’t the end. This was simply another obstacle.
Wait for me, I mouthed. Whether he saw me through the dark I couldn’t say.
‘There you have it,’ the prince said lightly. ‘I’m sure you’ll find someone else soon enough. You should look in Triz. Their mayor is more financially responsible. In the meantime, let me make something clear.’ His eyes turned hard and he clenched his fist, squeezing Yann’s hand tightly.
Yann started to scream before the crack of his bones cut through the night air. Forgetting my ruse, I lunged for them, desperate to separate my love from my fiancé, but Raleigh pushed me back effortlessly with his free hand.
It was an eternity before the prince released Yann, who crumpled into the dust and dead leaves, cradling his shattered bones. Raleigh caught me by the arm before I could fall by Yann’s side.
‘You said you’d spare him.’
‘I said I wouldn’t kill him,’ he corrected, releasing my arm. ‘They’re only bones. They’ll heal.’
Only if they could be set in time. If they could be set at all. Yann moaned in pain, writhing helplessly at our feet. I could only imagine how much agony he was in.
‘Come along.’
‘No.’ I threw myself to the ground beside Yann. ‘I can’t leave him here.’
Raleigh pinched his nose and muttered something I couldn’t make out. ‘I don’t have time for this.’ He cast his eyes to the sky, as if looking for something within the inky black I had no hope of seeing. ‘We need to be back before sunrise.’
I barked a cold laugh through my tears. ‘Have issues with sunlight, do you?’
‘An allergy of sorts.’ He grabbed my arm again and wrenched me to my feet, not bothering to rein in his strength. My flesh bruised instantly under his grip. ‘We need to go.’
‘Not without Yann.’
‘Oh, for goodness sake.’ The prince spun me to face him and planted both hands on my shoulders, his fingers pressing down so hard I didn’t dare try to move. I turned my face away, avoiding his eyes. ‘Look at me,’ he commanded.
That strange sensation rushed through me again, sweet and warm and horribly wrong.
I obeyed before I could think, and suddenly my body felt light, airy.
The world faded around the eyes of my betrothed.
His lips moved, but I couldn’t hear him.
Everything was crumbling away. I closed my eyes, and that felt right too.
It was what he wanted, which meant it was perfect.
The last thing I knew was the pleasant sensation of Prince Raleigh scooping me into his arms, and then there was nothing.