CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
STERLING
Sterling was meant to travel without Winter to a northern village and begin flaunting the union of her and the prince in hopes that the humans would fawn over the royals.
After that, they would journey to a town of wolves not far from there so Winter could convince the shifters that allying with the humans was the only way to make the court thrive.
As Sterling waited on the bed to leave the castle, she couldn’t get the feel of King Valco’s harsh grip on her flesh out of her mind.
Although Micah had scarred her, held her down against her will so she could watch her grandmother suffer before he killed her, she’d never feared someone like she had with the king.
He would’ve scarred her in a ghastlier manner.
The bastard shouldn’t be king, shouldn’t be alive—that was quite clear.
Winter could’ve believed she was just like Talia, willing to give into the king’s heinous offerings.
Fuck Valco.
How could her grandmother have pleasured such an evil bastard? Weren’t they sworn enemies? Something had been off about Winter when he’d discussed her grandmother, and though he hadn’t admitted to discovering anything else, fury had shone in his gaze.
A knock came at the door just before it opened to Winter, who wore the same clothing as the day before.
She sighed in relief—he hadn’t returned after leaving to fulfill unknown duties.
The guard outside her door was instructed not to let Sterling see the king if he called on her.
If the order was disobeyed, the prince had vowed to tear the wolf’s spine out through his throat.
Winter didn’t embrace Sterling—he didn’t even look at her. He’d told her that he would defy the moon for her, and now he didn’t seem to want to be near her. Had Valco told him another lie? Did Winter believe it?
“Follow me, and don’t utter a word,” he said and lifted her luggage.
The castle was quiet with only two female servants steadily sweeping the floor downstairs.
Outside, in the brisk autumn breeze, the carriage awaited with Lijah hovering near the horses.
Except for flames from the torches, darkness still cloaked the castle.
It would be at least another hour before the sun rose.
“I told my father if you were going north without me, you’d have to be protected by a guard I trusted. Lijah will drive the carriage and keep you safe, but I’ll ride along to my manor. We’ll part ways there.”
Before Sterling could get out a word, Winter placed the luggage in the back of the carriage while Lijah opened the door for her.
Sterling stepped inside and sank down on the velvet cushion just before Winter sat across from her.
Tense silence filled the space as the horses pulled the carriage forward, their hooves pummeling the earth, mirroring the fast beat of Sterling’s heart.
Why did it feel like she were being led to her death?
Her grandmother had fucked the enemy just as Sterling had.
She’d been a hunter just as Sterling was.
Was her end drawing near? Would she be torn apart in the way her grandmother had been?
No, there was more to this. Winter cared for her in a way the king could never have cared for her grandmother.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Sterling whispered. “What else happened between you and your father?”
Winter leaned back in his seat, his lazy expression forming. “It’s nothing.” Lie. She could see the continuous rage swirling in the sea of blue within his gaze.
Sterling pushed up from the seat and straddled his thighs as the carriage jostled. She lifted his chin so his eyes trained on hers. “Tell me the truth. You have to trust me.”
Winter frowned. “And you have to trust me.”
This prince had shredded her life apart before putting it back together piece by broken piece. He’d allowed her to see her brother, had trusted her to be alone with him and not try to escape.
“Trust has to be earned. What happened with your father?” she asked again. “Be honest with me.”
Winter’s lazy expression vanished from his face as he clenched his teeth. “My father had your grandmother murder my mother. It had nothing to do with her jealousy and everything to do with my father being a vile fuck.”
Sterling’s breath hitched and she blinked. That was not something she was expecting to hear. Why would the king do that? “Did he have her killed so he could be with my grandmother?”
Winter’s arm curved around Sterling’s waist. “No, he’s too selfish to be with one woman. I think because the humans were starting to love my mother and because I loved her. Never my father.”
“The humans in the village still talk about what a good queen she was to this day. My mother liked her very much,” Sterling admitted.
Winter clenched his eyes shut, then brought her face close to his. “No more talking. Just let me fuck you before we get to my manor. Please,” he murmured against her lips.
Sterling could feel his desperation, a desperation that was igniting in her own blood, desire coursing lower.
This was something she could easily give him, to momentarily distract them both.
She unfastened his trousers, and he lifted the skirt of her dress.
She straddled him, and with one upward thrust, he buried himself inside her as she moaned.
Winter gripped her hair while she ground herself against him.
“I want to take you from behind,” he growled, his canines slipping out.
“No one’s stopping you,” Sterling said, her voice husky.
Winter pulled out of her, leaving her aching for his cock again.
He flipped her over so her arms braced on the seat across from them.
He knelt on the seat behind her, holding her hips as she lifted her backside so his length could slide into her heat once more.
He thrust into her, his pace growing wild, their motions more frantic with each passing moment.
Her eyelids fluttered, relishing every stroke of his length against her inner walls until she couldn’t hold back the euphoric cry that escaped her lips.
Winter moved harder, faster, recklessly, proving that he was indeed a Prince of Carnage until a deep groan bellowed up from his throat.
He took two ragged breaths before drawing her onto his lap.
“I’ll miss that,” Winter rasped. “I’ll miss you.”
Sterling stilled and shifted back, but he halted her from crawling from him.
“I’m not killing you if that’s what you think,” he drawled, trailing a finger along her jaw. “I’m freeing you.”
Just as he spoke the words, the carriage halted in front of his looming manor.
Sterling furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t trust my father. You’re not traveling north. You and your brother are getting the fuck out of here. My father will use you against me, and he will use Cyan against you, so I need you both gone while I make everything safe for you.”
There was nothing cozy about what would have to occur for her and Cyan to be safe.
Sterling shook her head. “You can come with us.”
“And not prove to Bloodstorm how wicked I am?”
“Winter.” Sterling’s voice came out tight.
“I need to make sure he doesn’t destroy the human villages more than he already has. More than I have.” He traced the edges of the scar on her cheek. “Besides, if I came with you, do you really believe Nareth would welcome me with open arms?”
Sterling’s eyes widened in surprise. “Nareth?” she gasped.
Winter smirked. “It seems he fell in love with a harlot that I used to visit at the brothel, and they took off together. Unharmed.”
The prince had known where Nareth fled and hadn’t murdered him? “I don’t understand the things you choose to do almost all of the time.”
He shrugged. “Most don’t.”
“Tell everyone in Bloodstorm that your father had your mother killed.”
“It’s not enough.” Winter sighed. “He would blame my mother somehow so that it sounds as if he was right to end her life, and no one will stand up to the king. No one but me. Something I should’ve done long ago.” He placed a finger against her lips. “Now, wait here. I’ll return shortly.”
Sterling was getting everything she’d wanted. Her brother returned to her, a chance at freedom again, and reuniting with her closest friend. But still she warred with herself. It truly wasn’t everything.
Seconds ticked like a clock inside Sterling’s head until the carriage door opened and Winter handed her a bow and a quiver of arrows. Her bow and arrows. The gift that had once been given to her as a child by her grandmother.
“Your grandmother wanted to protect you and your mother. That’s why she stopped seeing my father,” Winter admitted. “However, I still don’t regret my wolves killing her.”
“You don’t have to regret it.” She missed her grandmother dearly, always would, but she shouldn’t have murdered the queen.
The door of the manor opened. Cyan raced outside, Amalli following behind him with a small piece of luggage. He hurled himself past Winter into the carriage and wrapped his arms around Sterling in a tight hug.
“You’re back,” he said.
“Of course.” She smiled.
As Cyan sat down, she faced Winter once more. He captured her lips with his. “Lijah will take you, your brother, and Nareth to an abandoned manor that I secretly purchased long ago in the Shaderain Court. You’ll be safe from my father once you cross the border out of Bloodstorm.”
Sterling swallowed deeply. “How long until I see you again?”
“Wicked princes don’t get happy endings—even if they fall in love.” Winter shut the carriage door. Before Sterling could think properly, the horses took off, and she stumbled back into her seat.
Sterling stared out the carriage window, watching as Winter discussed something with Amalli until they vanished from her sight. Her heart clenched, and a rawness, a vulnerability she didn’t know she had, ignited. It was as if her heart was tearing.
“Prince Winter told me we are going to see Nareth and we won’t be coming back here.” Cyan’s tone wasn’t as joyful as she expected.
It couldn’t possibly be forever unless Winter expected to lose against his father… “Aren’t you happy to see Nareth?” Sterling asked, keeping her voice even so Cyan wouldn’t notice her worry.
Her brother’s shoulders fell. “More than anything, but I’m going to miss Amalli.”
“I’ll miss her too.” Sterling studied him as he tugged two folded sheets of paper from his pocket to work on. Relief washed over her that her brother was free, but there was one missing piece lingering within her, one that she never would’ve thought she held, that belonged to the Prince of Carnage.
The carriage traveled for about an hour before stopping outside a meager cottage nestled in the middle of an emerald forest. A chestnut mare drank from a narrow river near the home.
“Wait here,” Sterling instructed Cyan as Lijah opened the carriage door. She had to be certain her friend was there. More importantly, that the king’s wolves hadn’t uncovered Winter’s plan and gotten here first. The wind rumpled her hair when she nocked an arrow against her bow.
Lijah inhaled the air. “No wolves are here.”
Sterling didn’t lower the bow and kicked the door softly with her foot, just to be certain. “Nareth, it’s me.”
The door opened quickly and Nareth stilled, his eyes on the arrow. “Is that how you reunite with your closest friend?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she set the bow on the ground before throwing her arms around Nareth. He looked the same, only his hair a bit longer. She brushed a finger across his cheek where faint bruises still colored his skin after his fight with Winter weeks ago. “You don’t have any scars.”
“I don’t care about that. You’re here. Alive! And Cyan?”
“I’m here,” Cyan said from behind her.
Sterling didn’t even reprimand her brother as she would’ve before.
Inside, footsteps padded against the wooden floor, and Sterling watched as a pretty brown-haired woman slipped into view.
Sterling recognized her as a customer who’d come into the meat shop every few weeks to purchase jerky.
“This is Jasira,” Naretha introduced. “We used to work together.”
“I remember you.” Sterling smiled and held out her hand to shake. “I’m Sterling.”
“Sterling’s a princess now,” Cyan chimed in. “She married Prince Winter.”
“Prince Winter?” Nareth hissed.
“It’s a long story.” Sterling sighed, then pulled Nareth to the side so only he could hear.
“I know you have a life of your own. One with Jasira. She might not even want this, and same goes for you. But I’m begging you, please watch over Cyan for a little while.
If something happens to me, it could be for much longer.
The carriage will be taking you three to a manor in the Shaderain Court where you no longer need to hide.
I have to help Winter survive so we can unite this court.
Please don’t try talking me out of this. ”
Nareth released a long breath. “You’re my oldest friend, Sterling. Of course I will. Besides, I’m sure Jasira will get along with him well.”
“Thank you, Nareth.”
“Oh, and take the mare. Traveling on foot won’t be fast enough.”
Sterling nodded and walked back to Cyan, placing her hands on his shoulders. “I’m going to have to part ways with you again. I can’t say for how long, but I promise that you’ll be safe with Nareth. You three will be traveling with Lijah outside of Bloodstorm.”
Lijah cleared his throat. “You can’t go back, Your Highness. Winter will have my head.”
“I’ll tell him that I slipped out of the carriage without your knowledge.”
Lijah tightened his lips, but he didn’t argue.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Cyan said, grasping her arm.
“This is bigger than us. You want the humans and wolves of the court united, don’t you? The only way for that to happen is if I make sure the prince doesn’t die.”