Chapter 6 #2
I feel my hands being yanked in front of me and wrapped tightly as my energy shield is ripped from my wrist.
“Please,” I beg, my vision finally clearing.
I can feel my heartbeat throughout my entire body.
My head throbs with every pulse. Here I was, thinking I didn’t need Anders.
The one freaking time. “What are you going to do with me? Kidnapping a royal is an immediate thirty-year sentence, if not banishment to work on one of the moons.”
“Just gag her already,” the one to my left says, ripping the purple material from the one in front of me, who’s on his knees, seething through his pain.
I should scream, but it gets lodged in my throat. When I try, it’s a sob that rips through my lips before the material is shoved into my mouth, making me gag. My feet aren’t tied, and I know they’ll take me if I don’t run.
I’ve never been in so much danger, and right now, all that training I’ve been doing my whole life is telling me to fight back.
I shove my boot at the man in front of me and leap over his kneeling frame, launching into a sprint as soon as I land.
If I can just get beyond this wall, I’m sure there will be students still leaving the dining hall who will see me.
The two men behind me roar as they chase after me. I don’t dare look over my shoulder to see how close they are. I use every ounce of energy and focus to get into the central courtyard.
Thirty feet. I run faster than I have before, thankful I’ve been running every day, and even more thankful I’m wearing pants and not a dress. My boots barely make a sound as I fly across the packed dirt toward the brick paths.
Twenty feet. An arm snaps out, wrapping around my waist and hauling me to him.
It happens so fast, I can’t even process how, but I scream through the material, kicking and flailing as fat tears stream down my cheeks. If they plan to take me, it will not be without a fight. I throw my head back and meet a hard chest.
“Dammit, calm down, Raea,” a male voice barks—and…
and…I pause, my body going completely stiff.
Wait, I recognize that voice. “What the hell is going on here?” he roars, letting me go and pulling the fabric out of my mouth, but he’s talking to the men behind me.
As I turn, I see all three of my attackers now flanked by Cole’s friends.
Cole’s hands are so gentle as he unbinds mine despite the lethal glare sketched across his features.
His blue eyes simmer with icy, unchecked rage as he keeps me close to his side. I inhale his woodsy scent and nearly sob as my adrenaline comes to a screeching halt.
“That bitch deserves to be spaced,” the redhead snarls as he’s shoved to his knees.
My breath hitches, but my head is swimming from the hit, and now my thoughts are stuck on being spaced.
It’s a practice that has been outlawed for over three centuries.
The imperial guard used to take prisoners who couldn’t be forced into work and dump them in space. It was an immediate death sentence.
Cole just cracks his knuckles like he’s imagining cracking their bones. “Take them to the chancellor and tell her to call the Protos to escort them to Treon. She can alert King Bastian—”
“No!” I beg. “No, please. If my parents find out.” I look up into Cole’s bright blue eyes and find how intensely they’re staring back at me. “Please, Cole. They’ll pull me out.” His jaw ticks, reminding me so much of Anders.
An ache settles in my chest, and there’s an unwarranted desire for Anders to be here, which is so damn irrational. But it’s probably because I know this wouldn’t have happened if my grumpy shadow had been here.
Cole’s nostrils flare. “Fine.” He looks up to his friends. “I’ll call Rhoan. He’ll know what to do.” Something in my gut tells me that whatever it is, it won’t be good. The kinder punishment might be sending them to my father.
One of Cole’s friends, I think his name is Luca, slams his fist into the temple of the redhead, knocking him out with a single strike.
The one holding the dark-haired one sends him flying with a kick to his temple.
I grimace and bury my face in Cole’s side.
We might not be friends, but I do feel safe around him.
“Don’t let your friends kill them,” I whimper.
Cole chuckles as he wraps an arm around my shoulders, turning me around so my back is to them. “They won’t. Just need to keep them quiet until Rhoan gets here.”
“And who is Rhoan?” I let him lead me around the corner. To my surprise, the courtyard is empty of all students and staff. Dammit. That means I’m late for class. Not that I should go. My hands are trembling, and my head is still throbbing.
“You don’t want to know. Trust me. For now,” he responds, turning us left and leading me out of the Executive Yard. “We are going to the healers because you tripped and hit your head on the brickwork.” I see his cover for what it is, and I almost let out a sob of relief.
So the asshole’s brother is actually kind and sweet. I nod and let Cole lead me there, not daring to look back or think of who Rhoan is and what he will do to the three students.