Chapter 12 #2
Holding the fish between her teeth, the dog stopped at the edge of the tall grass and looked back at me.
My heart leaped with hope.
“Do you want me to come with you?”
I walked after her. Instead of jumping into the creek as she normally did when leaving, the dog ran along the bank, looking back at me every now and then, as if making sure I followed her.
“You’re such a smart dog aren't you?” I praised, trying to keep up with her pace. “You know I’m better at walking than swimming, don’t you? Are you taking me to see your babies? Because I’d love to meet them very much.”
I followed her around the bend of the creek when she suddenly stopped and lifted her head, sniffing the air.
“What is it, girl?”
She dropped the fish and growled. This time, it was a loud, threatening sound that sent a spear of alarm through me.
I grabbed the bow from my shoulder and reached for an arrow in the quiver on my back, looking around in search of any danger.
A twig crunched, and I spun around.
A massive wild boar was digging under the roots of a nearby oak tree. Its brown-and-orange hide blended well into the autumn forest. But the bright yellow bristle ridge on the back of its neck was easy enough to spot through the underbrush.
“Let’s get out of here,” I whispered to the water dog, taking slow, careful steps along the creek bank.
The boar raised its head. His beady eyes found me. With a loud snort, he lunged into an attack.
“Ah!” Air rushed from me in a gush.
Only a few weeks ago, I’d be frantically looking for a tree to climb to save my hide.
But that was weeks ago. Now, I widened my stance, dug my heels into the moss, nocked my arrow, and pulled the string, taking aim.
I couldn’t possibly miss from the distance this short. But one arrow wouldn’t fell a boar.
I released it quickly. It hit the animal in its shoulder while I already nocked another arrow, then released it too before jumping out of his path.
With a growl, my water dog leaped onto the boar’s back, sinking her teeth into his neck. He stooped, snorting, and I shot the third arrow, right into the boar’s eye. He crashed onto his side, his hooves digging deep grooves in the moss.
“Yay!” I shouted triumphantly, raising my bow over my head. “We did it, honey!”
The dog suddenly leaped away from the boar and jumped into the creek, leaving me and even her dropped fish behind.
“Where are you going?” I turned after her.
The boar had been defeated. The danger was gone. Why did she leave? Did I scream too loud, scaring her?
An arrow suddenly embedded into the dead boar’s side with a thud. It was not one of my arrows made from plain wood and goose feather fletching. This one was black with fancy purple turkey feathers.
Dread seized my limbs as I slowly turned around.
“Reizon.” The name fell from my lips like a lead weight.
He grinned at me, stepping from around a tree trunk and lowering his bow. “I’m thrilled to find you alive, my princess, and honored to save you from the beast.”
I darted a quick glance around, searching for an escape. But Reizon’s people appeared from the bushes, coming closer to surround us.
My heart thudded frantically. I knew Reizon and his army were in the Wetlands, but I didn’t expect for him to find me.
“I killed the boar,” I bristled at his audacity. “Me and my dog. I don’t need you to save me from anything,”
He scoffed, throwing his hands up dramatically. “As usual, there is no gratitude from you. What could I expect? After everything I’ve done for you, you cruelly stabbed me through my loving heart and left me to die.”
“Sadly, I missed your heart by quite a bit,” I snapped. “Or you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
He flinched, rubbing his right shoulder where the wound from my dagger must’ve healed well enough for him to use the bow and arrow now.
“Oh, my cruel, cold-hearted princess,” he bemoaned. “I’ve come all this way, searching for you.”
“You shouldn’t have. In fact, I’d be very grateful if you just left me alone.” I tried to keep my voice steady, hiding both my fear and my anger.
As usual, he paid no attention to my words or my wishes.
“You have no idea what I went through, looking for you, Khala, thinking you might’ve been eaten by some swamp creature or killed by one of the savages living in these lands.
And how do I finally find you?” He squinted at me, running a long, assessing gaze down my body.
“By gods, what are you wearing? Is that a wool dress?”
“My clothes are none of your business.” Clutching my bow in one hand, I smoothed the skirt of my dress with the other.
Reizon paused his gaze on the green ribbon in my hair.
“You would never wear anything so tacky in my palace.” he smirked. “And is that a hunting bow you have? Is the orc forcing you to provide for yourself?”
Blood ran cold in my veins. How did he know about Grat?
“How did you find me? What have you done to Grat?” I already feared the answer.
Reizon’s handsome features crumbled into a grimace, as if he’d bitten into a lemon at the sound of Grat’s name.
“Grat,” he repeated, squeezing the syllable through his teeth. “What a repulsive name, and it suits him so perfectly.”
“If you did something to him…” I seethed. “If you hurt him in any way, Reizon, run. Leave here and never come back. Because Grat’s clan will never forgive you. I will never forgive you either.”
I clutched my bow so hard, my hand cramped. But the bow was of no use when Reizon came so close to me, I could feel his breath on my face.
“Don’t tell me you care about that ugly orc, Princess,” he hissed. “About that animal.”
My blood boiled from indignation for Grat.
“That ‘ugly orc’ is ten times more of a man than you could ever be,” I retorted.
He blinked, looking momentarily stunned.
“Are you…fucking him, Khala? Do you actually prefer a green cock?” He curved his lips in disgust, then raised his hands quickly. “No. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. You’ll make me sick. I fear I may throw up just at the thought of you getting naked for him.”
I itched to throw in his face how much I loved getting naked for Grat, but a small desperate hope that I could still reason with him somehow lingered inside me and if so, it wouldn’t be wise to antagonize him.
With a hard swallow, Reizon seemed to be trying to collect himself too. He assumed his usual haughty expression.
“I forgive you,” he declared, returning to his pompous tone.
“Out of my great love for you, I’m willing to overlook your betrayal and even your infidelity.
” He spoke loud enough for all his guards to hear him.
“I just want my wife back. I thought the orc stole you. I came here to liberate you, Your Highness. I heard you scream in anguish—”
“I screamed in triumph, Reizon. I got a boar, I successfully defended myself, and I celebrated with a cheer. I wasn’t calling for help. I don’t need to be rescued. I’m happy here, just the way I am.”
He flinched, tossing another disgusted look at my clothes. “You can’t possibly be happy living like this. How can a princess choose a swamp over a palace?”
“The choice is easy. I’m choosing freedom over a cage. I’m staying. The best you can do now is leave.”
The look in his eyes hardened. He flexed his jaw, grabbing my arm. “Oh, I’ll leave, Khala. I can’t wait to leave this wet, cold, gods-forsaken swamp. But I’m not leaving without you.”
“I’m not coming with you.” I jerked on my arm in a futile attempt to free it.
“You’re my wife,” he snapped with a scowl.
I shook my head with a short, humorless laugh. “I never agreed to be your wife. I wasn’t even present during the wedding ceremony you orchestrated. I never said yes to anything you did to me. In fact, I’ve been saying no for many years. But of course the word ‘no’ never meant anything to you.”
He curled his lips in disdain.
“The decade of widowhood has not been good for you, Khala. Look what you’ve become without the firm hand of male guidance. Without me, you’ll die alone as an old, obstinate shrew.”
The years of widowhood have given me a chance to learn who I was as a person and what kind of future I wished to have. Now I knew with certainty I didn’t want a man like Reizon, and I absolutely didn’t need his “male guidance.”
“You don’t love me, Reizon. You don’t care about me. You don’t even know me at all. All I am for you is just a stepping stone on the way to the Crown of Avilet.”
He jerked his head, tossing a glance at his guards over his shoulder.
“Leave us!” he barked, gesturing for them to go, and my heart sank with dread.
As intolerable as Reizon was with me in public, he became outright dangerous in private. Sending his guards away meant he was planning to do things to me he didn’t want to have witnesses for.
“Reizon…” I pleaded. “Please, leave the Wetlands. Go back to your estate. Be the duke you were born to be. Your plan for the crown will never work, anyway. The Avilet Kingdom already has a king.”
“An old, feeble, and dying one,” he scoffed.
“But he has a healthy legitimate heir.”
“Who is about to get married and probably have children who then would move your place in the succession line further away from the throne,” he retorted.
“Khala, you have to realize that my chance to act is now. I’ve planned this for many years.
Everything is ready to move ahead. And here I am, wasting my time in this gods-forsaken shit hole because you decided to play hide-and-seek on a whim. ”
“You hurt me,” I squeezed through my throat.
The painful memories of his rough hands holding me down and his hard knee forcing my legs open rushed through my mind with a dizzying sensation.
“I simply consummated our marriage.” He brushed my words aside with a sweeping gesture.
“I did what I had to do for our union to become legitimate. You fail to understand the importance of it, Khala. You fight me at every step, making everything that much more difficult. You have to realize that your resistance only makes things worse for you as well. I can’t deal with your childish outbursts.
I have far more important things to accomplish, and I’m running out of time.
The crown prince is getting married. If his bride is more fertile than you, the next royal heir will be born soon, and I’ll have that many more obstacles to overcome. ”
“You mean more people to kill,” I corrected gravely.
He gave me an unimpressed look. “It’s not like you care about your uncle or your cousin.”
I’d hardly spoken to either the king or the crown prince. After the king had approved my marriage match thirteen years ago, I hadn’t even seen him. But I wasn’t going to assist Reizon in their murder.
“You’ll never be the king, Reizon. I sent a letter to King Belin right after Roland’s funeral, warning him about your plans.”
His face paled.
“You did no such thing,” he gasped.
“Oh yes, I did. And I know he received it, because I got his reply thanking me for my loyalty just before you dragged me out of the High Lord’s estate.”
He grabbed my throat, losing all his decorum.
“You’re lying. Vengeful little witch.”
Fear exploded through me like a dark cloud, but I gripped his hand and squeezed through my teeth, “The king’s letter is in my silver jewelry box. This sham of a marriage was for nothing. No matter what you do to me now, you’ll never be the king.”
He drew his sword.
“You stupid wench. I would’ve made you the queen. I would’ve given you a life of luxury, power, and splendor.”
He pinned me by my neck to the tree. Struggling for breath, I clawed at his arm to no avail.
“Stay in this swamp forever then, if you so wish. Dead.” He raised his sword, pressing the tip to my chest.
I wasn’t ready to die. For the first time in my life, I felt excitement for my future instead of dread.
The word “no” never meant anything to Reizon, but I yelled it anyway, as loud as I could with his hand crashing my windpipe.
“No!”
I stabbed two fingers of my right hand into his gorgeous gray-blue eyes as hard as I could.
He howled in pain. His hand with the sword jerked, the blade slicing down my belly.
A terrifying growl came from behind Reizon. A wild predator’s jaws opened wide. And a set of blade-sharp teeth closed around Reizon’s neck.