Great Escape #2
Cole examined me for a moment as if he were really looking at me for the first time. He smiled and bowed at the waist flamboyantly. “I beg your forgiveness, My Queen. I never meant to offend you. I will be more careful from now on not to take any liberties with you.”
My eyes narrowed at his flippant words. “You dare to mock me right now?” I asked, feeling my temper beginning to rise even higher.
Upon hearing my response, Cole glanced up at me to see if I was being serious.
When he saw my expression, he stood up and looked me in the eyes, the friendly mask falling away.
“Well, I’m glad to see that our soon-to-be queen isn’t a little mouse, after all.
This was all a test. I wanted to see if you were a person who is easily swayed by sweet words. ”
Angry at my emotions being manipulated by this man and now seeing his true nature, I was done talking.
I’d had just about all I could deal with tonight, and if pushed again, I couldn’t be held accountable for my actions.
Mustering up all the good ladylike manners I had left at this point, I tried to make my exit.
“It’s late, I’m tired, and I would love nothing else than for this conversation to be over. Besides, I’m planning on saving Vasin myself, so your help isn’t needed. So if you could step aside, I’m going into my room and closing the door behind me.”
“Is that right? All by yourself? That would be a big feat for a little mouse.”
I brushed past him, trying to shove him to the side, but he grabbed my shoulder to stop me once again from entering my room.
I swung around, slapping his hand away from me, and the next moment, I was holding that glowing bow of pure energy, nocked and drawn.
Upon seeing the bow, he took a few steps back, holding up his hands in surrender.
“Now would not be a good time to make me even angrier,” I said in a calm, steady voice.
“So it’s true. You do possess the ancient Birthright of queens past. I have no choice but to acknowledge that you, of all people, will become our queen.” With that, he kneeled, bowing his head.
“Why do you keep going on about me being a queen? I am the farthest thing from a queen.” I huffed.
Cole looked up at me. “True as that may be, I know you were listening in the library. Ballard explained it to your father. Your pair-bond with the black dragon, combined with the Birthright of the queens of old, shows that you’re indeed our new queen. That’s good enough for us simple folks.”
“So, what? Now you steal me away to rule over the treacherous mercenaries?”
“Pretty much, but we have to save your dragon first. Let’s just hope you’re worth the chaos this is going to cause. If we lose any men over trying to bring back a traitor’s daughter, then the dragon got it wrong.”
I raised my brows at his words and crossed my arms, anger seeping from me. Seeing my reaction, he stalked over to me, invading my personal space, and looked me up and down.
“I see I’ve managed to offend you, fair lady. Get used to it because your life as a proper young noble is over. Welcome to the clan. I hope you adjust fast enough to survive because we leave the weak ones in the dust.” With that, he grabbed hold of my dressing gown and ripped it off me.
I shrieked and flinched away from him, waiting for the next blow to land on me. When nothing else happened, I peeked out from behind my hands to see Cole no longer standing in front of me. I turned to find him out on the balcony tying my gown and sheets together to make a rope.
“We’re going to climb down from the balcony, and that coat would have gotten in the way. Tie your dress and hurry up or I’ll toss your royal ass over,” he said as he worked, not looking at me.
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Try me, little mouse. I have a job to do, and you’re not going to stop me.”
I shook myself from my fear of being hit and straightened my shoulders. I couldn’t believe I showed Cole I was afraid of him.
“All right. Everything’s ready,” Cole announced. “I’ll climb down first, and you follow after me. The rope doesn’t make it all the way to the ground, but it’s just a short fall. I think you’ll manage.”
I walked to the edge and looked over. I’d never really thought it was that far up, but I did now. I watched as Cole simply slid down the makeshift rope and landed lightly in the courtyard. Now it was my turn.
Taking a few deep breaths, I climbed over the railing and grabbed hold of the sheet, clutching the stone tightly as I tried to wrap my legs around the sheets.
When I felt as ready as I could, I let go of the railing and slowly made my way down.
Almost to the end, I felt the sheets loosen, and I looked up just in time to see the knot around the railing untie.
I came crashing down, landing in a heap, the sheet rope scattering around me.
I groaned as I sat up. Slowly, I stood and brushed off the dirt from my clothes, glaring at Cole, who was laughing under his breath, holding his stomach as he tried to keep from bursting into full-blown guffaws.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to work on that,” Cole said, trying to pull himself together.