Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Thom and I learned early on that anything can burn if you try hard enough. Good thing both of us have fast reflexes.
— From the journal of Violet Andrever
Iwas heading back from the training yard, not really paying much attention to my surroundings, when a man sauntered past me. Accustomed as I was to keeping my head down around the courtiers and the casual way the soldiers had learned to treat me, I thought nothing of it—until he stopped, wide-eyed.
“By the gods, it’s our little princess! I heard you were here.”
I paused. While I was irritated when Griff said it, there was something chilling about the way this man called me princess.
I looked him over, but there was nothing remarkable about him—middling height, decent clothes.
He fit in with everyone else I had seen here, although I didn’t remember meeting him before.
Drawing myself up straight, I schooled my expression into one that I thought a princess would wear. Even though he was taller than me, I was able to look down my nose at him. “I don’t know about little, but yes, I am Lexa Andrever.”
“Where have they been hiding you?” He sneered as he looked over my sweat-stained clothing, clearly comparing it to his immaculate doublet and trousers. “And what in Ignis’s name have they been making you do?” His nostrils flared delicately as he took in my scent.
“None of your business.” I turned to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed my wrist sharply, giving me zero time to react. Hauling me back, he placed me between the wall and him.
“It’s everyone’s business here, little princess. Especially if some country runt like you is to be our next queen.” He ran a finger down my cheek.
“I suggest you think long and hard about your next actions.” I kept my voice calm, striving to keep hidden the panic that had spiked the moment he touched me.
I knew I had made a cardinal error. Cormac’s voice growled in my head—Never turn your back on an enemy.
And now he’d caged me in, leaving me no room to maneuver except through him.
I had no weapons on me. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
All I could do was pray I could position us so that I could take him down hand-to-hand. But he was probably twice my weight.
He blatantly appraised my figure. “Have they been keeping you hidden away because they’re ashamed of you, do you think?”
“Or maybe it’s because they didn’t want to subject me to the likes of you. I am to be the next queen,” I said, fighting to continue to keep my voice calm, “and I have a long memory.”
“Little princess, you think you can threaten me?” He chuckled, and the sound made warning bells clang within me. My mind flashed back to Cormac again—When faced with a man twice your size, your best bet is to get him confident, sure of his ability, and then strip it from him where he stands.
Unfortunately, that was a losing strategy.
His grin spread as I started to edge along the wall, my wrist still in his grasp.
I didn’t wait for him to do anything else before I wrenched myself out of his grasp.
I kicked out at the back of his knee and he went down.
I started to run, but he grabbed a hand around my ankle, and I went tumbling.
Scooting away as fast as my butt could take me, I managed to regain my feet.
My channels, which had been bubbling away in fury, reached a crescendo.
One of them went blasting out of me, and I struggled to contain the rest, to channel them into something I could use.
Unfortunately, that wasted precious seconds, and he was on me again. No longer did he have the sneering face of a courtier—his eyes were black and menacing, face contorted in ugly rage.
“And to think, I’m the one to do it. I will be rewarded above all others.
But first, some fun.” He wrapped a hand around my throat, a burning feeling accompanying his grip.
I raised both of my hands to his arm, attempting to dislodge him, shouting internally for the fire raging inside me to break free.
Finally, it came shooting out of my hands, scorching the flesh on his arm.
Before I could do anything further, his weight was hauled off of me. An audible thwack sounded as his back hit the wall. The sudden release sent me stumbling to the ground, my hands still glowing as if they were embers.
Griff had arrived.
He had one hand out, on the throat of my attacker, pinning him against the same wall I’d been pushed into. Griff’s burning eyes roved over me, assessing instantly that I was shaken but unharmed.
“I should kill you where you stand, you spineless piece of vermin.” Griff’s voice was quiet and lethal, like the whisper of a sword being drawn.
This was not the kind man who’d shown me around and taken the time to ensure my comfort.
This was the Champion incarnate, defender of the princess, doing exactly that.
“How dare you attack the princess, Cillian. How dare you lay a hand on her.”
Running footsteps grew louder, and I hurriedly struggled into a standing position, my entire body shaking as I did so.
If there was another attack, I wanted to be on my feet, even if my fire channel was unreliable and out of control.
Griff either didn’t hear them or ignored them, all of his attention on choking the life out of the man in front of me, fury radiating out of every pore.
The large alcove filled with soldiers. My soldiers. The ones I trained with. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, my heart still pounding against its cage.
“Lord Narvene.” One of them approached sharply. I recognized him as the highest ranking of the bunch. “We heard the call. How can we assist?”
Griff spared a brief glance at me, huddled in the corner, still fighting internally with my powers, before focusing all of his spitting rage back on my attacker.
Making a quick decision, he released him, sending him sprawling before the feet of the guards.
“Take him to the dungeon. I will deal with him later.”
“It is your right as Champion,” the captain reminded him, “to execute traitors on the spot.”
I made an involuntary sound, and Griff’s eyes shot back to me.
“The dungeon,” he repeated.
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers were nothing if not professional. They moved as one, respectfully ignoring me in my corner, my breathing labored, while they took their charge away.
Griff approached me, fury still radiating off of him. “Are you harmed?” His voice was surprisingly gentle.
I had finally gotten my hands to stop glowing, but in a ricochet effect, they were now ice cold and shaking. I tucked them under my armpits, shaking my head at his question, looking at the ground. “Just startled. And—” To my shame, my eyes filled with tears.
He started toward me, but stopped himself. “May I touch you?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, a single tear leaking out.
He put his hands on my shoulders, running them up and down my arms. A comforting warmth flowed in their wake.
I was so cold, which I knew was the shock, both from the attack and from the struggle with my powers; my body craved the warmth he gave off.
I stepped closer to him, and that was apparently the only sign he needed to wrap me in his arms. I shivered, but this time, not from the cold.
One of his hands clasped the back of my head as it nestled against his broad chest, the warmth radiating out of him seeping into my bones.
My racing heart started to slow, responding both to the protection of his arms and the steady thud of his heartbeat under my cheek.
“My powers wouldn’t respond,” I said softly. “I tried. I felt them bubbling, straining to get out. But I couldn’t do anything about them.”
“You got one out. That’s all that matters.”
I raised my head, a question in my eyes, and he released me, his hands sliding down my arms until he caught my hands in his. My still-trembling, ice-cold hands. He cradled them between us, infusing them with his warmth.
“Your soldiers heard your call.” I had no idea what he meant by that, but he continued, “Not everyone here can be trusted. I’ve tried to weed them out, but apparently, I haven’t gotten all of them.”
“It’s not your fault,” I managed to say, my thoughts whirling.
“I am your protector. It is literally my fault.” He sighed and gave me a searching look. “Let’s get you out of here.”
His hand came to my lower back again, a comforting presence as he escorted me back to my rooms without incident. He followed me through the door, shutting it behind him. I looked up at him in surprise. He stood with his back against the door, physically blocking out the rest of the world.
“Princess, you should know that there are…” He paused, searching for the right word. “Factions that seem discontent with the current status quo.”
I sat heavily on the plush couch. “Don’t mince words with me, Griff. Please just tell me honestly.”
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing in front of me.
“Honestly? I don’t know what they want. Are they just pissed at how Zachariah is running the realm?
Convinced that since the crown has been hiding for the past fifty years, it’s fair game to try to usurp power?
Is there something more nefarious at play?
I don’t know and it’s driving me mad. As your protector, and Serentyn’s protector, these are the answers I need and I have no idea where to look. ”
This was the most emotion I’d seen from him. Gone was the composure. Standing before me was a man rattled by his inability to defend against something he couldn’t see. No wonder Griff had passed me off to Kaia the second I got here. He had been terrified something exactly like this would happen.