Chapter 13
Kaed
I was forced to face my faults,
my failures and where I could grow,
“Don’t touch me! Get the hell off me! Where am I? What the motherfuck—”
With the Princess slung over my shoulder like a satchel, I claw at the chains binding my mind with everything I have.
But the spell holds. Reluctantly, I wheel us away from the palace walls that I have not seen for far too long, and towards the rebel camp that has been my prison.
This will be our cage for now, until I wrench us out.
Which I will. Nyk tried to stop me, but if I cannot stop myself, what hope did he have?
Gritting my teeth, I pray to whichever god bothers to listen that he is unharmed and the poison in my smoke will only disarm him for a short time.
My head pounds as I try and try again to fight the vapor Vale doused me with and turn back.
But my treacherous body obeys the commands it received from the traitorous deserter.
Retrieve the Princess by any means necessary. Bring her back here and remove anyone in your way. Do not kiss her. Do not speak. Resist the bond.
The bond. The glorious bond. A beacon of blazing light at the end of a dark tunnel, and my mind races towards it, but I don’t gain an inch.
If I could just reach it. Just touch it.
Just kiss her. But the vapor holds strong.
She flails in my grip, twisting to glare at me.
For a split second, she looks quite like Aiden.
They share the same bronze skin and the same fierce, almost translucent green eyes.
Her sneer mirrors the one the Prince wears in mine and Nyk’s presence.
They likely share the same smile, too. Though I cannot recall the last time I saw a genuine one from him.
Her soul burns with strength despite her state.
Her cheekbones jut sharply, the result of neglecting herself and her jumper has ridden up, exposing her back.
Every knot of her spine stands out beneath skin marred with burn marks.
It’s as if a strong wind might shatter her, and yet, she is anything but fragile.
Dust kicks up when we land in front of the band of cowards.
They take tentative steps back, a few double-checking their face coverings.
But I know exactly who they are. Traitors.
One fool reads from a parchment that shakes in his hands, almost as violently as his voice.
“As you wait for Theron and I to return, read this to— oh erm— Captain, put the Princess in the cell next to yours. Lock her inside, keep the key with you. Then stay in your cell. Do not speak. Do not kiss her. Resist the bond and don’t take your eyes off her.”
I obey, as if another has crawled into my bones.