“It’snice to meet you,LadyPallas.”
Forcenturies,I’dhardened my heart.Iwasn’t meant for much in this life and most days, allIclung to was the idea of survival and the hope thatImight somehow outlive this situation.Ihad long ago given up the thought of escape or happiness.Ibelonged toHadeon, andIwasn’t worth anything without that possession.Butmaybe these last weeks without him had allowed a fatal flaw in the armor to crack open.
Onelook from those kind grey eyes and my heart split.Hedid not know what was coming or whatHadeonwould put him through.Idid.Ihad long ago given up on myself, but the thought of this boy going through whatIhad scraped open woundsIthought long plastered over.
“It’snice to meet you too,PrinceJun.”
“What’sthat?”Junsnapped me out of my musings, pointing out at the sea.Isquinted.Throughthe mist,Icould just make out a ship.Iwaved my arms and tried to hop up and signal them, butJunheld me back with surprising strength.Hisface was like stone.
Ilooked again and saw the purple sail of the ship materialize through the fog.Theflaming crown etched in gold seemed to burn as the wind whipped the sails.Hadeon’ssoldiers.Mysaviors and my nemesis.Iwas at a crossroads, unsure which pathIwould take.WouldIchoose my abuser orTori’s?Anddespite centuries of pain, a part of me still longed to run back toHadeon, to face his wrath, if only becauseIunderstood that path.Iknew what would come.Withthe commander andTori, everything was uncertain.Jun’sgrip shook around my hand.Ihad a choice to make.
Chapter 9
Tori
AvlynandIwere trying out a crack in the cliff to see if we could traverse it until the sight ofPallaswaving her arms in my peripheral caught my attention.Isnapped around to see what she was looking at, and my stomach sank at the sight of theCourtofFlamesvessel.
Islid down the cliff toAvlyn’sside, and they pulled the dagger out of their belt.
“Don’tlove our odds with one dagger between us.”Itried to make it sound lighthearted but failed.
Avlyn’slips were set in a thin line. “I’mmore concerned about her,” they were looking atPallas, who had stopped trying to signal the ship, but it was too late.Itwas headed straight for us. “She’san unknown.Idon’t like unknowns.”
“Wecan’t let them findAbraxas.Heis defenseless.”Iballed my hands into fists; they felt hollow without a sword.
Avlynnodded their head in agreement.Itlooked like fighting was our only option. “Gotany good ideas,Princess?”
“No, butIdo have a stupid one.”
Theship had nearly reachedthe shore by the timeImade it back toPallasandJun.
“Whatare we going to do,Tori?”Mybrother was shaking, and not from the cold.
Iknelt down in front of him but looked only atPallas. “JunsaysIcan trust you.Proveit.Helpus.”
Shewas silent; we didn’t have time for this.Iwas about to turn back toAvlynwhenIheardJunwhisper, “Ican’t go back there,Pallas.”Ipractically saw her resolve at his words.
“It’sstupid to trust me.Icould easily turn on you.Thoseare my men out there.”Shewasn’t wrong.That’swhat made this a stupid idea.Butshe had helped us, helped me, already.Ididn’t understand her motives, butIthought back to when we were at that party inXyr.Forjust a moment,Ihad seen her shell crack.Perhapsthat was the person for whomJuncared so deeply.
“Ihave a feeling those men don’t belong to anyone butHadeon.Andthe truth is, you don’t.”Somethingflashed so fast through her expression thatIalmost missed it.Istood and reached my hand out to her. “I’masking.Helpus.”
Shereached out her hand, butIgripped her forearm the wayIdid every other soldier to help her rise.Shemet my eyes and nodded.
“Good.Besides, if you betray us,I’llmake sure you don’t leave this beach alive.”
Asmall boatwas launched to the shore with six fully armored soldiers, not good odds.Ihad to hope they weren’t all fae.Whoknew how many were still on the ship?Iwould worry about that later.
IheldPallasin front of me, my arm locked around her neck.AvlynheldJun, dagger pressed to his throat.
“Alittle tight,Tori,” she mumbled.
“Ihave to make it believable,Pallas.”Shegrunted at that.
Thesoldiers disembarked, and one moved ahead of the others.Undoubtedly, he was the leader.Heremoved his helmet, revealing a shaved head.Hislong fae ears were clearly visible.Fuck.
Heraised an eyebrow. "What'sthe meaning of this?"
Avlyn, their dagger still pressed againstJun'sthroat, sneered, "Abit of leverage, soldier.Youwouldn't want harm to befall the prince, would you?"
