At the end of the tunnel, I caught a glimpse of a wooden door. I froze at the sight of it, my body refusing to proceed any deeper into the tunnel. Sebastian continued on into the dimly lit underpass, not yet having noticed that I no longer followed him.
I could feel the color draining from my face as a sense of alarm creeped up on me. What if he was taking me to the dungeon until I was needed for battle? Or maybe he was going to cut my gems from my skin, like in the fable.
Those weren't the most rational fears, but I wasn't going any further. Absolutely not.
Sebastian looked over his shoulder. He noticed my hesitation and turned back. “Come on,” he urged.
My voice trembled with the increasing angst that had captivated me. “I'm actually not feeling that well, so I think I'm just going to go back to my dorm and rest before the gala,” I lied and slowly backed up, not taking my eyes off of him. I had been foolish to put any amount of trust in this man. I didn't know anything about him aside from his bloodline—which wasn't something to put faith in. And if what the king said about my gift was true, I needed to keep my guard up at all times, even with my supposed bodyguard.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at me. “You just said you were starving.” His voice hinted at his confusion.
My muscles were tense and I tried to hide the shaking of my legs as I backed further away from him. “I'm not anymore.”
Sebastian took a singular step towards me, and I flinched, the fear I suddenly had for him controlling every movement my body made. He sighed, stepping back when he recognized my apprehension towards him. “Just wait here.”
He turned from me and started back down the tunnel. My body relaxed the moment he vanished through the wooden door.
I put one foot back on the staircase. Now was my chance to run if I wanted to. I had no idea what was beyond that door. For all I knew, there could be more soldiers waiting to chain me up in a dark vault. Though I had no reason to suspect that of Sebastian, I decided not to take any chances.
I bolted up the staircase as fast as the weakness in my legs would allow me. I kept a grip on the rail to steady myself as I ran—my hunger combined with the rapid use of energy caused me to feel light-headed, and now would not be a good time to take a tumble down the stairs.
I powered through the dizziness, continuing to climb until I reentered the corridor. I ignored a few bewildered looks as I rushed through the hall, not stopping until I reached the door. I pushed the cement slab open with all of my force and burstthrough. I was sweating as soon as the raw heat of summer hit me, but relief filled me once my feet touched the grass.
Panting from the exertion I just put on my body, I hunched over, setting my hands on my knees as I took a moment to catch my breath. When I could breathe again, I straightened my torso and found myself face to face with the king's head soldier.
Damn, he's fast.
And he looks pissed.
He held a small satchel which he shoved into my hands. Then he grasped my wrist and dragged me to the side of the tower, out of sight from any bystanders.
“Let go,” I spat, flailing my arm.
His eyebrows snapped together. “I'm trying to be patient with you, because I know you are having a difficult time with everything. But what happened back there cannot happen again.” His voice was commanding through his gritted teeth.
I glared at him and tried to shake my wrist free of his grip, but he tightened his hand around me, causing a sharp pain to radiate up my arm.
“I don't need you to protect me,” I testified, ripping my arm away with such strength that his fingers were forced to unlock.
I tried to put some space between us, but he stepped forward, backing me into the wall of the tower. He put his hands against the wall above my head and leaned forward, putting his face close to mine.
“Do you think Iwantto be your protector?” he snarled. “Do you think I want to spend my time chasing after you and making sure you aren't taken hostage or killed? I’m a soldier, not a damn babysitter,” he growled in my face.
My mouth settled into a hard line. The termbabysittercaused a slight sting in my chest, but I swallowed the feeling.
“Then don't.”
Sebastian's jaw ticked. “You think I have a choice aboutthis? Believe me, there are a million other things I’d rather be doing,” he contested.
“Oh, poor you,” I drawled.
His mouth squeezed shut, and I could tell he was trying not to explode.
“If anyone gets to complain about not having a choice here, it's me,” I added.
Sebastian blew out a deep sigh. He didn't break our eye contact as he slid his hands from the wall, setting me free from the cage of his arms.
“My job is to keep you safe. I know you're not happy about it, but too bad—neither am I.” He paused to grind his jaw. “I don't need to be by your side all hours of the day, but at the very least, I need to know where you are. Running away without a word of where you're going won't fly with me.” Without another word, he turned his back to me and strode away.
