Page 67 of The Crowned Queen

For a few seconds, Araya didn’t move. She stayed exactly as she was, hunched beneath the blanket. Her head spun, her heart pounding like it would escape the cage of her ribs. Relief warred with terror, part of her still waiting for him to come back through the tent flap and finish what he started.

But he didn’t. Not yet, at least.

Araya curled up into a ball, the blanket still clutched to her chest. She had survived Kaldrath. But she didn’t know if she could survive this.

Alone in Jaxon Shaw’s tent, Araya pressed her forehead to her knees and let herself sob.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

She must have fallen asleep there, curled up into a ball in Jaxon Shaw’s bed—because the next time Araya opened her eyes, Caylin Pryce was standing over her.

The human woman stared down at her, her face blotchy and her eyes red-rimmed, like she’d been crying for hours. The corners of her mouth trembled, but when she spoke her voice was venomous.

“Well this is no surprise,” she said. “Did he even change the linens between us?”

“Caylin—” Araya sat up slowly, every survival instinct she had urging her to put as much space between her and this woman as possible. “This isn’t what you think.”

“Isn’t it?” Caylin demanded.

Her hand snapped out, fast and vicious, catching Araya by the arm and yanking her forward. The blanket dropped, cold air rushing over Araya’s bare skin.

Caylin laughed.

“You can’t lie, halfblood,” she sneered. “Go ahead, say he didn’t toss me aside for you.”

Araya couldn’t.

“He doesn’t love me,” Araya said instead, the words spilling over each other in her haste to get them out. “He just wants my power. Do you think I wanted this?” Her breath hitched. “He’s not a good man, Caylin. He never was. You’re better off⁠—”

Caylin slapped her.

Araya’s head snapped to the side, the taste of blood blooming across her tongue. Her ears rang from the force of it, her heart suddenly galloping in her chest. Her hands were still in iron. She couldn’t fight back. And running—she wouldn’t make it ten steps before Caylin was on her.

“This isn’t about love you stupid halfblood bitch.” Caylin’s chest heaved, her eyes wild. “It’s about knowing your place—” she yanked, dragging Araya off the cot and throwing her to the floor. “And you are in mine.”

Araya hit the ground hard, crying out as fresh pain blazed through her newly-healed ribs. She tried to scramble to her feet, but Caylin was already there. Araya gasped, her scalp screaming as the human woman dragged her up by her hair.

She hauled Araya through the tent flap, past the startled guards. Bright daylight blinded Araya, the noise of the camp falling suddenly silent as Caylin dragged her down the main thoroughfare. Her dress sagged, the torn back gaping open—but it was all Araya could do to keep up with Caylin’s brutal pace, sharp stones biting into her bare feet with every step.

“Caylin, stop,” Araya tried, biting back a cry as her ankle twisted. “Jaxon won’t like this. He’ll be angry⁠—”

“Fuck Jaxon Shaw,” Caylin snarled, shoving her hard.

Araya went down on her hands and knees. Gravel tore into her palms, the impact jarring her healing ribs so badly her vision went white. She scrambled to pull herself up, trying to stand before Caylin could⁠—

A boot slammed into her side, knocking her back down.

“This is your fucking place, you stupid halfblood whore,” Caylin said, her voice ringing out in the sudden silence. “And I’m going to make sure you never forget it again.”

People were staring now. Soldiers abandoned their cook fires and their work, gathering in a knot around them. Everyone recognized Jaxon Shaw’s pet fae by now, and the inquisitor responsible for the screams that echoed across camp. Surely one of them would do something⁠—

Leather rasped against leather, the soft, sinuous swish of the lash cutting through the air. Araya’s breath froze in her lungs, cold terror pinning her to the spot. They’d whipped the children who tried to run at Kaldrath. The lucky ones only got a handful of lashes, but the ones who tried more than once…they hung what was left of them from the gates as a warning to the rest of them.

Araya doubted she could count herself among the lucky with Caylin Pryce.

“Master Pryce,” one of the soldiers said hesitantly. “Does Commander Shaw⁠—”