Page 67 of Queen of War and Ruin

I drop my head, like I’m embarrassed, and shuffle forward.

“I was engaged to Prince Laurance,” I say.

Someone gasps. I hear the words whore and started the war and pretend I didn’t. My hands twist together at my waist.

“I think he…” I begin. “The prince, that is. I⁠—”

I clear my throat, then take another step toward the big guard.

“Laurance threatened my husband,” I say. “I told Zarek I wanted to leave. Tonight.”

The guard chuckles, low and deep. He takes a step toward me. I force myself to stand up straight and ignore the desperate urge to glance at the stall behind me. The tiny stall where my brother and his wife are sitting in the straw, their backs to the wall, holding their breath.

I looked at Elrick just before I stood up, and I whispered one word.

Go.

“Lady,” the guard says, “you’re not going anywhere.”

The rest of the men laugh at this. Someone grabs Zarek’s arm. He hardly seems to notice. His face is suddenly pale, like he’s about to faint. I sniff, then step toward the guard.

“And why is that?” I ask, remembering the casual arrogance in Zarek’s voice when he led the guard away from our room. “Are you saying we aren’t free to leave the palace of Ethiria? Do you mean to treat me like a prisoner?”

The guard steps back, his smile faltering. I follow him, leading him away from the stall where my brother is hiding.

“There’s a fucking army on that road,” the guard growls, seeming to regain some of his composure. “No one is going anywhere tonight.”

I frown at him, trying to look as royal as possible. “An army? How would that affect us?”

The guard clenches his jaw. “I’m saying, my lady, that it’s not safe. You need to come with us. For your own protection.”

His hand drops to the sword at his waist, and his unspoken threat hangs heavy in the gloom inside the stables. I sniff again.

“Very well,” I say. “It’s not like you’re leaving us with many options.”

With that, I walk past the guard, leaving him scrambling behind me. My heart races inside my chest, and every muscle in my body pulls tight, waiting for someone to scream, to announce they found something, that there’s someone else here.

Finally, I’m standing on the hard cobblestone of the courtyard, staring at the line of torches making their slow descent down the mountains. It’s like a river of fire, slowly dripping down the mountain’s flanks.

Gods, they must have been right behind us when we crossed the mountains. I shiver in the darkness, remembering how we picked over the rough pass to avoid the Dragon Mine. The guard barks something to the soldiers huddling around us, and some of them scurry off. But most of them are frozen in place, staring at the glowing line of torches making its way toward the palace.

“This way,” the guard growls.

He leads us through the palace doors, which are now wide open. Several maids stand in the doorway, not even pretending to do anything but stare at the mountain with open mouths. The guard pushes past them, grumbling, then pulls one of his men aside and mutters something under his breath.

“Uh, of course,” the man replies. His neck bobs as he swallows. “I mean, yes, sir.”

The big guard rolls his eyes and stomps off, swallowed by the darkness inside the castle. The man turns to us with wide eyes.

“I’ll, uh, take you to your room?” he says, with a glance through the open doors. His voice rises as he speaks, making it sound like a question.

When we reach the fourth floor, I worry the guard will say something about checking on Prince Elrick. I open my mouth, trying to think of something I could say to distract him, but he just pushes our door open and waves his hand inside. There’s a strange look on his face, like his mind is somewhere else. Voices drift up from the stairwell; it sounds like a group of people on the floor below us are having one hell of an argument.

I step back into our room and try not to stare at the wine stain on the carpet. Zarek follows me. The door slams closed behind him. I walk to the window and stare through the darkness, imagining I can see the western gate. And Elrick riding through it, following the river.

Finding a safe way out of here.

Footsteps cross the floor. I turn to see Zarek standing next to me with a dark look on his face.