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“Holy gods,” he murmured, and I clenched my shaking hand around my father’s dagger. “The Blood queen has no idea…”
I didn’t let him finish his sentence. I slammed my dagger backward and connected it with his thigh. He roared in pain, but he was caught off guard enough that his grip slipped from my hair. I fell to my knees in front of him before quickly pushing up on my hands and trying to scurry away as quickly as I could.
The man reached for me, jerking one of my ankles until I slammed back to the ground on my stomach. I groaned at the pain, but dug my fingernails into the forest floor.
“Drop your hands from her now.” I looked up as Evren pushed through the trees and headed in my direction. The look on his face was murderous, but blood trailed down his temple and along his cheek.
The man didn’t loosen his hold on me. Instead, he said, “My prince.” Two words were all he was allowed before Evren’s smoke soared through the air and launched into the soldier’s chest.
His hand gripped my ankle roughly as a gurgled groan left his throat. I looked behind me just as he leaned forward, his other hand going to his chest, and he ripped at his shirt as if he could fight against Evren’s power.
I cried out as the weight of him slammed into me, pressing me harder against the ground, and I tried to scurry out beneath him. My fingers screamed in pain as I dug my nails into the earth as tears streamed down my cheeks, but then Evren was there.
He groaned hard and raw as he pushed the man off me, and I quickly climbed to my knees and slammed into his chest as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
“Shh.” He ran his hand over my hair, and I winced in pain but didn’t stop him. “It’s over.”
“The others?” I barely recognized my voice as I clung to him harder.
“Dead.”
“What?” I pulled away from Evren quickly, and he winced at the movement.
“The Blood Court soldiers are dead.”
“And ours?” I asked even though I didn’t want to know the truth. I wasn’t sure I could handle it.
“Jorah is the only one still alive.”
I reached forward, touching my fingers to Evren’s temple, and he recoiled. The injury looked relatively mild, but blood poured from the wound and down his handsome face.
“You need care.”
“I’m fine, princess.” He lifted his hands and ran them over my face. He touched every inch of my skin, his fingers trailing delicately. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Not really.” But I was lying. I could feel the areas where my hair was ripped from my scalp already drying with my blood, and my body ached with every move I made.
“Princess, I…” His gaze searched my face as he searched for the words to say. “I’ve never been more frightened in all my life. I thought he would kill you.”
He swallowed hard, and I tried to catch my breath as his words slammed into me. “But you saved me.”
“I allowed them to hurt you.” He shook his head as guilt filled his eyes.
“Evren.”
“Let’s find Jorah.” He pressed his hands under my arms and helped me stand before climbing slowly to his own feet without meeting my eyes. He was just a step behind me when I heard his deep groan, and he collapsed to his knees.
“Evren!” I reached for him as he hunched forward and pressed his hand to his abdomen. Blood coated his fingers instantly, and I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed it before. “Jorah!” I screamed for him as Evren fell to his side and took a deep breath.
“I told you I was fine, princess.” He grimaced, and I slowly lifted his hand and pulled it away from his wound.
“You are far from fine.” I quickly unbuttoned his black shirt before pulling it away from his skin, and I gasped as I saw the size of his wound. There was a clean slice against his stomach, longer than my entire dagger, and blood poured from the wound rapidly.
“Fuck.” Jorah fell to his knees at my side, and I could see the fear in the normally stoic guard’s eyes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“What do we do?” I lifted my trembling fingers over Evren’s wound, but I had no idea how to help him.
Part of an arrow still protruded from his shoulder, but I couldn’t focus on that when I was looking at his stomach.
