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He was her enemy.
Alyn glanced at Kallie, then turned his attention back to the red-headed woman. He dismissed her, ignored Kallie. Pretended as though he had not spent the past eight years in her guard.
Had it all been an act? Had his kindness been a lie?
Kallie wanted to stab him. She wanted to rip her dagger from Graeson's smug hands and stab Alyn in the back like he had done to her. She wanted to strike him in the chest, tear his heart from his body like he tore Myra's from hers, like he tore Kallie's trust from her.And when she stabbed him, there would be no returning from that wound.
She was done sitting on the wayside.
Kallie rammed her shoulder into Graeson's stomach and slithered from his grip. Alyn's eyes grew wide as she stormed forward and shouted, "You bastard!"
She shoved her bound hands into his chest. Graeson's grip on her arm returned, but he didn't pull her away. And Alyn stared back at her, emotionless, unbothered.
"This isallyourfault, isn't it? How could you do this? How could you let this happen? Wetrustedyou. I trusted you. Myratrusted you." At the sound of Myra's name, his jaw flexed—the only reaction to surface from her words. Kallie hoped his feelings toward her handmaiden had not been fabricated as well.
Alyn's eyes scanned over the small crowd and swallowed.
No one moved. No one made a sound as Kallie stared the traitor down.
But he wasn't a traitor to them. He puffed up his chest. "How couldIdo this? You know nothing, Kalisandre," he spat out her name as if it was venom on his tongue. "I've watched you in that marble palace you call home for years as you ignorantly followed the commands of your so-called king. But you don't even know—"
Graeson stepped in front of her and pushed Alyn back with his palm. “That's enough, Armen.”
Alyn breathed heavily as Graeson towered over Kallie's former captain.She had never seen Alyn—no,Armenfrazzled or angry. He had always been level-headed. Calm, collected.
"I saidenough," Graeson hissed.
Alyn's gaze flicked from Graeson to Kallie then to the crowd that surrounded them. Everyone had stopped their conversations and were zoned in on the three of them.
Jaw tense, Alyn shoved Graeson's hand off of him and turned around. But before Alyn made it more than a step, he paused and glanced over his shoulder at Graeson. "You can protect her and fight her battles all you want, Graeson, but at the end of the day, she is still just a woman."
Kallie didn't think. She didn't remind herself that she was trying to play nice,didn't hear her old tutor's voice in her head chiding her about proper etiquette. No, she didn't do any of that. Instead, she threw herself at the coward who couldn't even say the words to her and toppled him to the ground. Her fingers dug into his short hair and gripped his head. With her bound hands, she rammed his head into the hard dirt as she straddled his back and locked him in place.
He had insulted her integrity. Insulted her abilities without knowing the full extent of her strength. But that was not what made her steaming with rage. Kallie had dealt with people who belittled her before. It was a common occurrence, an unsurprising cliche that grated her bones every time. And while the commonality of those statements directed at her did not make them any less irritating or appalling, she could prove them wrong. Those words had not caused her to act out in violence, but rather the insult to women as a whole. It was the three words he had said with such indignation:just a woman.In the eyes of the people, she was eitherjustthe king's daughter orjusta princess.Justa prize to be won and given to the highest bidder.Justa woman.
It was laughable and illustrated Alyn's ignorance most of all. His tone suggested that to be a woman was an act far less noble than to be a man. To insult the entire gender without consequences, without Kallie fighting back felt to be an even greater slight. And perhaps getting into a physical dispute was not the proper way to take her anger out on him. To make him regret his words. But as people have said to women like her and women around the world: a woman's body is her greatest tool. And Kallie had spent much of her teenage and young adult years fine-tuning that body. So, she would heed those words. And use it.
Kallie extended her arms back, preparing to strike the side of Alyn's head. But her clenched fists struck air when a pair of calloused hands grabbed her arm and pulled her off of Alyn. Alyn's groan brought a smile to Kallie's maleficent countenance.
Heat caressed her skin. She turned and came face to face with Graeson, his face hovering over her shoulder as he pressed her against his chest.
"Do not think for a second that we do not have spies everywhere, Princess," Graeson whispered in her ear, his breath hot on her neck.
Kallie turned away from him, trying to push him off of her, but he held firm. Then quieter he added, "And do not take offense from the fish that lay in the pond at your feet. You, little mouse, should be above that."
The corners of her mouth twitched but were wiped clean when he shoved her forward, forcing her to take a step. As she glanced back, Alyn was pushing himself up from the ground. When the red-headed woman extended a hand, he ignored it. And Kallie was struck by how well he had acted as her guard because this man before her was unrecognizable.
Alyn exchanged glances with Graeson as though Alyn was determined to get the last word. Kallie could hear a faint rumble stir from her new jailer, a feral, animalistic noise that sent her skin crawling.
Alyn's hands shot in the air as he backed away.
Graeson chuckled beside her, then continued forward, leading Kallie toward Terin.
The two towering men sandwiched her in between them, the closeness making her feel claustrophobic. And though Kallie was surrounded by her enemies, Graeson's grip on her forearm remained. But if she didn't know better, she could have sworn it had loosened.
Ahead of her, Fynn stared at her inquisitively as though he was trying to translate a secret code written on her face. But he seemed to come up empty-head. After shaking his head, he addressed his crew, “Moris and Armen, you know the plan. Fen knows you are coming and should be prepared for you. We should only be a week behind you. If we do not arrive two or three days after that, you know what to do."
Kallie was all too aware of how he skirted around the specifics. But she knew what would be coming. She shifted her weight to the balls of her feet, tipping forward to get a glimpse of Myra. And not far down the line of people, Alyn nodded to Fynn in agreement, and Kallie grinned at the dirt smudged across his previously fresh face.
