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“That isn’t true. You deserve so much more than the life your parents trapped you in.”
“I’m not trapped,” he said stiffly. “As a prince of Ryden, I have the power to protect you.”
“Tyrell—”
He pushed to his feet, and something in his demeanor changed. Hardened. And it broke part of her heart. “Where is Grayson?” he demanded again.
“If you think I would tell you that, you don’t know me at all.”
He ground his teeth. “If you tell me where he is, I might be able to spare him some pain. My mother wants him dead for what he did to Carter, but my father wants him alive. If I can return him before more damage is done, it will go easier for him.”
Mia kept her silence.
Tyrell huffed out a breath. “Clearly, you still see him as some sort of hero. That means you didn’t leave him. And I know he wouldn’t leave you, unless he had to—and he wouldn’t have gone far.” His eyes narrowed. “He’s meeting you here. At the docks. You were going to buy passage on a ship.”
She fought to keep her expression neutral, but her heart beat faster.
“There are a few ships here bound for Mortise,” he said. “That’s what I came to check with the harbor master. I’m grateful the fates intervened and brought you directly to me. I was afraid you might be hurt during the rescue.” He moved for the door and pulled it open, revealing a soldier standing at the ready. “Position men around every entrance into the harbor,” Tyrell said. “Keep to the shadows and watch for him. He’s coming.”
The soldier nodded and hurried away.
Tyrell closed the door, and when he turned back to Mia, he smiled a little.
It wasn’t a good smile.
“My brother will be in for a surprise when he shows up.”
Mia’s pulse thundered. Grayson was incredibly skilled—his fight in Edgewood proved as much—but Tyrell had more men, and this time Grayson didn’t have the element of surprise.Hewas the one being hunted this time, and he would walk right into the trap.
Mia’s fingers dug into her crossed arms. “What if I came with you?” she asked softly.
“Youarecoming with me,” Tyrell said immediately.
“What if I came with you willingly?”
His focus was fixed on her. “What is it you want in return?”
Mia’s tongue darted over her dry lips. “We leave now. With all your men.”
A shadow passed over his face. “You want me to let Grayson escape.”
“Yes.” She was caught—Grayson wasn’t. She knew he wouldn’t abandon her, but if he avoided this trap, he had a better chance of mounting a rescue later.
Tyrell considered her offer, his eyes going back to the Strategem piece that hung around her neck.
Her breathing thinned. Fates, he was truly considering it.
She was terrified of going back to Lenzen. Terrified of seeing Henri, Iris, and Peter again. Of being a prisoner. Of being trapped, and used. But for Grayson, she’d do it. Without hesitation.
Tyrell’s lips parted.
A shout shattered the night, cutting him off before he could speak. Tyrell shoved open the door, though he stayed in the doorway.
Mia pushed up from her chair and hurried toward him, her heart in her throat.Please, don’t let it be Grayson . . .
Tyrell’s back was painfully straight as they waited, both of them peering out into the night. A slight mist had drifted in, covering the ground and making the darkness seem even thicker.
There was a yell. A scuffle. A thud.
