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We both knew what the problem was, and it was my own fault that it was happening. Her hurt had been an unexpected dagger to my heart though because even if I didn’t love Shavarra, I cared about her.She was akin to family at this point.
She was only supposed to be a fuckbuddy; she wasn’t supposed to be someone who became important to me.
Jesseline pulled herself forward from her position, walking over to me then on past. “Smooth,” she whispered in passing. My attention trailed after her until she reached Shavarra’s side.
Half of me wanted to chase after her. My head turned side to side as I tried to find an able body to take the cot from me. Its weight pressed into my shoulders that were already sore from the straps of the backpack but there wasn’t anyone around who could take the turn.
The other half of me sighed in relief at the thought that I didn’t have to confront that particular issue right now. I had an excuse; no one could take this cot right now.
A few miles up the twisting road we would run into an old trading post—if it still stood—where there should be a well to fill up on drinking water. Maybe when we rested, we could talk about this a little more. If she even wanted to talk to me.
Sweat built up over my brow the longer I carried the cot. Before, with the title of prince, I didn’t feel like I needed to worry about people finding me attractive. Beauty came with the title, it’s what made them like me. But now…I fought with myself about whether or not I should wipe my forehead. If I was more attractive, then more people would like me.
That was just math.
Math of the upper class, I tried to remind myself.
These people didn’t care if you were attractive or not. So I let the sweat build until it dripped annoyingly and I couldn’t be bothered with the feeling any longer.Miles passed like this. The rise and fall of conversations behind me, my mind starting imaginary conversations then stopping at the idiocy of it, and the ache in my back only grew stronger.
The trading spot was getting closer, it had to be.Snow began to fade, melting away with the warm breeze of the Acture Court. Its central location in Stylica gave it more mild weather, as it did the Obtune Court. The Twinity Court and the Heathern Court bore the brunt of the cold and the heat.
Tall trees cast their shadows over the dirt that we trod. Sunlight poked through the interwoven limbs and made up the contrast to the shadows in its own odd pattern. Mild chatter followed me. The urge to look over my shoulder for Shavarra rose up in my thoughts more often than I liked to admit.
Jesseline materialized in front of me, her hand already pulling out a weapon. The cot smacked me on the back of the head as I was forced to stop.
“I suggest you put that cot down,” she said, chin cocked.
“Care to elaborate?” I asked, already taking the opportunity to set it down. The Nymph on the other end followed suit.
She opened her mouth to answer, but instead disappeared and reappeared five feet ahead as an arrow shot through the space she once was.
“We aren’t alone any longer.” She smiled. Or could that slice of a grin be considered something more, something that couldn’t be described by a single word, a quick flash of teeth that suggested the thrill of the fight was what she lived for.
Then she vanished again.
This can’t be happening. Not again.
I spun around, my gaze looking for icy blonde hair and persistent lavender eyes. Our gazes locked. The space between me and Shavarra stretched with more bodies between us than I could count.
Deep, rasping voices erupted from the woods on either side of us. Instinct reached for the knives on my belt. Metal, warm from being pressed against my body, met my fingers like an old, familiar lover.
Under my thunderous footfalls, the earth quaked before I registered the deafening boom at the rear of our fleeing caravan. My heart stopped beating. The edges of my vision turned black. Air left my lungs in one quickwhoosh, the ground suddenly at my back. Dirt collected against me while my body slid to a stop. Debris from shattered tree trunks flew in every direction. The weapons in my hands scattered around me.
A ringing began in my ears. The muffled sound of Nymphs crying out in surprise and pain was all around me. Clouds of dust filled the air, coating my throat and lungs. I rubbed at my eyes to make sense of it all as figures rushed forward from the tree line.
Blue and white uniforms with patches of thorn-covered snowflakes.
Men from the Twinity Court army.
Soft, pliable dirt met my fingertips as I felt the ground for my knives. Heat rushed through my body with my thrumming pulse until I found their beaten handles. I blinked once, clearing my vision, and the body of a soldier hurtling down the hill neared our path. He neared me.
It was fury that lifted my hand. Then it was hurt that flung the knife. One smooth motion, my blade spun through the air. Metal slid through flesh. One body hit the ground. Soldiers jumped over the dead without sparing a glance.
Jesseline and Slyke appeared and disappeared with frantic swipes of their swords, just to keep the men on the ground from advancing on our already broken group. Nymphs ran from where the explosion had hit. But some of them had yet to make it off the ground. They dragged themselves forward, leaving behind lines in the dirt from their mangled bodies.
Between every blink was a glimpse of the past. Bloodied bodies. The cries of the injured. Twinity Court guards headed for me and the Nymphs. The refuge was burning down all over again.
Shavarra had to be one that was getting up, I assured myself.
