Page 111 of Settle Down, Princess

“That’s the plan,” Arik said, grabbing hold of the reins.

“Our borders will be left vulnerable. Word will get to the Lanzenian king and the Mattenite emperor quickly.”

“I know.” He kicked his heels into his horse’s sides, launching forward, forcing us to do the same. “I’m counting on it. My brother was never one for recognising what his continued rule relied upon. Maintaining a good relationship with the shifters and…” He stared at the road we were trotting down, then rose up in his saddle, ready to gallop. “Not putting me in a position where I was forced to challenge him. He won’t be content until one of us is in the ground and the other on the throne. Before I didn’t care which way or the other, but now…”

My horse started to dance beneath me, feeling the growing tension in my body.

“Now I do. If being king is what keeps Jessalyn safe, then that’s what I’ll be.” He shook his head. “Something I think she’s counting on.” Arik glanced at Silas. “Those horses will be waiting for us at the next town?”

“You can say many things about The Guild, but we always deliver on our promises.”

“Then we ride.”

We’d spent the day fighting past obstacles on the arena floor, trying to prove our worth when we could’ve saved ourselves the effort. Our mate was a queen, and so she required far more than shows of bravery and cunning. My body ached, the bruises I’d earned making themselves known as I pushed my horse on, faster and faster down the road. Jessalyn would require nothing less than a kingdom laid at her feet and for the first time, I felt a flicker of hope. We’d do it or die trying, that much was clear.

Anything for our queen.

Chapter 64

If I had any reservations about killing a king, they were obliterated now.

“You think they’re coming to save you.”

The fact I was forced to spend the entire journey to the capital in close proximity to this odious little toad was the first indignity I was to suffer. The next was the way this… Magnus stared at me the whole time. He sprawled himself across the seat on his side of the carriage, like his muscles were too weak for him to sit properly, those piggish little eyes looking me over far too intently.

“You think you won’t end the same way the others did.” Jewelled fingers caressed a pewter mug he held, slowly and sinuously. “They all thought that, up until the point they died.” His words were like a noose being slid around my neck. “They fight or hiss, or worse, cry.” I watched his grip on the mug tighten, the relatively soft metal dimpling under his hold. “Right as I squeezed the life out of them.”

Gods, I could see it, everything he described. Beautiful women with fine jewellery and even finer breeding, some dark haired, some blonde or red, but each one of their pulses fluttered frantically under his palm, as he choked them to death. But the last face I saw? It was my own, with none of the fury I felt right now in my eyes. Just fear, until that died as well. Before I could say a thing, the carriage hit a stone, rocking us back and forth, red wine splashing out of the mug and all over the king’s chest.

He cursed, spluttered, pawed at his tunic, and shouted something foul before pitching the tankard out of an opened window. I ignored all of that. The spreading red stain on his tunic, that’s what I focused on, trying to imagine a thicker, more viscous liquid. I told myself it was because I needed to acclimate to the idea of murdering a reigning king, just as I had learned to dance and speak and comport myself perfectly, but mostly it was because the idea of Magnus bleeding out was the only comfort to be gained from this entire trip. The king noted my attention, eyes narrowing and his lips curling in preparation of hurling insults at me because I dared witness a moment of his clumsiness, when I leaned forward.

“Stop the carriage,” I said sharply.

“Why?” The smirk was back, and it was twice as hideous. “Thinking you can try and make your escape here?” He flipped the curtain back and stared out at the fields beyond. “You’re unlikely to get far. It’s a terribly long walk back to Stormare.”

“I need to relieve myself,” I said primly, which only made his leer widen.

“Well, then…” He rapped on the roof, and I heard the clatter of the horses’ hooves slow, but when I went to wrench open the door, his hand was already there. “After you, Your Highness.”

Arik could be just as insolent. It seemed somehow the two of them were born with the infuriating ability, but right now I would’ve done anything to hear the commander’s arrogant voice. I stepped out into the cool morning air, breathing deeply before I looked around me. The press of my bodily functions wasn’t that dire. Mostly I just wanted to get out of that damn carriage, away from Magnus, but I made a show of looking and then finding a small stand of trees by the side of the road, a little way back from where we’d stopped. I gathered my skirts in my hands and went to rush forward when his hand grabbed my arm.

How did Magnus know exactly where to grab me? His fingers found the bruises he’d left on my bicep and pressed right where they hurt the most. I hadn’t been able to hold back the hiss of pain, something that had him grinning like a loon.

“Unhand me.” That came out without thought, and I forced my teeth down on my tongue, lest I say something else. “Your Majesty, the need is growing quite pressing.”

“And the finest flower of Stormare can’t be allowed to wander around the wilds of Khean unescorted.”

What? He’d left me to go about my business unmolested before. My toileting had become terribly regular as a result because it was my only respite from the king. I jerked my eyes sideways, ready to say just that when I caught his expression.

I’d watched cats playing lazily with mice, knowing they were going to kill them, unable to stop themselves from toying with the poor creatures until I chased them away. His expression was a perfect replica of that cruelty.

“I was left to my own devices before—” I protested.

“And I’ve changed my mind.”

Whatever dreams I had of rescue or of being the cause of his bloody death, each faded as I was hauled along the road like a recalcitrant child, then thrust towards the trees when we reached them. Magnus didn’t turn his back, however, approaching me slowly. I had a knife strapped to my thigh. I couldn’t pull it out, not until the last minute. If he had any idea I was armed, I was sure my punishment would be swift and brutal, so my fingers twitched by my side, ready to grab for it if I needed to, while hoping I didn’t.

“You think it amusing, to see your king spill his wine?” He said those words like he was reciting a capital crime. “You think it funny when I besmirch my tunic?”

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