Page 189 of Settle Down, Princess

Jessalyn went up on tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Everywhere. I will be armed, safe, surrounded by wolf shifters that will tear any intruders limb from limb. Go, because who knows what’s happening to Selene and Desiree right now.”

That’s what broke up this little moment. It felt wrong to be snatching small intimacies when my sister was in the clutches of a madman. I saw them then, all of the women’s faces I tried so hard to shut out, each princess blue and still.

Dead.

Not Desi, I repeated in my head, as I drew my sword. Not Selene, not my sister, not Genny. No more fucking women. I couldn’t stand by and allow another death, I just couldn’t.

“I’m assuming you know a way into the capital that won’t draw notice?” I barked at Silas.

“Of course.” He shook his head slowly. “I’m sure my father will be waiting there for us. This has his fingerprints all over it.”

“They cut the hands off thieves, don’t they?” I snapped. “Maybe it's time to do the same to the bloody Raven.”

We’d arrived at the capital late in the day, so waiting for the sun to fall did not take long. Under the cover of darkness, we crept up to a perfectly uniform part of the wall, Silas running his hands over the bricks, then stopping when he felt something. A small click and then the trick was revealed. A doorway had been hewn into the wall, a facade of bricks stuck to the door front to perfectly mesh with the wall.

“Hello, lads…” Weasel appeared in the doorway, a picture of insouciance as he looked us over. “The Raven told us to expect you. Heading up to the palace, are you?”

“You got it,” I replied, shouldering forward, “and you wouldn’t want to get in our way.”

“Get in your way?” He reached over to flick some lint from my armour, but I caught his arm by the wrist. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Enough of the foreplay, Weasel.” Silas sighed. “If my father sent you, then he’s expecting us.”

“At the palace of all things. Has some friends in high places does the Raven.” Weasel winked. “Well, come along then.”

Chapter 107

I did everything right.

My eyes might’ve strayed to the tent opening, gazing at the great gates of the Kheanian capital, but I stayed exactly where I was, pacing back and forth across the tent floor. I did not walk towards the city. I did not sit down and hatch a crazy plan, because I had learned my lesson.

The Jessalyn from before felt like a whole other person. Assuming that she could sneak off into the bushes and survive? I kicked a pillow, sending it skidding across the tent in irritation. What the hell was I thinking? I would have died from lack of food and water within days, that I was sure of. Then my brilliant decision to trust that bathing attendant and his cronies. As soon as I started flashing gold around, I made myself a target, just like my mother said. In believing I was in control, I’d ended up knocked unconscious, tied up and about to be raped and murdered.

“Jessalyn…” Creed stepped in front of me, arms wide. I admit, I rushed into them, because then I saw him—them—tearing my enemies apart and laying their bloodied corpses at my feet for the sin of trying to hurt me. That was strangely comforting. My fingers raked along Creed’s ribs, leaving red welts behind, and that had me snatching my hands back before he set them right back where they were. He held me close and something tight loosened inside me, allowing me to let out a long sigh. “All will be well,” he rumbled.

“But he has them…”

It wasn’t hard to conjure visions of Selene and Desiree, their throats mottled with the sick purplish bruises Giselle had worn. It was all too easy to imagine them clawing at Magnus’ hands, trying to stop him from choking the life out of them as he—

“Lass.” I looked up into Creed’s soft eyes. “When the commander’s back is against the wall, he always comes through, always.”

His attempt to soothe me was ruined as we both remembered Arik’s failure to do just that for each and every princess that’d come before me.

Creed’s brow creased. He sucked in a breath, ready to say something, then didn’t. The frown grew deeper as I watched a war wage inside him, guilt and regret, fear and horror all flashing across his face, and then before it went perfectly slack. Creed lost all tension in his face as he crumpled to the ground.

“Cree—!”

A tear in the tent fabric, then a hand slapped down on my mouth, muffling my cries. I tried to bite down on his hand, stamp my foot down on his, reach for my knives, anything, but if I wanted a refresher on the lessons I’d learned about my own powerlessness, I got them now. The hand on my mouth tightened as an arm went around my neck, pressing down in a way that made me struggle to take breath, forcing me to suck air in through my nose then fight in earnest.

The king had come. He’d snuck into the camp at night and now he—

“Shh…” a very masculine voice said, ruling Magnus out. “Now you’ve got one of two choices, Princess. You can either come quietly with me, and I’ll give that boyo of yours the antidote to the poison that’s currently coursing through his veins—”

“That.” I wrenched myself free to spin around and saw a most confusing sight. Silas’ long dark hair, Selene’s green eyes, but in a face far less handsome and much older. He grinned then, flashing his gold teeth and destroying any feeling of familiarity. “Do that, now.” I stabbed my finger in Creed’s direction, my eyes flicking between my mate’s too still form and this man that wore Silas’ face. “I will do anything—”

Maybe I hadn’t learned my lesson yet.

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