At first his eyes widen, as if shocked, but then that smile appears again, and he smirks at me in amusement. I glance down and my own stomach sinks with realisation. The dagger didn’t even touch him. It just bent against his armour. The whole dagger bent! What the fuck?
“You’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you?” He plucks the dagger right out of my hand, regarding the mark on the hilt with a sneer, before throwing it to the side. “I almost forgot who you are, Princess, with how fucking beautiful you are. Thank you for the reminder.”
I’m shocked into silence at the compliment for a moment. No one has ever called me beautiful. He grabs me in my moment of shock and throws me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing. The other dagger slips out onto the floor, and he stands on the hilt, crushing it. Crushing my hope right along with it. “How many secret, forbidden weapons do you have? Do I need to check all of your boy clothes?”
“Let me go, you fucking crown stealing, murderous bastard!”
I scream, kicking and slamming my fists against his enormous body. His armour just causes me pain, and he knows it. He continues walking as if I’m merely a bug hovering around him, and then he laughs. If the sound belonged to anyone but him, I’d almost admit to liking it. “I prefer you to call me Erax, considering we will be married soon.”
Over my dead body!
Erax takes me to the cart, throwing me onto the seat and grabbing the spare reins left on the floor of the cart. I scream and curse him as he easily manages to tie me up to the cart with the straps. No matter how I pull at them, I can’t get myself lose. The fucker. Erax looks at the driver at my side, who looks ready to shit himself. “Drive her back and I’ll be right above watching. If you want to avoid a painful, fiery death, I suggest you ride fast. The only reason you’re not dead already is because her family was well known as manipulative traitors, and so far, it’s clear she is just the same."
The driver stumbles. “Thank you, my king.”
He looks at me once and winks before walking away to his dragon. The drive back is silent, and Loch doesn’t dare move from where he is hidden or say a word. The driver doesn’t either. Erax lands near the hellhole I just escaped from, and he comes right up to the cart, pulling me off and undoing the reins before throwing me right back over his shoulder. I kick and hit his back, but it’s like hitting a wall. A wall that doesn’t even flinch or stop.
The priestess and her acolytes come running out of the main entrance just as Erax reaches it. “I am so sorry, Your Majesty, she is—” Priestess Gabriella gasps. “You’re bleeding! I will fetch the heal?—”
“No,” he stops her. “I am taking the princess to gather her belongings. Return to your prayers, or whatever the fuck else you do here.” As he barges past them, he says pointedly to Sister Gabriella, “If I were you, I’d pray the gods show mercy for losing my property, Gabriella, because I won’t.”
I continue kicking and screaming as he walks through them and the crowd of sisters and maids, who have gathered to see what is going on. Just before the king carries me through the door, I see the cart disappearing up the hill and through the gates, taking Loch far from me. Taking any chance of my freedom with him.
At least he got out. At least one of us has a future.
The entrance closes behind us, and I keep fighting. I keep kicking and punching him, even though it’s like hitting a tree. He’s too big, too strong for me to fight off, and that terrifies me more than any punishment the priestesses could make me endure. I knew the king would no longer be a boy, but a man. I never expected him to be this huge. He manages to find my room without any direction and kicks the door open, almost knocking it off the hinges, then throws me onto the bed. I swallow the wince as I land on my back on the clean sheets. The wounds have probably healed by now, but my body is still sore, as if she cut through my bones instead of flesh.
Erax stands in the doorway, blocking my escape. “Get dressed in clothes that don’t smell like another male and pack a bag.”
I climb off the bed and lift my chin. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He sighs as he walks towards me, his eyes darkening into slits. I keep stepping back until I press against the dresser. Erax leans down to place his hands at either side of me, and cages me in. Now that we’re so close his scent doesn’t just brush my senses. It invades them, like a fire set ablaze on a forest. I meet his gaze and hold it with my own fire, one built from pure hate. As if reading my thoughts, he chuckles again.
“Let’s clear the air a little, shall we?” He closes what little distance we have between us, his lips so close to my face I can feel his breath on my cheeks. “You hate me, and I hate everything you are too. We’d very much like to kill each other. In fact, I’m willing to bet you’re thinking about trying it again right now, aren’t you?” I don’t say anything, and he smirks. “Believe me when I say I want nothing more than to wrap my hands around that pretty little neck of yours and put an end to your line once and for all. But as king, I have a responsibility to the people of my kingdom, and I won’t see you get in the way of that. This could be easy if you?—”
“What? Obey you like a good little princess bride?” My sarcastic laugh cuts him off. “You fucking slaughtered my parents! You wore my father’s crown, covered in his blood, as you burnt down his kingdom, my home, and then you locked me in here with these monsters until I was old enough to be your wife. All that dragon fire must’ve burned your brains if you think I’ll make any of this easy for you. I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life trying to get away from you!”
He clicks his tongue, but his jaw tenses. “Royal marriages have been arranged in far worse conditions in our history. I don’t give a fuck about you or what you want, but you will be my wife. So, get dressed and pack your fucking things.”
I lift my chin despite its tremor. “Or what?”
He picks up a strand of my hair. “I don’t like to be pushed, Princess Maelena. You’re mine.” He drops my hair. “As for escaping me, that will not happen. You don’t know this about me yet, but when you try to disappear like mist, I will find you. I always find anything that is mine.” He steps back. “I suggest you put on warmer clothes. We’re going to be riding on my dragon, and it gets cold.”
I glare up at him. I know in reality I don’t have much of a choice but to go with him. He’ll drag me to his dragon either way. I try to push the thought of riding on a dragon to the back of my mind. It would have been a dream of mine as a child who used to devour any book I could find about the dragons of old. Now it will be a nightmare come to life.
“I doubt the frilly princess gowns you sent me will be warm enough.” I cross my arms, casting a glance at the open wardrobe. “Most of them are practically see through.”
He follows my gaze to the many dresses hanging from the rail. My pulse spikes as I wonder if he knows my escape route is right behind those dresses. “I didn’t send those.” He turns back to me, a frown creasing his forehead for a moment. “I will wait outside. But don’t push my kindness, Mist. My patience already wears thin.”
“That isn’t my name!” I shout at his back as he walks away from me and to the doors. He shuts them behind him, leaving me in complete silence. I look at the wardrobe, knowing I can try to run again, but it would be pointless. They would never let me go. Angrily, I wipe my tears away. A single thought fills my mind... I don’t have to live through this. I could end it all as soon as there’s a high enough window. Death is no stranger to me, and if this is the life I’m to lead, then I welcome it. But something screams at me not to kill myself, a voice that sounds so much like Lochlan.
Don’t do it, Mae. Don’t let him win.
But I also can’t let him have me either, even if that means joining my parents in the afterlife. The eternal plains where all the fallen stars go to rest.
I look through the dresses, searching for the rags I’ve been wearing all these years. Someone must have cleared it out when they changed my bed. I scoff at that. They’re trying to hide how they treated me, but Erax already knows if his threat is anything to go by. That was the first time I’ve ever seen Sister Gabriella afraid. I paint it in my memory, a wry grin sliding over my lips. Maybe I should stay alive long enough just to see her get what she deserves.
With none of my old clothes to choose from, I put on one of the long, very sheer, gold dresses and then wrap a gold cloak around my shoulders. I’m not getting dressed in warm clothes like he suggested. Finally, I braid my hair and step out in the long, stupid gold dress that was left for me. Erax looks me up and down, frowning at all the frills and lace of the dress.