Page 60 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

He considers what I said, his interest piqued. “Only if you promise not to ask questions.”

I deliberate. “The same has to go for you, too.”

He sticks out his hand. “Deal.”

We shake on it, and I fight back a laugh. But I’m sure we look funny, running down the road, shaking hands.

“I got jumped by this group of people and was fighting back,” I tell him, swatting a bug away from my face.

“You got arrested for that?”

“Yep. It’s pretty ridiculous and isn’t the first time something like that has happened.”

He appears taken aback, his face creased. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“But it’s not the stupidest thing that’s happened there. Trust me.”

His eyes are wide as he absorbs this in.

“Now you go,” I say as we round the corner and head downhill.

He hesitates. “We were down there for a car race.”

My brows rise. “What? Like an illegal one.”

He bobs his head up and down. “Yeah, and it got busted.”

I want to ask so many more questions, but I promised I wouldn’t.

“This no-questions thing might have been a dumb idea,” I state with a smile.

He smiles back. “A deal’s a deal.”

“Oh, fine.” I resist a sigh. “Where are we even running to? And what’s the plan? Or are we just jogging for today?”

“I want to go far today and run a bit slower,” he tells me as the clouds grow thicker. “Just to see where your endurance is. Then, when we get back to the track, we’ll do some strides.”

“My endurance is fabulous, so be prepared to be impressed.” I dazzle him with a cheeky grin.

He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip. “All right, Maddison, impress me.”

He quickens his pace, and I accelerate with him, both of us taking off down the hill. We continue to run for miles, all the way to where the road meets the city’s border.

Traffic starts to thicken, and lavish houses and towering, sparkling buildings line the street. Each step makes more adrenaline rush through my body, and I hit this zone where my mind is in tune with nothing else but pushing forward—harder. I feel great. Better than I have in a long time.

Eventually, River slows to a stop near a café located on the corner street of a series of old but nicely remodeled buildings. People are roaming around on the sidewalks, shopping or heading to work—it’s hard to tell.

He places his hands on his hips as he works to calm down his breathing. “How are you feeling?”

I put my hands on the back of my head to avoid hunching over. “Fantastic.” I’m a bit breathless, and my legs have a dull ache in them, but I still feel like I could run for miles.

“Good.” He glances at his watch. “That was about three point five miles. Do you think you can make it back? Your records online showed you can handle long distances, but I’m not sure where you’re at right now. I know with me, my endurance varies depending on where I’m at with my training.”

“I can make it back. Honestly, it’ll be good for me, because I’m going to have to run to that bus stop at the end of Royal Road every weekend.”

Thunder booms in the distance, causing my gaze to lift to the sky.

“Wait—what?” he asks, drawing my attention to him.

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