Page 52 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

I laugh darkly, finding his tale of Finn valiantly defending my virtue to be a bit of a stretch in light of everything I’ve learned.“No offense, but I don’t really believe anything you’re telling me.”

Bellamy shrugs.“I don’t blame you for being angry at him, I really don’t. But I’ve never seen him like that before; he practically turned savage at the mention of Brutus putting his hands on you.” He jerks his head in the direction of the main guard.

A spark of hope takes root in my heart, making me wonder if Finn wasn’t lying about his feelings for me. But I don’t entertain that thought for long; if I let my heart feel anything other than disdain for Finn, I’ll collapse in on myself, and I can’t afford to be weak right now.“And what exactly is the king going to do with me once we arrive in Viaria?”

“You’re the long-lost heir of the Autumn Kingdom, Aurelia,” Bellamy says, making me wince slightly at the use of my full name, which I definitely didn’t share with him.

“And?” I swallow thickly.

“Queen Selena has been searching for you for almost two decades. I don’t know why, but once word spread that you were in the Eastlands, King Cadogan jumped at the opportunity to be the one to find you.” Bellamy glances at his fellow guards to make sure they’re not listening to our conversation.

“How did anyone find out I was eveninthe Eastlands?” I ask, unable to come up with a logical explanation on my own.

“The King’s seer came to him, claiming she had a vision of a young woman with chestnut hair and golden eyes, coming through the Nevoa Pass. A woman with unleashed power so great, she would be a considerable threat to anyone who stood in her way,” Bellamy whispers, staring at me with a reserved kind of awe.

“And he assumed that I’m that woman?” I hiss, knowing I barely have a lick of power.

“You look just like Queen Selena,” he says, a hint of fear in his voice, as if the fact that we share similar physical features means we also share a similar disposition.

I've never met her, but I know that I'mnothinglike her. For starters, I would never kill my own sister if I had one; not that the bar is very high if that’s the standard for being a good person.

I scowl, not having realized that while I must look like my birth mother, that also means I look like her twin sister, the witch responsible for her death.“So he wants to eliminate the threat that I pose to the Northlands?” I shake my head.“My fight isn’t with the Winter Kingdom.”

“That doesn’t matter, not where Cadogan’s concerned,” Bellamy says, dropping his eyes a bit.“He’s always been a jumpy bastard, preparing for the worst, thinking that someone will stage a coup and overthrow him.”

“Are his concerns warranted? Is there unrest in Viaria?”

“No,” he answers.“But he hasn’t been in his right mind for a long time…”

“So I’m to be a bargaining chip with Selena? Or… or a weapon of sorts?” I ask, thinking of what the seer said about my ‘unleashed’ power.

“Again, I’m not sure. But—”

Bellamy is cut off by Brutus’ harsh voice.“Leave the prince’s whore alone, Bellamy. She’s not worth your breath.”

Fire crackles in my veins at his insult, as his words press on the already open wound of my insecurities. I throw Brutus a vulgar gesture and say under my breath,“Eat shit, dogface.”

Bellamy’s eyes go wide and Brutus is up in a flash, stalking my way, his eyes alight with unhinged male rage. Brutus grabs my elbow, hard enough to leave a bruise, and yanks me to my feet roughly, his face mere inches from mine.“You may have our prince wrapped around your little finger, but I see right through you,” he spits, shaking with fury.“If you want to run your mouth, I can think of a few things I could put in there that would shut you up.”

“Fuck you!” Overcome with my own righteous anger, I spit in his face.

Shocked, Brutus lets go of my arm and wipes his cheek in disbelief. Before I even register what's happening, he slaps me so hard my vision goes spotty. The force of the blow knocks me to the ground and I taste blood; my lip split open on the bottom.

Bellamy and the other guard are on Brutus quick as lightning, holding him back as I try to stand up. I hear Bellamy say,“Finn will have your head for that.”

Brutus roars,“Fuck the Prince! My loyalty is to the king.”

I stand then, using the tree to steady me as a residual stinging pain settles in my cheek from the slap. I stare at Brutus as darkness clouds my mind, overtakes my senses. His eyes widen as he takes a step away from me, fear shadowing his face. I know my eyes are glowing again, but this time, I don’t care. I stand tall and watch him silently, unblinkingly, until he retreats back to the fire, being led by the other guard who hasn’t spoken a word to me.

“Edith’s tits,” Bellamy breathes as he stares at me with wide eyes.“Whatare you?”

Hell if I know,I think to myself, before promptly collapsing onto the ground and passing out.

Chapter Twenty-six

Iwake the following morning atop Shadow, apparently having been put there in my unconscious state. My cheek is bruised from where Brutus struck me, and my body is sore from sleeping on the ground in gods-know what position. Brutus and the nameless guard are riding ahead of me while Bellamy rides to my left, offering me a small smile when our eyes meet. I sit up from where I was slumped on Shadow’s neck, stretching stiffly, taking in my surroundings. We’re deep in the woods, the main road nowhere to be seen, most likely cutting through the forest to save time.

It’s much colder here, letting me know that we’ve crossed into the Northlands, but I still have no clue where we are. I turn to Bellamy, a plea in my eyes.“Where are we?”

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