Page 6 of The Princess In A 'Prince' Disguise

The terror on Aekeira's face mirrored Emeriel's feelings.

"So, let me get this straight," King Orestus began, "All I need to do is sell her to you, and all this money is mine? There are no other conditions? Nothing else?"

"Yes," the non-scarred Urekai responded.

Lord Vladya moved forward, closing the distance between him and Aekeira, who was visibly shaking now.

Cupping Aekeira's cheek tilting her head to the side to get a better look, he appeared utterly disgusted. "She'll do."

King Orestus picked up his gavel and struck it hard on his desk. "Sold! From this moment on, Princess Aekeira belongs to the Urekai."

"WHAT!?"the shout escaped Emeriel's lips before he could stop it.

He shook out of the guard's grasp and ran toward the center of the courtroom and fell to his knees. "Please don't sell my sister to them. Not to the Urekai! Please, Your Majesty."

The king gave him a bored look. "It's out of my hands now, Emeriel."

It’s out of his…

Emeriel couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You can't let this happen. She's your niece too! How could you do this!?"

He wasn’t proud; his voice turned the high-pitched of a girl's as he practically screamed. "You know a fate worse than death awaits her beyond the great mountain! How could you agree to sell her to them?"

"As if he has a choice," Lord Vladya scoffed, his deep baritone filled with cynicism.

Emeriel whirled around to face them, anger blanketing his features. But as he stared into those intimidating gray eyes, he couldn't bring himself to give in to his rage.

He had read that a Urekai had the power to take a life without physical contact. It might just be a rumor, but with his sister's life on the line, he had no intention of testing that theory.

"I will go too. Where Aekeira goes, I go," Emeriel said, lifting his chin defiantly.

Aekeira snapped her head toward Emeriel, her eyes widened in terror. "No! What are you doing, Em?"

"I'm going with you," Emeriel stated firmly.

Lord Vladya arched a perfectly shaped brow. "No. We have no need for you; we only need your sister."

Emeriel stood. "I don't care. Take me too. If you leave me here, I will always try to come to her. I will cross the great mountains if I have to!"

Lord Vladya laughed. There was no humor in the cold sound. "Without the rite of passage, the great mountain will swallow you whole. You'll never make it to the other side."

"I'll take my chances," Emeriel vowed.

"No! My brother is not coming." Aekeira turned pleading eyes to Emeriel. "Don't do this, Em. I'm already doomed. I don't want you to face the same fate!"

"If you come with us, you will be taken as our slave," Lord Vladya stated, pinning Emeriel with a stare. "Urekai does notcare if you're male or female; you will serve in any way your master wants you. Whether it's in the mines or the cellar, on your back, bent over, or on your knees. If you agree to be our slave too, your freewill ends today."

A shiver ran through Emeriel's spine.

"Do you know what it means to be a Urekai's slave, little human?" Lord Vladya said. "You're a pretty boy. You will not lack masters to service."

Fear seeped through Emeriel's core. If everything he had heard growing up and read in books were true, being a Urekai's slave was worse than being a human's slave.

And my dreams...

I should be running in a different direction...!

But he steeled his spine. "Where my sister goes, I go."

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