Page 58 of Bound to the Shadow Prince

I glance up at him, fretting. Balon is harmless. He’s a flighty, pretty idiot. I don’t think he has a mean bone in his body, but what if I’m wrong? What if he’s decided he’s going to liberate me from the tower like I begged when I first arrived?

I’m…not sure I want to be liberated anymore. I still hate the tower. I hate it and I hate the suffocating darkness and having to wash my own clothes and all that comes with it…but I like Nemeth, and I like being alone with him. The moment we leave the tower, all of our closeness, oursavoring, will be gone.

We’re supposed to be enemies. I’m supposed to have killed him and stolen his food to ensure my own survival.

I’m definitely not supposed to be kissing him.

There’s a loudclinkand the sound of crumbling brick. Then, two more fast-pacedthunksof pickaxes hitting the brick. “More than one person,” I whisper as the pickaxes move faster. “There’s at least two.”

Nemeth hands me the light. “Stay here.”

I clutch it tight, watching as he strides forward, his wings flicking with agitation. He moves towards the heavy, sealed wooden door and then puts his ear to it, listening. After a moment, he pulls away and looks over at me. “They are breaking down the wall.”

Well, that’s obvious. “Did they say why?”

He shakes his head and then stiffens, his wings flaring out behind him. A look of recognition crosses his face and then he glances over at me. “Liosian. They have a sled. Someone just told them to bring it forward.”

Oh. “That must be my supplies. They’ve come early? Unless we’ve messed the dates up?” We’re still marking days on thewall, but given that we have no sunrise or sunset in here, it’d be easy for things to slide off track.

Nemeth shrugs. He touches my shoulder and then sinks into the shadows, disappearing. “I can’t let them see me with you.”

“Right. Of course.” It makes sense. I don’t know why it hurts my feelings, though. He’s just being cautious. The last thing we need is for them to change their minds and not give us food. Nemeth has been judicious with his supplies and still has enough for maybe another month, but I’ve been down to scraps for weeks now. I need what they’re bringing in, and my excitement grows with every crumble of brick and the loudCHINKof the pickaxes tearing away the wall in front of the door.

The doors rattle, and then there’s a loud scrape as the bar is pulled away. I clutch the light to my chest—and then realize what I’m doing. Right. I can’t show Fellian magic to them. I quicklytap tapit off and set it aside, blinking at the darkness that surrounds me.

The doors open and the chamber floods with sunlight. I blink, stepping forward, as I see sunlight for the first time in a year. Three men stand outside in Liosian livery, wearing the leather-and-chain armor common with the court guards. They look tired and haggard, but I’m delighted to see them. “Greetings!” I call out, crossing over to them. “Are you here early? You?—”

One holds a sword up. He points it at me. “I’m sorry, princess, but you have to stay inside.”

“Oh, I wasn’t leaving,” I say, shocked. I stare at the weapon pointed at me and take a step backward. “I just wanted to breathe in the fresh air.”

“I need you to stay back,” he repeats again, not lowering the sword. “We won’t be here long.”

“Are those my supplies?” I can see a packed sled behind the men on the beach.

“They are.”

“You’re here early.”

He keeps a watchful eye on me, as if he doesn’t trust me not to dart past him and race for the shore. “We came while the weather is good.”

“Has there been bad weather, then?” It looks gorgeous outside to me. The sunlight pours in, warm and bright. I can hear the distant waves hitting the shore and the call of an albatross, and I ache with the need to step into the sun. I want to breathe in the sea air, if only for a few hours. I close my eyes and breathe deep. Gods, I want to go outside. He’s right to hold his sword on me, because that sea breeze is divine and I want to drink it in.

But I tell myself that I can’t.

They can’t come in, and I can’t go out. Even if they didn’t try to stop me, I suspect Nemeth would. There’s more riding on my staying here than just my personal wants. I can’t leave. I can’t step a foot outside.

But oh, that breeze tempts me.

One of the men steps forward and tosses a long rope in towards me. It falls at my feet, a large knot at the end. The other side is tied to the front of the sled. “Pull on your side and we’ll push.”

“Did you bring firewood?” I ask as I delicately pick up the rope. “Because I need wood. Last year there wasn’t nearly enough.”

To my surprise, the man’s face contorts and hardens with what looks like rage. “You’ll take what we give you and be grateful. Make demands and we’ll turn around and leave with your food.”

My jaw drops. I stare at him in shock. He’s…he’s threatening me? “But you have to. That’s the agreement.”

Somewhere in the darkness, Nemeth growls low in his throat.

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