Page 82 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
‘You’re killing him,’ Drue pointed out.
‘Good.’
Coltan rasped, his eyes going bloodshot, his face turning purple now. Talemir relished every moment of the bastard’s suffering. He’d seen how the pathetic lout harassed Drue, how he guilt-tripped her, how he tried to use her family’s tragedy against her to get what he wanted. No, he deserved to have the life squeezed out of him; he deserved to —
‘Talemir,’ Drue warned.
Coltan’s eyes pierced his, silently pleading.
Talemir gave his throat a final brutal squeeze for good measure, absentmindedly wondering if he’d mangled the bastard’s vocal cords yet.
‘Touch her again,’ he said, leaning in, crushing Coltan to the wall behind him, ensuring the punishing grip mirrored his words. ‘And you die.’
Talemir dropped him and Coltan collapsed to the floor like a sack of potatoes, gasping and wheezing and clutching his throat.
To his surprise, Drue crouched beside him and, for a split second, Talemir questioned if he’d gone too far.
But Drue pulled a dagger from her boot and poised the tip under Coltan’s chin. Spittle foamed at the corners of his mouth as he looked up at her in panic.
‘I know it was you who sent that accusation to Thezmarr… I’ve known from the moment they arrived here and you nearly pissed your pants. What were you trying to do?’
Coltan panted, pulling back to avoid the tip of her blade.
But Drue kept it pressed close to his skin. ‘Why did you do it?’ she demanded.
‘I…’ the bastard coughed. ‘I thought they’d just tell you to stop, to go back to being a lady. I didn’t think… I didn’t think they’d sendthemhere. I —’
‘You wanted me to go back to being alady?’ Drue spat out each word in disbelief.
Talemir watched as the truth of it all dawned on her. She had clearly known that the boy was infatuated with her, that he felt entitled to her. But this…?
As he panicked, more stupidity tumbled from Coltan’s mouth. ‘You were Adrienne’s top ranger. She was sending you everywhere. Without me. You cared more about your duties to her than you did about me and —’
‘I’ve heard enough,’ Drue cut him off. ‘Get out of my sight. And don’t ever speak to me again,’ she commanded.
Bruises already forming around his neck, his eyes still wide and bloodshot, Coltan scrambled from the room, half falling over himself as he ran.
The shop door slammed behind him, echoing through the silence that now hung between Talemir and Drue.
She sighed heavily, sheathing her dagger at her ankle and standing. ‘I had it under control.’
‘I know you did.’
‘Then why interfere?’
‘Because you did not pick that battle, and sometimes, it’s nice to be fought for.’
Drue seemed to consider this.
‘Do you want to talk about it?’ he asked. ‘Did he hurt you?’
Drue shook her head. ‘He manipulated the situation so that Adrienne ended up paired with someone else for sparring. I should have just outright refused partnering with him, but…’ She shook her head again. ‘It’s exhausting constantly being on the defensive, constantly having to disagree. Sometimes it’s just easier —’
‘That,’ Talemir stated, reining in his rage with all the strength he could muster.
‘That what?’
‘That is exactly why I interfered.’ He peered into her face so she could see that he meant every word. ‘You should never have to carry that burden alone.’
