Page 20 of The Throne Seeker
At an excruciatingly slow pace, his head turned back to her, his icy eyes flaring.
“That was low, even for you.” She sidestepped him, but Xavier’s arm shot out, yanking her back. “Let go.” She struggled to escape, but his grip didn’t falter as he attempted to pull her back. “I said let go!” She swung to hit him again.
He was faster. He captured her wrist, forcing her closer once more. In one swift motion, the hand gripping the shattered bottle swung at her, coming at a perilous speed. She didn’t have time to dodge as the jagged edge sliced her neck.
She stumbled backward, tripping over the hem of her dress and falling onto the sand. She scooted back, putting a hand over her neck to discover blood leaking from it. Her horrified eyes lifted to his. She didn’t dare breathe, too afraid to speak. Too shocked to move.
He loomed over her as his electrifying eyes shocked her. After a few moments, his gaze softened. For the first time since she’d been back, she glimpsed through them, like a transparent window into his soul, betraying an internal war raging inside. She swore she saw a flash of regret, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
He dropped the blood-streaked bottle. “For your own sake, Rose, stay away from me.” Without another word, his drunken figure walked away down the beach until he disappeared into the night.
She remained still until he was out of sight, finally releasing the breath she’d been holding. She removed her hand from her neck, her fingers covered in crimson red. She clutched her neck again, alarmed. She couldn’t let anyone see her like this.
Her eyes lifted to the sea. She willed herself to stand, stumbling toward the water. Her head spun—dizzy from rising too quickly. She didn’t know how deep the cut was, but with each passing moment, her pain only grew.
Once she reached the damp sand, she tore the hem of her dress, sank to her knees, and submerged it in the water. She pressed the cloth to the side of her neck to staunch the bleeding, but as soon as it made contact with her skin, the salty water stung her. She cried out, jolting the cloth away. Biting her lip, she steeled herself for the sting as, with a trembling hand, she returned the fabric to her neck, shock coursing through her body.
With every wave the ocean sent, her knees sank deeper into the sand, ignoring the cold it brought. Tears hovered in her eyes, but she shoved them back, refusing to expend the energy.
In the distance, a happy voice beckoned. “I didn’t realize when I said to meet at the beach that we’d be night swimming.”
She closed her eyes, cursing to herself. How in Vallor could she have forgotten why she was out here in the first place?
When she didn’t respond, his footsteps quickened. “Rose?…. Rose!” he exclaimed in horror, dropping to his knees by her side. “What happened?”
She didn’t fully comprehend why her first instinct was to lie. Perhaps it was because she partly felt responsible for the whole situation. And Xavier was already walking on thin ice. If hisfather or Tristan found out what he had done… It could be the final crack to break them all. “I tripped… fell onto the rocks.”
He gently lifted her hand away from her wound. His eyes widened with concern. “That looks deep.” He scooped her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest. “You need help.”
She tried to speak, but her vision started to blur. He stood and began rushing her back to the castle.
“You stay with me, you hear me?” he commanded. “Dammit, stay with me. I’ve got you. Stay with me.”
The desperation in his voice... it sounded like he was trying to will her to live, but still, her eyes fluttered, threatening to close.
His grip on her tightened, crushing her into his muscular frame. “No. Hey, no, stay with me. Please… to the everlasting gods,please.”
She held on to consciousness as long as she could, but within moments, her mind faded into darkness.
CHAPTER 9
The next thing Rose knew, she was in her room, safe in bed. She blinked several times to confirm she wasn’t dreaming, unaware of what had happened until pain stemmed from her neck.
Her hand went to the wound, finding a thick bandage covering it. The blood that once stained her hair had been washed away, and her dress had been swapped for a fresh clean nightgown.
Her mother sat by her bedside, her creased forehead relaxing into relief. “Oh, honey.” She took Rose’s hand, still in her purple ballgown. “Are you alright? How are you feeling?”
“Mum?” She lifted her head off the pillow, still a bit disoriented. “What happened?”
“Tristan found you down at the beach. What in the world were you doing down there so late?”
Memories of Xavier flooded back. She reclined back onto the pillow. How she wished it was all a fleeting nightmare.
“I just needed fresh air… I was hot from dancing,” she lied.
As her senses sharpened, muted voices drifted from across the room. The healer, the guard captain, and Queen Lennawere gathered in the far corner, their heads huddled together, speaking in hushed voices.
“She’s awake!” her mother called to the healer.
