Page 36 of Ruthless Scoundrel
“Never,” I say, my voice hoarse.
“A lot of firsts for you on this trip,” he says.
“Not my first abduction, but certainly the longest so far,” I reply.
“Oh?” he asks, dangling his feet in the water.
My legs are warm, so I do the same. “When I was four, a woman picked me up in a crowded market and walked away with me. It was an honest mistake; she thought I was her daughter. I should’ve stuck closer to my guard. I should’ve been wearing my royal signet. So many ‘should’ves’.”
“What happened?” he asks.
“I kicked and screamed. She put me down within a block and then apologized when she realized who I was. My guard discovered us and told my mother she was trying to take me. I tried to say otherwise, but she wouldn’t hear it. I was only four, after all.”
“And then what?” he asks gently.
My chest aches as I see the black-hooded man walk her to the gallows in my mind. She’s sobbing. Her little girl is wailing from the arms of her husband. I’m not allowed to cry. Crying is not something a princess of House Hilden does in public, no matter their age.
The rope knot is slipped around her neck and she prays to Zephrom for my mother’s mercy. The queen nods to the executioner, and I must watch as the support drops away from the woman’s feet. She falls, but her neck doesn’t break. Herlegs kick and she struggles, desperate gurgles coming from her pinched throat.
I didn’t eat for days in protest of my mother’s cruelty, and thus began her restrictions of me. No educating myself beyond the necessities. No reading for pleasure. No training in the arts. I had too much spirit, she said.
“Rei?”
I suck in a gasp as my eyes refocus on the water.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, paddling my feet and wiggling my toes. My pedicure is beginning to chip and fade already. It’s only been a few days, but they’ve been hard. Will I chip and fade, too?
“Remove your legs from the water.” The commanding edge in Jasper’s voice has my heart thundering for a different reason.
I retreat farther onto the raft. “What is it?”
“Something very large is in the area,” he says as he removes his legs too.
“I thought you said bigger creatures hunted at night?” I ask, my blood zipping through my body at double speed.
“They often hunt at night. It doesn’t mean they won’t come out in the day. But this might not be hunting. It might just be passing us by.”
He sticks his hand in the water and I watch as an opal pulse ripples out into the sea. He’s quiet for a long time. Too long.
“Well?” I ask.
He glances over his shoulder at me. “How good are you at controlling your power?”
“Like I’d tell.”
“This isn’t the time for your theatrics. This creature most definitely thinks we’re an afternoon snack, and it will be upon us in moments.”
My stomach drops. “I-I’m not that good. I didn’t get to practice. Mother’s orders.”
He moves toward me. “Have you soaked up enough sunlight to get in a few quick practice rounds?”
I hadn’t told him that I need to absorb sunlight to fuel my magic.
He grins, but it’s laced with nerves. “I’m very observant.”
“Yes, I have. How much time?”
“Maybe two minutes.”
