Page 87 of Royal Captive
Silence reigned supreme in the tiny cell as a blossoming red mark swelled on Fallon’s cheek, a testament to how unexpected my attack had been that the faster fae female hadn’t avoided it entirely. I was so fucking proud of that mark.
I hid my injured hand behind my back, desperately trying to ignore its throbbing and swelling.
Fallon put a hand to the growing mark, fury building in her eyes. Shyllon grabbed her shoulder.
“Don’t bother. You deserved it. We don’t have time for this.” He sighed and glared at me.
“I was going to get you out of here and take you back to my palace, convincing my father that separating you and your prince was a greater punishment, but I can’t now. Not after you attacked a member of the royal family and the guards saw it. I’m sorry. I tried, but you ruined it. I can ensure medical attention for your hand after we leave. We can try again in a few months, maybe. Can you survive until then?”
My jaw dropped. Shyllon had been going to take me back? But ... what? Had he given up on me so easily? What an asshole!
Before I could respond, an explosion sounded far in the distance. Shyllon and Fallon twitched, both wincing and clutching their temples.
The sky outside my cell glowed purple, and half of the guards immediately left to investigate.
“We have to leave now. Father is calling everyone back to him.” Shyllon dismissed Ellis and me as he turned to Fallon. I viciously hoped my backhand left a permanent mark on her perfect skin.
“What if he’s part of it? You know I’ve always suspected. And now that he’s a filthy half-breed—”
Shyllon shushed Fallon, glaring at Alihandro.
Alihandro stared back, fists clenched at his side, daring his siblings to act.
He just told you he was a rebel. Do you say something, or keep quiet?
“Staying here is the best for you, I think,” Shyllon began slowly, brow furrowed. “The rebels are attacking again.”
Fallon glared at Alihandro, who smirked. “I always wanted my own war.”
“Fennis promised she’d be safe,” Ellis replied. “How is staying here safe?”
Fallon snorted. “My father doesn’t have the control he thinks he does.”
Ellis looked ready to smack her. I hoped he did. Instead, a tic in his jaw flexed. “Please take Eve back to the palace with you. Hide her for me.”
Fallon laughed in his face. “Harbor a symbol for the rebels while they’re actively attacking my home? Why the fuck would I do that?”
Ellis’s expression tightened. “Because you’d get me. In whatever way you want, for as long as you want. Willingly, and with asmileon my face.”
My lips parted in shock as I whirled around to him. Hot tears gathered at the corners of my eyes. Fuck hitting Fallon. I’d poundhim. “Don’t you fucking dare. I’ll off myself the first chance I get, then you’re stuck looking at her ugly mug for the rest of your life.”
Fallon’s face twisted with anger, but Shyllon stepped in front of her while Alihandro barked back an inappropriate laugh.
“No one is going anywhere. We can’t harbor the rebels’ princess. It was one thing to have her under lock and key in my manor as a plaything. It’s an entirely different matter to have her in the palace itself. Why the fuck do you think Father put her here? And now I learn I might have been harboringtworebels this entire time?”
Silence stretched between us as Alihandro stayed as still as a statue. But he didn’t deny it.
Shyllon ran a hand across his beard, frustrated as Fallon growled. “Let me lock you in your cell, at least. You will be safest there. When the riots calm down, I will check on you.”
Ellis glared.
Shyllon glared back. “It’s the best I can offer,” he insisted.
I scowled at both of them. “I swear to the gods, if anyone locks me anywhere, I will dig my way out with my own fingernails, then use whatever’s left to claw out your eyes.”
The males stared at me in shock, but Fallon snorted.
Shyllon broke first, distress crumpling his brow. “You don’t understand. It isn’t even you or me. It’s about everyone’s safety!”
