Page 62 of The Rejected King
She took in a shaky breath.
A loud knock jerked her off the bed, and she rushed to the door, opening it.
She had expected Davin, but instead, Portlend stood in the doorway.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
Seeing the disappointed look on his face brought on a whole new level of shame. Emree had never been in trouble before. She had never done anything contrary to what was expected of her. She hated the bottomless pit growing inside her stomach. Soon it would swallow her whole.
She nodded at Portlend, letting him pass through as she shut the door. The already tiny room felt even smaller with both their bodies and the heavy tension taking up space.
“King Davin sent me,” Portlend said, cutting through the silence.
Emree whipped her head up. “What? Why?”
“You need to leave the castle immediately. It’s not safe for you here.”
Emree bent her brows together as a thousand questions tugged at her mind. “How is it not safe? Why didn’t Davin come for me himself?”
“The high rulers called an emergency meeting. The king will be on trial tonight, and the high rulers will move to another public election if they have enough votes,” Portlend said.
“So soon?” Emree gasped. They had known it was a possibility, but she never would have assumed it would happen immediately after the ball. She turned to leave like she could somehow fix everything, but Portlend caught her arm.
“The king wants you to go now. He said he’ll come for you after the meeting.”
“No. He can’t leave. It will look like he’s running. He needs to face things straight on.” She yanked her elbow out of his hands. “And I need to face it with him.”
Portlend’s eyes darkened. “Em, don’t make things worse than you already have.”
His remark stung. For so many years, Portlend’s opinion of her was all that had mattered. To see his disapproving judgment staring back at her hurt worse than she might have expected.
Her voice hardened. “I didn’t plan for any of this to happen.”
“Do you love him back?”
Emree hated the bitter look in his eyes. “Yes.”
Portlend raised his chin, cutting his stare further into Emree. “So that’s what our breakup was all about. You were in love with the king.”
She shook her head. “No. You and I hadn’t been working for a long time.”
His jaw tightened. “It doesn’t matter now. I have orders from the king for you to pack immediately and I will escort you to the waiting carriage. The king will join you after he meets with the high rulers.”
Emree didn’t understand why Davin had changed the plan. They were supposed to face the aftermath of their choice together. “No,” she said. “I’ll wait and leavewithDavin.”
“This isn’t a game, Em. I have orders from the king to pack you up and get you as far away from Enderlin castle as I can. I intend to carry out those orders even if it means I have to throw you over my shoulder and shove you in the carriage.”
Nothing made sense, but Emree trusted Davin. If he thought she was in danger then she would do what he said. “Fine,” she muttered as she started packing up her things.
* * *
The carriage bumped along.Emree had watched out the window as long as she could, but as the city lights of New Montana faded, everything around her became thick with blackness. Even the moon seemed to hide behind heavy clouds. Eventually, her head rested against the paneled door and her eyes closed.
Her body lurched forward as the carriage came to an abrupt halt. Emree didn’t know how long she had slept, but she guessed by the purple sky that dawn was blooming behind the tall mountains.
The carriage door opened and Portlend peeked his head inside. “We’re stopping,” he said.
Emree stretched her muscles, thankful to have a break. She climbed out of the carriage and surveyed the land around her. The mountains of New Montana had faded behind her as they had gotten farther and farther away from Enderlin Castle. Plainlands stretched out far into the distance, reminding her of Kenmare. But Emree wasn’t in Kenmare. “Where are we?” she asked.
