Page 29 of The King's Sword
Lying there, a strange sensation filled her with the realization that she’d never been in bed with a man before. She’d assumed she would have slept at Rainer’s side on their wedding night. However, not only had they not shared a bed, they hadn’t even consummated their marriage.
She couldn’t help but think of the stark contrasts between Rainer and Evander.
* * *
Sabine peeled her eyelids open, finding her left arm draped over Evander’s chest, her leg on top of his. “Oh,” she murmured, wondering how that had happened with him on top of the covers and her beneath them. She glanced up at his face and saw him staring back at her. “I’m sorry.” She extricated herself from him and sat up.
“No need to be sorry,” he said, his voice gravelly. “But we should get going.” He rubbed his eyes.
Horrifiedshe’dbeen the one cuddling withhim, Sabine went over and gathered her cloak and bag.
Evander stood and did the same.
She put the cloak on, pulling the hood up. “I’m ready.”
He tilted his head to the side, stretching his neck.
“What’s the plan for today?” she asked, not really caring but wanting to break the odd tension between them.
“Same as yesterday.” He opened the door.
The two of them went down the hallway and exited the inn. The sky was just beginning to lighten. However, dark clouds covered the sky, promising rain. The two of them headed along the wooden walkway.
Sabine lifted her hands to her mouth, blowing hot air on them, trying to warm up. “It’s vastly different here than in—” She didn’t get to finish her sentence because Evander yanked her to the side and into an alcove.
He shoved her against a door while covering her body with his. His green eyes turned furious, making her cower with the intensity and hatred in them. He released her and turned so his back was now against her front.
She was about to ask him what was going on when he removed his hood, exposing his face.
“The only way to her is through me,” he shouted. “Would you dare kill your own prince and commit treason?”
Cold terror slid through Sabine. The assassin had found them.
The door she was leaning against opened, and she fell backward.
ChapterFive
Sabine landed on the floor, the wind knocked out of her. She rolled to the side, trying to catch her breath. Two large black boots came into view. Unable to speak, she said nothing as the man reached down, grabbed hold of her shoulders, and hoisted her to her feet. He pulled her back against his front, covering her mouth with one of his beefy hands while his other pinned her arms down.
Evander cursed. “Release her.” He took a step into the house, his focus never wavering from whoever he was watching out front.
Sabine had no idea how he knew she was in trouble. The man who held her smelled like fish, making her want to gag.
“Everyone in town has been offered a hefty reward for capturing this woman,” the man holding her said.
Horror filled Sabine. This man planned on selling her to the assassin who in turn would kill her.
“Do you have any idea who this woman is?” Evander said, enunciating each word carefully as he took another step into the house, his attention now divided between the man holding her and the person outside.
The man shifted on his feet, but he kept her firmly in his grip.
“The woman you have the audacity to touch is the queen of Lynk. I’m fairly certain if you turn her over to an assassin and she ends up dead, her husband—the king of Lynk—will hunt you down and kill you himself. If I were you, I’d release her.”
The man chuckled. “For the amount of money I’m gonna get, I don’t care who she is.”
Sabine didn’t even come up to this man’s chin, so she couldn’t head-butt him. Thankfully, her brothers had taught her a thing or two growing up. Moving her hand out from under her cloak, she angled her body to the side and reached back, grabbing the man between his legs and squeezing as hard as she could.
The man yelped and released her. She immediately lunged away from him, but he grabbed hold of her cloak and she fell on the floor. When she scrambled to her feet, she saw a dagger protruding from the man’s chest. She hadn’t even seen Evander throw the weapon. She looked at him, her eyes wide with horror. Not only had Evander killed the man, he’d done it without hesitating. She had no idea how someone could kill so easily when there were other options like injuring him instead.
