Page 70 of The Lost Princess

I’d rather die up here than lead Nasi to you, I thought viciously, wishing I could shout it from the rooftops. The gag made it impossible.

The sound of the people rioting below me only fed my zeal and my anger. They’d tear this palace apart stone by stone to free their beautiful princess. I didn’t even feel guilty about the lie. If Alfred sent his guards after them, it would only make it worse and fan the flames of a possible rebellion.

Watch it all burn around you, just like my mother watched hers burn.

“Send guards out to control the crowd. Do not engage yet,” Alfred ordered, getting control of himself. I didn’t like the sudden calm he exuded.

“Bring the other prisoners. They might loosen her tongue.”

Unease erupted through me as the three of us stood there: draken, king, and pirate. The noise of the crowd seemed nothing more like a low roar; a dull buzzing that was just there. Long minutes passed.

“Please, don’t! Let him go! He’s an old man!”

Selena’s panicked voice filtered up to me, staggering into view as a soldier shoved her out onto the balcony. Materi was right behind her, both of them bound in chains.

Arrested for helping me.

“Ah, it’syou. He is a traitor! I should have known you’d stick your nose into all of this,” Alfred sneered to Materi. His red face turned back toward me “Change back or I’ll slit their thoughts in front of the entire kingdom,” Alfred intoned darkly, completely serious.

He wouldn’t do that, would he? Surely the crowd would revolt at the sight of blood—at the image of their own king turning on his own and going on a murdering spree.

But I wouldn’t condemn Selena or Materi for that. I couldn’t. They’d been kind to me when no one else had. It was pathetic, but those moments were all I had to cling to. I locked eyes with both of them, knowing I had no choice.

“Don’t do it! Who says he won’t kill us anyway?” Materi jeered. His gaze darted back to mine, filled with determination.

“Kaida, don’t you dare!” Selena yelled, reading the expression on my face. Besides Nasi, she was likely the only one who knew what I was likely to do. And she was right.

If Alfred kills them anyway, at least it isn’t onmyconscience.

I shuddered, scales rippling across my skin and shining iridescent in the bright midday sun. Black claws shot from my nail beds, and my fangs erupted from my gums. My wings, white and glittering, burst from my back. I instinctively flared them to shield the rest of my body from the harsh rays of the sun.

The crowd quieted as one, looking up at me in awe and fear.

“You see now?” Alfred boasted, gesturing dramatically with his arms as he addressed the crowd. “This monster has tricked us all these years! She trickedme, and killed the real princess as a babe and took her place!”

Shocked silence met this pronouncement, then the muttering started. I growled at the blatant lie.

“Take them back to the dungeons,” Alfred ordered the guards, and Materi and Selena were led away struggling.

I hung my head. It was all for naught.

The muttering grew louder, turning into yells and shouts, jeers and insults. The first thing thrown at me was a rotted head of lettuce, hitting the bars of my cage and exploding in a ball of leafy greens. I gaped at it, shocked. The tomatoes thrown next easily slid in between the bars, striking my neck and chest. I backed up into the far side of my cage, tilting my wings to shield myself from the crowd rather than the sun.

A barrage of garbage and filth was flung at me, stinging painfully off my wings. Screeches of ‘monster’ and ‘demon’ filtered up to me, hurting worse than the refuse they threw.

“You will stay up here until you scream for mercy. Then your male will come running, the stupid beast he is.”

I didn’t acknowledge Alfred. I didn’t glance down at him. I didn’t need to. I knew I wouldn’t break. I wouldn’t cry, and I wouldn’t scream. I’d die before I led Nasi anywhere near this godsforsaken place.

Hatred welled in my blood, and hot liquid dripped down from my fangs, seeping into the gag stuffed into my mouth. My mouth burned and stung, but I could suddenly move my tongue. I tried pushing the gag out, but it was tied too tightly around my head. The fabric had disintegrated slightly, but not the tough leather on the outside.

Did I have venom?

“Your mother was a wild animal—a slave who couldn’t even speak. She pissed herself every time someone came near.”

I’d spit it into Alfred’s eyes the first chance I got. I’d tear his chest open with my claws.

My mother was strong and ferocious enough to stay alive for me—to give me life.

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