Page 47 of Across an Endless Sea

Why can she not just accept that she has no say here? Why is she so insistent on defending me?

Draard brings the scourge down again, this time catching my shoulder, and Rose flinches again. She turns to say something to Prae, who glowers back. They’re too far away, and the noise of the feast covers up their conversation, but I can tell Rose is getting on my cousin’s nerves.

“I’ve been waiting for this since you stabbed your brother in the back, bastard,” Draard growls, bringing the scourge down again, lower this time.

He catches the side of my ribs with this blow, and I growl out a curse.

I need to stop worrying about Rose and start thinking about my own skin.

But I can’t help but answer back. “Still sore over that?” I pant. “Honestly, if you’re missing Bres that much, just challenge me yourself. I’ll gladly send you to join him and the rest of the Ancestors.”

The metal bites into the base of my spine next, and my muscles tense as the barbs sink even deeper. I don’t give him the satisfaction of letting loose the roar of pain caged behind my clenched teeth. Instead, I wait for him to draw back, rotate my jaw, and taunt him a little more.

“Are you sure you’re even trying?”

Ancestors damn it. Sometimes I’m convinced my smart mouth has it out for the rest of me.

I lose count of the lashes that follow, though I’m suresomeoneis counting for Draard. At least, I hope they are, because I’m not sure he knows how to count above ten.

My vision goes a little hazy after what must be the second dozen, but I can still see the colour violet.

Then it disappears, replaced with a feeling of ants beneath my skin. The sensation somehow manages to overwhelm the pain from the raw mess of meat that is my back.

The Call.

Where is Rose?

I blink once, then a second time as the scourge comes down again. Even when the blurriness leaves my vision, I still can’t find her. Prae is sitting in her spot, but where has Rose gone?

A strange kind of urgency fills my chest as I follow my cousin’s gaze and find my little queen struggling against a warrior who’s dragging her towards the king’s table.

Who summoned her? My father?

No. He doesn’t want her up there. He banished her to Prae’s corner.

The scourge bites into my back again, but I ignore it, watching as the soldier hands Rose over to Lev and his twin. Yet more of my cousins—because Balor was nothing if not prolific—and two of the worst, at that.

Lev grins as he takes Rose’s wrists in one of his hands and yanks her onto his lap.

I’ve been focusing on keeping my body loose, but the sight of Rose in another male’s lap has every muscle in my body coiled tighter than a spring. The scourge rips through my right shoulder, and I growl, making Draard laugh.

He thinks I give a damn about my back? Idiot.

Lev laughs as Rose struggles, easily holding her hands at bay with one of his. I can’t see where the other is, but a stone sinks in my stomach as the Call morphs from crawling terror to a horrible mix of fear and violation.

Don’t react. Don’t.

Lev’s twin, Rayna, leans in with a leering smile. She pinches my mate’s face between her fingers. Rose is twisting and squirming as she tries to escape, but I know from experience that fighting only excites them.

They’re sadists who like to share. They’re probably doing this on my father’s orders. Scaring Rose. Shaking her up while the rest of the table gets off on her discomfort.

But when Rayna leans in and spits into Rose’s mouth, my vision goes red.

A ghost blade stabs Rayna through the chest before she can finish throwing her head back with laughter. It twists between her ribs, shredding her heart. The hall, which has been watching Rose’s torment with amusement, falls silent as my cousin’s hand flies to her chest, and her shocked face whirls to face me as she realises what has happened. She coughs, blood splattering over Rose’s dress, before she slumps forwards. Dead.

Lev lets out a bellow, casting Rose aside like a rag doll, as he launches himself over the table towards me. The little queen’s head smacks against the stone with an audible thunk, and she goes still.

Without a thought, another ghost blade spins into the room, ready to cleave Lev’s head from his body mid-stride.

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