“Now, listen,” he growled. “I couldn’t tell you who I was when my own men didn’t know.” I fought against him, rearing off the ground in an attempt to unseat him. He leaned forward, settling more weight on top of me. “And I didn’t think you would react well if I told you I knew who you were. So I left my camp instead in an effort to keep you safe.”
I fought harder and bit out a harsh laugh. “Is that what you were doing? Keeping me safe?”
He leaned in. “You wouldn’t have survived one day without me.”
“Let me go!” I screamed. “I order you to let me go!”
His smile was as menacing as it was promising. “You’re in my kingdom now, Princess. I suggest you show me some respect.” He sat up and looked to his men—his royal men, not the rebels that he’d ordered to flee. “She can ride in the wagon. Restrain her if you need to. Her monk is welcome to join her.”
He stood up and held out a hand. I lay on the ground deciding my next move. I wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of my lungs until I was red in the face.
But then Arrick, ack, Taelon, held out my crown to me and I lost some of my fight. I picked myself off the ground and brushed at the leaves and dirt now tangled in my dress and hair before grudgingly accepting my crown.
As soon as my fingers wrapped around it, I felt the tickle of energy run up my arm. I promptly tucked it away in my satchel again, closing the bag tightly and making sure it was secured to my body.
Ar—Taelon waited patiently for me to finish. And when I was ready, he waved a gallant arm and said, “Right this way, Your Highness.”
17
The ride to Soravale’s castle proved silent and unpleasant. After I’d retrieved my trembling Shiksa from her hiding place, Taelon’s royal guards led us back to the road, where Oliver and I were loaded into a wagon meant for prisoners.
I slumped against the narrow bench that made my bum go numb and tried to breathe through my frustration. We had been on the road for more than a day. Taelon had made plenty of stops to make sure Oliver and I were able to relieve ourselves and eat, but I grew tired of his forced kindness. Especially when all he did was lock us up again inside the wagon that had been meant for him.
I would have reminded him of that, had I been speaking to him.
I could tell that my behavior was trying his patience. He stood by his actions and his decisions. But he did not understand. I had trusted him. I had believed him when he told me who he was. And he had let me.
Besides that, he wasn’t just anyone from my past. He had been my betrothed. He was once my future. And when my life had been stolen from me, he had been the reason I still had a future—even if it was wholly different than the one intended for me. And up until now I had been beyond grateful to him. I had owed him the debt of my life.
Except he wasn’t the boy I remembered. He wasn’t honest and admirable and loyal to his future. He had abandoned his country and his people when he ran off to lead a destructive band of rebels. He made allies with thieves and horse bandits. He lied to me.
The boy I knew once upon a time had disappeared, and in his place was a criminal who happened to have royal blood.
“How much longer?” Oliver groaned. “I hate this carriage.”
“That’s because this carriage is meant for convicts,” I reminded him. Shiksa crawled from the satchel that still rested against my hip and used her tiny claws to climb over my chest. Sensing my distress, she nuzzled her little face against mine. I closed my eyes against the feel of her fur and cold nose. I let my fingers play with her long tail while I decided how to tell Oliver the truth. “Oliver, they might deal with us like criminals when we get to the castle. They might lock us up in a cell while they investigate my claims. But Hugo, Taelon’s father, has always been just. I cannot imagine he would treat us unfairly.”
“And what will happen once he decides your story is true?”
Shiksa settled in the crook of my neck. Her tiny teeth attacked the top button of my cloak. She had grown since I first found her. “I don’t know.”
Oliver wiggled until he sat up straight. “But Arrick believes you to be who you say you are. He clearly means you no harm as he’s had abundant opportunities to slit your throat. And if this king is as fair and just as you remember him, then he might also believe you.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. “That is a possibility.”
“Then, dragon’s blood, Tessana,” he snorted. “Arrick is our only ally. Why are you mad at him? We need him!”
I sat up and poor Shiksa tumbled off me. Her fast feet caught her before she dirtied her pure white coat on the filthy floor. Giving me a look, she jumped up to the bench again and settled herself on my lap.
“He lied to me!” I exclaimed. “He knew who I was the entire time and said nothing! What kind of man parades a woman through highway, country, and forest without at least hinting that they knew each other in a different life?” I swallowed back the rage building inside me. “Oliver, he saved my life when I was a child. He is the reason I’m
