EM’S FIRST THOUGHT was What luck!
This man with a sword was going to kill Prince Casimir, and she didn’t have to do a thing but stand there and watch. She wouldn’t even have to worry about the wedding night.
Her second thought, however, was for her plan. If Cas died, she would be sent back to Vallos, and Jovita would be named as the next heir. She would accomplish nothing if Cas died tonight.
The man pulled his sword out of Cas’s left shoulder as screams ripped through the ballroom. Cas stumbled backward, his arm slipping out of hers. The man aimed his sword straight for Cas’s heart. The prince was unarmed and blinking as if in a daze, blood dripping from his fingertips. He clearly wasn’t used to being attacked.
The situation was this: one man with a sword, at least twenty members of the guard already running toward them, and—most importantly—her. Easy.
Em lunged for the man. She was plenty used to being attacked. This felt like home.
She launched her foot into the man’s knee seconds before his blade could find its mark. He stumbled, his sword lurching to the side and missing Cas entirely. He spun toward her and she slammed her fist into his face, using her other hand to wrench the sword out of his hand.
He dove for her, but three members of the guard were behind him suddenly, pulling him back. Aren was one of them, and he gave Em a wide-eyed look that was either approval or confusion.
“Cas! Cas!” the queen screeched as she flew past Em. Cas was on his knees, his hand to his shoulder. His gray coat hid most of the blood, but a small pool had collected on the floor as it dripped down his arm. He’d gone pale.
Hands wrapped around Em’s arms, holding tighter when she tried to jerk away.
“We need to take you to safety, Your Highness,” a guard said, pulling on her arms. Two others closed in around her.
She glanced over her shoulder at Cas as they dragged her away, but people swarmed around the prince, hiding him from view.
Please don’t die, she prayed. Not yet.
The guards delivered her to her room, closing and locking the door behind them. All three stood stiffly in front of the door, hands clasped behind their backs.
Pain shot through the hand she’d used to punch the man, but she ignored it. “I want to go see if Cas is all right.”
The tallest guard shook his head. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. Procedure dictates that we keep you here until they’ve made sure the castle is safe.”
“Does this happen often?” she asked, surprised. She’d been under the impression that Lera was the safest of the four kingdoms. They’d beaten everyone else down to make sure of it.
“We have procedures outlined for all possible situations,” the guard said.
That wasn’t an answer, which was interesting.
“Do you know who that was?” she asked. “Why did he want to kill Cas?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, I wouldn’t know. He’ll be questioned soon.”
Em walked to her bed, hopping onto the mattress as she frowned in thought. She didn’t know who would want to kill the prince. Well, besides her.
Long minutes ticked by, and Em moved from the bed to the window, and back again. It was at least an hour before the door finally opened.
Jovita stood on the other side of the door. Em jumped up from the bed and rushed to her.
“Is he alive?” Em asked.
“He’s fine,” Jovita said. “It’s just his shoulder.”
Em breathed a sigh of relief, which was echoed by all three guards.
“He’d like to see you,” Jovita said, placing her back against the open door and beckoning at Em with two fingers.
He surely didn’t want to continue with the wedding night after getting stabbed, did he? Em swallowed as she walked out the door and started down the hallway with Jovita and two guards. Maybe his wounds weren’t very serious after all. There had been a lot of blood, but Em had suffered injuries that bled profusely but hadn’t slowed her down.
“We should have a discussion soon about what to do in case of an emergency,” Jovita said. “We have a meeting spot in case the castle is taken or unsafe.”
“Where is that?” Em asked.
“Fort Victorra, in the Southern Mountains. Do you know it?”
“I do. It’s near the Vallos border.”
“Good. I’ll give you a map later, just in case. All members of the royal family get one.”
Five guards were outside Cas’s rooms. Jovita led Em past them and through a dark office full of books. The door to Cas’s bedroom was ajar, light streaming out through the crack.
“You should rest, Cas,” the queen said from the other side of the door.
“I will, Mother.” Then, in a softer voice: “I’m fine.”
Jovita knocked and pushed the door open. The room was even bigger than Em’s, with an impressive dresser and ornate mirror on one side of the room, and two big plushy chairs on the other, in front of a massive window currently obscured by deep-blue curtains. Cas lay on the big bed in the center of the room, shirtless, with a white bandage covering his left shoulder. He was still pale, but he smiled as she walked into the room.
The queen turned, and Em found herself crushed against the woman. She held Em so tightly it was difficult to breathe.
“Thank you,” the queen whispered.
Em resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she extracted herself from the queen’s embrace. The king stood next to his wife, his face full of gratitude. Em quickly crossed her arms over her chest so he wouldn’t get any ideas about hugging her too.
“May we have a minute?” Cas asked.
The queen wiped at her cheeks. “We’ll be right outside.”
The king put a hand on Em’s shoulder as he passed her.
“We owe you a debt of gratitude,” he said softly.
Em tried not to appear too pleased. She couldn’t have found a better way to endear herself to the king and queen than if she had planned this herself.
The door closed with a quiet thud as they left, and she clasped her hands in front of her, suddenly nervous. An elaborate jeweled sword hung on the wall not three steps away, and another one, sheathed and ready to be grabbed, sat on the dresser in the corner. Five seconds to kill the prince. If she hadn’t just saved his life, she might have been tempted.
Cas was still smiling at her, and he gestured with his good hand. “Come here?”
He said it as a question, and she nodded in agreement as she stepped forward. She was tempted to stop in the middle of the room, but that seemed awkward, so she walked all the way to his bed and stood next to it.
She’d never seen a boy shirtless in his bed before. She and Damian had shared a tent many times, but that was different. They were both fully clothed, in the dirt, and usually Aren was there as well. This felt more intimate. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she wiped a sweaty palm against her dress.
“I just wanted to say thank you.” Cas kept his gaze steady with hers, and she found it hard to look away. In a certain light his eyes were blue, in others they seemed a bit green. Either way, they were clear and striking.
“You’re welcome.”
“It’s really above and beyond the call of duty to save my life on our wedding day.”
“It was nothing.”
One side of his mouth quirked up, his eyebrow rising with it. He was amused, but also . . . intrigued? He was looking at her as if he liked her. She didn’t think she wanted him to like her.
But she had to admit that it would be helpful if he did. She couldn’t ignore him and expect to be given inside information about Olivia’s location and Lera’s defenses.
She took a tiny step closer to the bed. “Are you in pain?”
“A little. It’s subsiding.” He glanced at the bandage. “The doctor gave me something. He said it would make me drowsy, so don’t be alarmed if I suddenly pass out.”
She tried not to let her body sigh with relief. If he was going to pass out, then there would be no expectation of her climbing into bed with him. She had another day or two until she had to face that particular challenge.
“Is it common for people to attack you?” she asked.
“This would be a first.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Lera is usually very safe. Especially the castle. You don’t need to worry.”
“I wasn’t worried. I won.”
He laughed, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “You did. It was impressive, actually.”
“I’ve been attacked more times than I can count.” She said it almost smugly.
Cas’s smile faded. “I guess you have. The Ruined are all over Vallos, aren’t they?”
“They were. There are less now.”
“And they attacked often?”
Anger swirled in her gut as his features dropped in sympathy. Sympathy because she had to deal with those awful, evil Ruined.
“They were being hunted down and murdered, so yes, they defended themselves often.” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. She didn’t care. She’d say them again, just to watch that stupid baffled expression cross his face.
“Do you—” He sat up straighter, wincing in pain.
“I should let you rest,” she said quickly, before he could finish that sentence. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about the Ruined with the prince. It was unlikely she’d be able to keep her temper in check.
She took a step away from the bed and he reached out, catching her hand in his. He wore a thoughtful expression, his eyes soft and completely unlike his father’s. “I’d like to hear about your experiences with the Ruined sometime. If you don’t mind talking about it.”
“Sure,” she lied, hoping he would forget that request.
He rubbed his thumb across her fingers. She noticed for the first time that red and purple had bloomed across her knuckles, where she’d punched the man.
“Do you need the doctor to look at your hand?” He loosened his grip, as if he was afraid he was hurting her.
“No, it’s fine,” she said. “Just a bruise.”
He slowly released her. She ducked her head as she walked to the door, but she couldn’t resist glancing back at him before she left. Light flickered off his bare chest from the lantern next to his bed, and he tossed a piece of dark hair out of his eyes.
“Good night,” he said.
She grasped the knob, mumbling a good-night as she wrenched the door open and walked out of his room.