Evadne
The heel of Astrea’s boots dig into the sand. "No."
Sebastian’s dark eyes light with sothing sinister and I feel it in my gut, even before he closes the distance.
I lurch, shoulder slamming into Astrea just as he swings the sword vehently, with enough energy to cleave her in half. My hands rise to et it and it snaps against the binds holding my wrist together, snapping it free and embedding itself in my chest.
Pain erupts from my chest and I grit my teeth, ignoring it as I spring for him, slamming my fist into his face. He ducks faster than I’ll ever give the fool credit for and rams the poml of his sword into temple hard enough to crack my bone.
I snarl in pain but refuse to go down just yet. I grab his torso and tip my weight into his, taking him down so hard, his back slams into the tree.
His sword clatters to the ground sowhere beside . Astrea is screaming in the distance for us both to stop, but I only have a few seconds before the guards pissing in the distance catch up to the sound of her shouting and hold down once more. It’s now or never.
Claws jut from under my fingertips and I gouge them into his side, pushing in deep until I feel his blood on my fingers.
He growls, ramming his knee into my head to get off him as I stab again and again, aiming to carve him out from inside out.
But sothing hard slams into the side of my head--a stone, possibly--and I lose my bearing for a few seconds, in which he flings off him and I slam into the bark of a tree, cracking the trunk in half.
Pain splinters down my back, my limbs numb for all of five seconds. But even that is more than enough to grant him an advantage because he lifts by my vest and punches .
See? Chivalry is fucking dead these days.
My eyes shut and I spit my blood in his face, laughing. "Go on. Hit harder. We both know that’s the only way you get your one-inched cock hard enough to fuck through a piece of parchnt."
His expression darkens at that and he wrenches my arm forward so hard, it dislocates from the joint. I swallow a cry, biting down on my bottom lip until blood fills my mouth, as he presses my fingers against his swelling crotch. "Does that feel like one inch to you?"
I release my lip only to snarl, "Get that diseased thumb away from ."
A startled, pissed off laugh escapes him and he pushes all of his weight against , trapping against the tree. I wiggle, jerking back to slam my head against his jaw but I’m too short to reach and it only hits him square in the chest.
"Every ti I think I shouldn’t hurt you, you give a thousand reasons to," he murmurs ferally against my ear, trapping my hands above my head with surprising strength. His groin digs into my ass swelling even harder. "I despise your foul tongue. I despise your disgusting scent. I despise the very blood in your veins that makes you haughty and think yourself better than --"
"I *am* better than you," I breathe, inching towards the tree as my limbs begin to lock down on , images of the last man who had in this sa position flashing through my mind. Panic begins to set in as I wriggle and thrash and find myself in an absolute shit position where I cannot move.
"Get off ," I demand.
"Say my na first," he murmurs, voice husky. "Sebastian. Seb. Bas. Bastian. Anything. Just acknowledge ."
"Pig."
"Bitch."
"Retard," I grit out, but my voice trembles on the word. And sothing about it must have gotten to him because Sebastian stills in his movents and sniffs .
I know it when he sniffs the panic rolling off . Amongst the fear and the way my body trembles and inches out of the way. He grunts, lips parting against the shell of my ear and his hands soften by a fraction before begining to pull away. But before he can say anything, a wet, dull crack echoes in the night.
His weight cos off and I whirl to see him drop to the ground in a silent thud. Astrea’s brown eyes are wide and she is clutch is a large stone wet with his blood in her hands, panting and looking utterly sick.
"Oh gods." She begins hyperventilating. The stone falls from her grasp. "Oh gods. Is he dead? Oh gods. I’ve killed him."
I crouch over him, pressing my fingers to his pulse. "Bad news. He’s completely fine."
She deflates, but I’m already moving, stripping him of his coat and draping it over her shoulders. I reach into his pockets and grab his coins and everything of value. And when I’m done, I grab his great sword and heave it over his head.
Only to be stopped by a hand on my wrist and Astrea’s too pretty face looking shell shocked. "What on earth are you doing?!"
I frown. "I’m going to cut off his head and then, his dick and put them in a sack."
"What?! No!" she yells.
I shrug her off. "He’ll only follow if we leave him alive. And I quite prefer to take care of my loose ends before they return to bite back in the ass--"
She shoves away from him. "You’re not killing him."
I raise the sword to her chin. "You’re seriously beginning to annoy the shit out of . Whose side are you on? His or mine? Because I don’t fucking understand you."
She casts him a downward glance and chews on her bottom lip, worry bringing her brows closer. "Yours. I’m on your side. But..." Her hands shake at her sides. "He’s my brother."
My brow arches. "You don’t say."
"Not by blood. We’re foster siblings. Not that any part of my life concerns you, but that’s why I won’t have his blood spilled in the middle of nowhere." Her jaw clenches. "I’ll co with you, but leave him be. Please."
I take one look at the fucker’s face and know that I’ll regret this shitty, stupid decision. But sothing about tonight’s exchange was so damned weird, it disturbed . So, I turn on my heel and begin walking for the horses.
"Wait!" Astrea calls. "You can’t just leave him lying in the snow. He’ll freeze to death!"
"Even better," I murmur, climbing atop the horse holding most of the supplies. "Are you coming or would you like to freeze to death, too? I can make that happen."
Astrea actually looks torn between coming with and leaving her shit-eating prick of a brother or whatever they are to each other behind and I hiss in irritation, kicking the horse’s arse into a gallop.
"Fine!" she yells, running towards and I catch her with a hand around her wrist and tug her up. She cries out in surprise and fear as I toss her behind and at the vicious jump, she wraps her arms around my waist and mutters against my neck, "Has anyone ever told you that you’re insane?"
A smile kicks up my lips. "All the ti."
****
Valka
The wind whips back against my hair and I squint against the sun’s glare.
If I was told months ago while I’d been dragged forward in chains by Lucien’s horse through these very gates that I would once more have to go through this sa spectacle, but his ti with the very sa brooding male behind with his arms wrapped around tightly, I would probably have bashed in soone’s nose.
My limbs tremble with nerves and a soft breath touches the shell of my ear. "Relax, sweetheart."
I lick my lips and try to keep my hands away from my neck and the itching markings on my skin. It is hidden underneath the high-necked tunic but I’ve been naked for so long, I don’t know how to feel... not naked. "Can’t we... go through a different entrance?"
Lucien’s fingers curl on my waist protectively. "We cut off other entrances during the siege." His chin tucks in the centre of my head gently. "We must walk this path, Valka. Not for them, but for you. You deserve every bit as much recognition as I do, because if it hadn’t been for your ploy that had Voss pull out of this war, there wouldn’t have been a Kingdom left for to save."
The gates begin to part and he adds with a smile, "Rember what I told you that day underneath the kitchen table?"
I think for a mont. "That I sll delicious?"
He laughs and the rich sound carries on the wind. "Yes, you do. But I was referring to the other part."
"There were several parts of that conversation," I grumble, even if I know precisely what he’s speaking about.
You’ve never tried to hide or conform to expectations. Don’t start now. ...the mont you start folding yourself up to make other people feel uncomfortable, you hand them control over you.
I suck in a deep breath and relax, leaning back into him and his thighs press flush against mine. Almost imdiately sothing hard pokes against my ass. "You can’t be serious."
"Your ass is on my cock, Valka. It is rely reacting to ownership." He nips the tip of my ear. "Chin up."
From this vantage point, riding along the path as the people toss petals against the cobbled path and cheer, Lucien’s and my na on their lips, my worries are instantly forgotten and I understand why he wanted to have this. For a mont, I marvel at the thrill that rushes through at it.
At the signs they make in my na. At the people who fight to take my hand and press it to their forehead like I am so deity. Soone places a garland on my hair, another on my wrist and I laugh at the explosion of fireworks in the skies, painting the blue in streaks of orange.
"There’ll be more tonight," Lucien promises. "To welco you ho."
Tears sting my eyes and I choke it down. "Since when are you this nice?"
"When have I never not been nice?"
But the ride to the castle is over quicker than I’d have liked and I find myself stiffening, my smile draining as I see the royal families up front, waiting.
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