AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For two days, she's been out there by herself, believing that I betrayed and tried to murder her. She's been out there all alone, scared to death. Cold. Hungry.
"Troy! Let him breathe!"
It takes everything I have to pry my fingers from his throat.
My fucking soul is breaking. I don't give a damn about his betrayal. He is no friend of mine. Not any longer. But she's out there alone, vulnerable, possibly injured.
I can't stand it.
Christ, I can't stand it.
"Why?" I snarl, my eyes locked on him. "Why, Samson, goddamn you?"
"D-didn't know," he gasps. "D-d-didn't k-know w-who she w-was. T-thought you were g-going to abdicate for her."
My own stupidity slams into me like a freight train.
Jesus. This is my fault. I went to him for advice. I told him where she was and what I was planning. Had I just kept my mouth shut—had I never trusted him—none of this would have happened. I set the ball in motion, and this is the result.
He tried to get rid of her to force me into doing what he thought was best for Stonehaven. I thought my father was ruthless and power-hungry, but Samson was the enemy all along. He was willing to murder an innocent woman to ensure I fell in line. And I have no one to blame for trusting him but myself.
"I should kill you right here and now." I stare at him in disgust. "The only reason I don't is because of her. Because I made a promise to her that I intend to keep. Tell me where she is so they can drag your miserable ass out of my sight before I change my mind."
"An abandoned mine in Fable Forest," he says, closing his eyes. "She's been staying there."
Yet again, I have to fight the urge to kill him. He knows that mine. It's abandoned for a reason—a group of miners died in it several years ago when a portion of it collapsed. And yet, he's let her stay there, knowing how dangerous it is.
Is there no depth he's not willing to sink to? No sin he isn't willing to commit? Once upon a time, despite his flaws, he was a man of honor, someone I respected.
Now, he's not someone I want to know at all.
I shove him away from me, knocking his head against the floor as I clamber to my feet. My wild eyes meet my father's. "Take his sorry ass to the tower," I growl, striding away. "He can fucking rot there. I'm going to get my princess."
Chapter Fourteen
Troy
By the time I arrive at the mine, shadows cling to the edges of the forest, sunlight barely piercing the thick canopy of trees overhead.
I park as close as I can, running the rest of the way on foot. My lungs burn with exertion, my heart pounding. I don't stop—not until the entrance to the mine comes into view, the warning signs barely visible in the thick brush that's grown up around them.
The entrance to the mine is in the same state. Vines and ivy have grown over it, all but hiding it from view. The underbrush around the entrance has been trampled—the only sign that anyone has been here in recent memory.
I rush toward the entrance, my heart in my throat. I don't call out, terrified she'll run if she hears my voice. As far as she knows, I tried to have her killed. I need to get close enough to convince her that I mean her no harm before she has a chance to run. Otherwise, she may rush straight into danger trying to get away.
I can't allow that. This mine is no place for her.
I'm nearly to the entrance when a soft sound reaches me. I pause, trying to pick it out.
My heart cracks wide open when I realize what it is.
She's crying. The soft sound whispers from the mine, haunting and sorrowful.
I move in that direction as if drawn by a magnet, unable to stand there and listen when she needs me.
I slip inside the mine, pausing long enough to allow my eyes to adjust. Somehow, she's turned the cavern into something resembling a home. Rocks line one corner, with an emergency blanket she undoubtedly pillaged from the mine covering a bed of leaves and straw.
She dragged wood into the opposite corner, stacking it into a rough table. Berries and apples are piled on top. She found lanterns somewhere—the same place she found the blanket, perhaps—and strewn them around, illuminating the dirt floors and wooden walls.
