Chapter 29
I leaped to my feet. “Lily!”
“Ah!” Cole also came upright. “Well done.”
What happened?
She looked dejected and guilty as they half carried her forward. We had nearly made it out of the palace grounds and were taking turns scouting a short way ahead. I was distracted, worrying about you, and stumbled straight into a group of guards. I bolted, to lead them away from Jon, but I couldn’t outrun them. She paused. He’s going to be so furious that I left him behind! And you, Sophie. You should be furious with me, too. I’ve ruined everything!
I sent her an internal glare as she arrived in front of the throne. Don’t be ridiculous. This situation is not your fault. All of the guilt belongs with Cole. I glanced at the guards who tightly gripped her arms. And maybe some on these henchmen of his, too. Who in the kingdoms are they?
She glanced at one of them and frowned. Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t think they’re Marinese, though.
“Where’s the prince?” asked Cole.
One of the men shrugged uncomfortably. “We haven’t seen any sign of him. The others are still out looking.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed, but then he shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. There is nothing he can do, and Lily is the important one.” He turned to me. “I told you I would not be so easily defeated Princess Sophie. And you have now worn out every shred of my patience.” He gestured at the guards, and one of them grabbed both her arms, holding her firmly in front of him, while the other drew his sword and placed it at her throat.
“No!” I leaped to my feet and lunged forward, but the man who had remained behind with Cole held me back.
“Carefully now, Princess,” said Cole. “You wouldn’t want to go startling my guard here.”
I froze.
“We will be married immediately,” he continued.
I swung around to stare at him. “Immediately? But Dominic is still the heir.”
“We will be married now, to ensure you don’t get any more foolish ideas. You will be able to claim the throne soon enough.”
I gaped at him, my mind racing. This couldn’t be happening. Everything had gone wrong, and now it was all moving too fast. I couldn’t marry him. But when I looked at the sharp blade pressed against Lily’s throat, I knew I couldn’t refuse him either.
Don’t do it, Sophie! But I could feel Lily’s fear, as sharp as my own.
Cole seemed to have lost all caution in the face of our nearly successful defiance. It was a dangerous move since he didn’t know that Dominic had dissolved our betrothal. I suspected Lily and I weren’t the only ones afraid—I could sense the fear lurking beneath the surface of his actions. He didn’t understand what had happened, and he no longer trusted his ability to keep us secured.
“But how?” I asked, searching for any way to delay him. “How are we to be married?”
He eyed me coldly. “Surely you didn’t think I had come unprepared? In Marin, I befriended an official from Palinar, one stationed in the duchy with a small liaison role before the curse hit. He has accompanied us and stands ready to perform the ceremony. He is eager to assist in freeing the kingdom from the curse of the Beast and his family.”
The thought of Dominic brought tears to my eyes. If only I could have found a way to save him. Would I ever get to see him again, or have the chance to tell him how I felt? What would happen when Dominic’s coronation window closed? Would he remain a beast forever as I feared?
My stomach churned. If he came after me, it wouldn’t matter. He would be dead.
And yet, still I wished he was here with me.
Cole was shouting orders for the official to be brought to the throne room, but I was only listening with half my mind. A strange flash outside the window kept distracting me. I remembered the flashes I had seen earlier while driving through the city, but this one was different. This one actually looked like a human form.
There! I saw it again. This time I felt sure it had been a person. How many guards did Cole have with him? My heart sank. He would not allow us the opportunity to escape again. And Jon would be hard-pressed to assist us, even if he remained free. Not when he was alone and had no way to communicate with us.
The official eventually arrived, and I noticed that he looked nervous at all the drawn swords and angry-looking guards. Perhaps he would refuse to conduct a ceremony so clearly done under coercion? But Cole clapped him on the back and murmured something in his ear. His face cleared, and my hope withered.
Cole had the official stand in front of the throne and arranged the two of us at the bottom of the three steps that led up to it. Lily he positioned to one side, within my eye line, still held by one guard, another holding the sword to her throat. He pulled a ring from his pocket, and I shivered, feeling it already like a prison chain around me.
Dominic! I cried in my heart, my eyes filling with tears. It should have been you.
As if called into existence by my desperate wishes, a deafening roar shook the throne room. Everyone started and looked toward the double doors. They had been flung wide and, standing between them, stood Dominic. Fury radiated from every line of his body, and death was in his eyes.
“Guards! Stop him!” shouted Cole, a tremor in his voice. And then chaos broke out.
The guard who had been holding the sword to Lily lowered his blade and moved to stand between Dominic and Cole. A group of guards poured in from the small side door and rushed to join him. My stomach churned to see Dominic facing them all alone, growling and striding forward, a sword gripped in each hand. But a moment later, a small crowd poured in behind him, most of them dressed in the official uniform of the Palinaran guard.
Before I could even begin to wonder who they were, or where they had come from, Lily seized the opportunity afforded by the absence of the second guard and bit down hard on the arm that encircled her shoulders. The guard yelled and pulled his arm back while Lily kicked him hard in one shin. He stumbled backwards, and she launched herself forward.
I thought she was coming for me, but Jon appeared instead, sweeping her into his arms. He must have come in with the wave of Palinaran guards although I hadn’t seen him.
Meanwhile, the Palinaran guards clashed violently with Cole’s men, attempting to pull them away as they tried to swarm the prince. Dominic’s swords flashed, clearing a path ahead of him, his focus never leaving Cole.
My stomach churned at the sight of him, overwhelmed with both love and fear. How could he be here? How was it possible?
“Dominic!” His name fell from my lips involuntarily, just as he broke through the last of the guards. He faltered, his burning eyes turning to me, and for a moment no one else existed in the room but us.
Sophie! Behind you! Lily’s scream ripped through my mind just as rough arms jerked me backwards, and something sharp pricked my throat.
“Stay back!” yelled Cole, dragging me off my feet and immobilizing me with a dagger at my throat.
Dominic paused, but I could see his whole body shaking with contained fury, and his growls rolled over one another, deep and threatening. His menacing gaze remained fixed on Cole, but his words could only be addressed to me.
If he harms you, I will kill him.
His face was the last thing I saw as Cole dragged me backwards out of the room.