The prince wasted no time getting down to business as he looked me over and then narrowed his eyes at Sean in the flickering light of the fire. “Sir William, what is the punishment for assaulting a woman?” he asked.
“One hundred lashes, Your Highness,” Sir William replied without hesitation as he looked at me sympathetically.
“And just so these wayfarers know, what is the penalty for treason?”
“Death, my lord.”
Sean, even in the amount of pain that he was in, still managed to laugh disrespectfully at Prince Eythan.
“Are my laws amusing to you?” the prince asked lightly as he came to stand near Sean. He seemed extremely angry. I knew this was not good. I started to feel nervous despite what I had just been through. They were two very different men. One tall, athletic, and blonde, the other not quite as tall, but muscularly built with tawny hair, a scruff of a beard, and tanned skin. His muscles were evident even under the thin shirt he wore.
“This whole world is amusing to me,” Sean managed to get out defiantly without grunting in pain.
“Remove the arrow,” Prince Eythan commanded to one of his officers standing nearby. The officer stepped up and grasped the arrow on both sides and snapped it like a twig, dragging it out of Sean’s hand mercilessly. Sean hissed in pain as blood began to drip steadily out of the wound. He gripped his injured hand with his uninjured one and breathed heavily, glaring at the prince.
“This wayfarer is guilty of treason, and will pay for it with his life tonight,” Prince Eythan announced as casually as if he was announcing that it was time for tea. Sarah gasped and Paul put an arm around her to hold her back. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. My guards kept a gentle but firm grip on me.
Sean spit at the prince’s feet. The prince did not react but turned from him to walk back towards his horse. Sean laughed and called after him while looking at me, “the only thing I am guilty of tonight is roughing up your whore over there!”
The prince stopped in his tracks, spun around without missing a beat, and marched back over to Sean. He leaned in close and said in a voice so soft that I could barely hear him, “I may not have the power to send you home, but I can certainly send you to hell where you belong.” They stared at each other for a long moment as I breathed heavily, my heart pounded in my chest. I could sense the dread building up inside of me. I barely registered what happened as I saw the prince’s hands reach up with superhuman speed and grasp Sean’s head. Then I heard a sickening snap, and Sean’s head lolled limply to one side as the prince let go. The whole thing happened so fast I thought I blinked and missed it, but there it was. The prince had killed Sean with his bare hands right before my eyes! Sean didn’t even have a chance to react or fight. My mouth dropped open in horror and I lifted my hands to cover it in shock. I tried to turn away but my guards held me steady. The guards that were holding Sean laid his body on the ground and walked away. The soldiers that had surrounded Sarah, Paul, and the others disbanded.
Prince Eythan strode back to his horse and mounted it. “Bring her,” he ordered, motioning to me. I had no choice but to move towards him, ushered by the guards. Sir William lifted me easily and placed me in the saddle in front of Prince Eythan, who wrapped one arm around me and took his reigns in the other. Without a word we rode off into the night back towards the castle, leaving the horrible death scene behind.
The scenery seemed to pass by in a blur as we rode back toward Silverstone. I kept seeing Sean’s death over and over in my mind, feeling guilty that I was somehow partly to blame. I felt too numb from everything that had just happened to be very observant, though I could see that guards and soldiers were out in full force everywhere. I wondered what was going on. We slowed to a stop in a busy stable yard and the prince dismounted his magnificent white horse. He assisted me down himself afterwards. I was still confused as to why he had brought me back with him.
Without saying a word, he gripped my upper arm and started leading me away. He wasn’t rough by any means, but I could definitely tell that he was in military mode. He could be hauling me to my own execution for all that I knew. There was no escape from any of this, so I went with him without a fuss, keeping my mouth shut. We left the chaos in the stable yard behind only to be confronted with more commotion inside of the castle. I wasn’t entirely sure where we were, but it seemed to be near the dungeons where they kept the most recent prisoners, and the ones that they planned to execute promptly.
I stiffened as I heard grunting, growling, and screeching sounds which seemed to be growing louder with each footstep that we took further toward the dungeon with our formation of guards trailing us. Suddenly he halted us and turned to me without relinquishing his hold.
“Your former companion conspired with a band of Talurth demons. He agreed to lead them into a secure part of my kingdom and jeopardize the safety of my people in exchange for something. What that something is . . . I have yet to discover.” He said the words quickly and sternly to me. I realized that he was explaining to me . . . no, . . . justifying to me why he killed Sean. “This is a serious, treasonous matter! Do you know what Talurth demons do, Evelyn?”
I shook my head. I had no idea what a Talurth demon even was.
“They like to eat human women, starting with their skin!” he growled. He abruptly started walking again, pulling me with him towards an iron gate that groaned opened as we approached, heading down a little deeper into the underground dungeons.
“Have you ever seen a Talurth demon?”
“No,” I choked out, beginning to feel the sensation of dread build within me.
“You need to!” he announced as he pulled me into a dank, dark room.
I panicked a little as I wondered if he was going to feed me to one. Inside the room was one of the foulest, nastiest looking creatures I had ever seen. It was chained up and restrained, but its bright yellow eyes immediately trained on me as we entered. It sniffed the air and snarled at me, struggling against its captors that were helping to keep it subdued. The prince still held me in his grasp.
“Have a look, Evie!” he ordered, addressing me informally. “Your companion led several of these creatures into my kingdom and now five of my guards are dead as well as a dozen or so villagers.”
I nodded, shaking with fear. I looked it over, memorizing the awful sight and sound of it in case I ever needed the information again. Something told me I would never forget it. And, as quickly as he had brought us in, he led us out, the iron gates and doors closing promptly behind us. The lesson was apparently over. I didn’t ever want to know what would become of the horrible creature left behind.
He walked us out of the dungeon area towards a more civilized part of the castle but my nerves were shot. The stress of the evening finally caught up with me and I could feel it coming. I started to become shaky and sweaty. Before I could gather the courage to say anything to him, my steps faltered and bright spots swam in my vision as everything went black.
The sounds around me seemed muffled for a few moments, but I recognized Prince Eythan’s voice barking out instructions, then I heard Sir William’s voice. I felt the swaying motion of his stride about the same time I realized that he was carrying me. I opened my eyes and looked around weakly as the stars cleared. I had no idea where we were, but we appeared to be entering a lounge of sorts with a very large fireplace and some rugged furniture. Most likely we were still in an older part of the castle on the lower levels, nowhere near court or the Great Hall. At least it was quiet. Much to my relief, the commotion seemed far behind us in the hall and I could no longer smell the characteristic scent of the dank dungeons. Sir William shut the door behind us, leaving me alone with Prince Eythan as he brought me further into the room. He approached what looked like some sort of medieval couch closest to the fireplace and set me down upon it gently. Next, he pulled up an ottoman close to me and sat down. He turned to a nearby end table with a decanter on it and poured me a drink into a glass roughly the size of a shot gl
ass. He handed me the glass and turned to take a small basin of water and a cloth from a servant that left as swiftly as he appeared. I drained the shot in two seconds by the time he turned back to me.
“You were meant to sip that,” he said softly with slight amusement as he quirked an eyebrow, taking the glass from me.
I shrugged, not knowing what else to do. I remained silent, my breath still hitching from the stress, waiting for him to say something else. I hardly knew what to make of this situation, now that I was alone with the man who just snapped the neck of my former friend. After a few moments, I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“You . . . you killed Sean! . . . With your bare hands!” I finally exclaimed nervously watching him warily, shrinking back a little.
He dipped the cloth in the water and started dabbing it on my face, cleaning off the dried blood that had accumulated there. He had a light touch which somehow felt a little soothing. I tried not to cringe back from it as I kept seeing the memory of him murdering Sean in the back of my mind.
“I have killed a lot of people, Evelyn,” he admitted solemnly. “My life has been long and complicated. I am the Prince of Eteryn . . . and I will do whatever I have to in order to protect my kingdom and the people that I . . . care about.” He hesitated after that last part, choosing his words carefully. “Damn!” he cursed, continuing to clean off my face. “You are going to have a bruise.” He sounded angry, tossing the cloth in the bowl that now contained water tinged pink with my blood. A servant came back and swapped out both while he poured me another small glass of liquor. I took it in one hand while he took my other hand and began sponging it clean. I sipped once on the drink, feeling it burn all the way down after I swallowed. I handed it back to him and he started on my other hand.
Despite the events of the evening I could not help but feel that he seemed concerned about me. My fears of being executed or imprisoned slipped away as I watched him assess and tend to my injuries. After he seemed satisfied with his work he put the cloth down and again began to speak to me.
“I know I have been hard on you, Evelyn,” he said in a gentle tone. “That companion of yours broke numerous laws. He committed treason and because of it he would have hung anyway. He deserved to suffer more than he did, especially after what he did to you. I am sorry I did not get there in time to prevent him from hurting you.” His blue-green eyes seemed to burn, to convey some mysterious emotion.
I remained silent, not even knowing what I should say. I took a deep cleansing breath and nodded. Although Sean and I had not been on the best of terms lately and he had done many questionable things during his time here, I did not want to see him die. I didn’t want to see anyone from my small group of outsiders die. I think I was still too shocked and numb to process the events of the evening.
It was not that long ago that I had made my feelings for Prince Eythan known and also for him to reject me and push me away. We had never been alone and as intimate like we were tonight, staring at each other, breathing each other’s air. Things seemed different now between us. I wouldn’t say that a line had been crossed, but I took in the fact that he wanted to protect me tonight. My heart had been frozen and turned to stone ever since that night he walked away from me like I was nothing. However, I could not help but start to wonder, had his feelings for me changed? Or, was he simply protecting me because I could help his family in the fight against Queen Hadreah?
“Are you in much pain?” he asked finally.
“I am okay now,” I said softly, steadily staring into his eyes. Mostly true, I thought.
He slowly raised his hand and softly caressed it down the side of my cheek, ending with his thumb skimming over my lower lip. The sensation of it felt so good to me. I couldn’t explain it, even though I swore I did not want him anymore. Just as I was about to wonder what was to come next, Sir William barged back into the room. The prince hesitated turning his attention away from me, even though I was startled and immediately looked towards the door.
They conversed in Eolahr for a few moments and then the prince rose from his seat next to me and said softly, “Sir William will see you back to your home,” as he offered me a hand up. I took it and rose surprisingly steadily. Whatever was in that drink seemed to take the edge off of my nerves. I remained sorrowful, but felt surprisingly calm; no longer anxious, scared, or tearful. “Let him know if you need anything,” was all he said as he strode out of the room quickly to a hallway of soldiers and officials that were waiting for him. I watched him go as Sir William and I paused at the doorway, not even allowing myself to entertain the thought that the prince’s feelings for me amounted to anything. I had to remember what my priority was. One way or another, my remaining friends and I were going home. He mentioned that Sean had bargained for something with the Talurth demons. Something inside me told me it had to do with our arrangement with Rosalind. I needed to find out what it was.
Chapter 25
The following morning I ran around like crazy attending to the wounded guards and public that filed in one after another from the Talurth demon attack. My own head ached from Sean’s assault on me, but everyone that came in and saw my bruises did not say anything. They probably figured they were from the attack also. I hardly had any time to wrap my head around Sean’s death last night. I wondered what happened to his body.
Just after the last patient left before there was the mid-day lull, Sam walked in with Sir William. “Evie!” She rushed to me and threw her arms around me. “Sir William told me what happened . . . are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I said slowly seeing Sir William eyeing me. He was there last night. He saw what happened.
“And Sean, . . . I can’t believe it!” she continued. “I’ve just come from Sarah’s workplace. They burned his body this morning! She is terrified after what happened.”
“Yes, it was awful.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Sir William said he hit you,” she gestured to my bruised face. I nodded. “Well then . . . I’m glad he’s gone!”
I could not believe my ears. “Sam, I really could use some help. I’m sure there will be more patients soon. Can you please refill my water bucket?”
“Sure! No problem.” She scampered off quickly leaving me with Sir William.
“I must be off, Miss Evelyn. Do you need anything before I leave?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
“I will tell the prince that you are well this morning, he will appreciate that. He is extremely upset that one of his most loyal guards was killed last night.”
“Who was it?”
“Sir Deverell.”
“I am sorry to hear that.” I recognized the name. He was a half-vampire like the prince.
“Yes, he will be greatly missed. It was even more of an insult that his body was mutilated.”
“Mutilated?”
“Yes, the demon that killed him cut off one of his hands.” And with that, Sir William marched out.
One of his hands! “Bring me the hand of a half-vampire.” Those words from Rosalind came haunting back. That was what Sean had mentioned last night when he said he would shortly have what we needed for Rosalind to write the spell for us.
I rubbed my temple wondering who was in possession of the hand now. Poor Lord Deverell. He was a fearsome warrior from what I understood. He didn’t deserve to die at a demon’s hands. If the prince ever found out the reason Lord Deverell was targeted, he would kill us all.
I couldn’t sit still any longer. I needed some advice. I needed my friend. As soon as Sam returned with the bucket of water I had asked for, I marched for the door.
“Where are you going?” Sam asked with concern, furrowing her eyebrows.
“I just need some air,” I said as I walked out. My emotions suffocated me and I felt like I was going to explode. The moment I stepped out of the clinic, two human guards snapped to attention. I ignored them. I didn’t care if they followed. I made a beeline for the farm Sarah worked at. Ch
ickens clucked and geese honked as they scrambled to get out of my way. I marched around to the milking pen and found Sarah working with the farmer’s wife, who looked up startled, seeing me and my entourage.
“I need to talk to you,” I said desperately to Sarah, on the verge of tears.
Sarah glanced at the farmer’s wife, who didn’t appear to be happy about me pulling her away from her duties. She seemed to struggle with how to respond when one of my guards spoke.
“Do as she says,” he said with conviction.
My mouth dropped open in shock as the royal guard spoke on my behalf. I had never thought to test them before. Sarah rose and came over to me.
“Let’s take a walk,” she mumbled.
As soon as we started to move the guards began to follow. “Give us some privacy, please!” I implored. To my surprise, they nodded and fell back enough so that they still had eyes on me, but were out of earshot. Sarah and I walked over to the apple orchard and sat down in the shade of one of the trees. Although I was almost in tears, I could appreciate how peaceful it was here. Sarah began to look tearful herself.
“Oh, Evie, . . . I just can’t . . . can’t believe what happened last night,” she said letting a tear slip down. “Are you okay? Did the prince hurt you after he took you away?”
“No, Sarah, he . . . it’s complicated. You don’t believe those accusations Sean made do you?”
“Of course not. I know you, Evie,” she managed to croak out with a weak smile.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I told Sarah everything about my infatuation with the prince, how I thought he cared about me then rejected me as well as his behavior now. I kept my word to him and didn’t tell her any of the details I swore to keep secret. She listened intently without interrupting.
The Twilight Star Page 28
