by Riley Walker
They continue to fight their way closer to the castle. It feels like we are moving one inch at a time. Armand’s soldiers have noticed us and are beginning to attack from all angles. I am in the center of a circle the guys have created when suddenly I am jerked by the arm. When I look to see who has grabbed me, I see Hawkeye’s face, blood splattered all over it and him.
Hawkeye yells at me, “Go find your parents!”
He tosses me like a rag doll up the castle stairs, and I land on my knees in the middle of the foyer. I don’t see any soldiers or fighting, but I can hear it nearby.
I rush off and find my Dad in his study in a one-on-one with one of Armands soldiers. He easily overtakes him then turns to me. “Frannie, find your mother and get to a safe room. Now!”
The large picture window in the study has been broken, and I run to it, using it as an exit. I remember my training with Rook and stay hidden in the shadows of the castle. I circle around to the back where the servants’ tunnels are. That is the way to the safe room that Mother would have gone to first.
When I reach the rear of the castle, I am taken back by what I see. Armand has my mother cornered in the far side of the kitchen. She has a sword, but it is of no use. He is using his power of water, throwing it at her, keeping her from being able to call her powers. I can see her sway, exhaustion taking over her. I do the first thing I can think to do, I drop my sword, using both hands to command the vines. I will them to come forth, attaching themselves to him from behind.
As soon as I have his attention, I see my mother collapse. Armand begins to throw water at me while I continue to tug on the vines. I pull as hard as I can, finally getting him outside of the house. He is throwing water so fast, my vines can’t crawl up him fast enough, and I feel myself beginning to wear down. With one final throw of water, I am pushed backwards where I land hard on my back. The force he hits me with, causes me to pull the vines with my fall, causing him to slip and fall forward. I turn my head slowly and see my Mother rise up. She looks me in the eyes before lifting her hands and putting everything she has into uprooting a tree standing a few feet behind Armand. I hear the crack before I see the tree topple over, landing directly on him.
I jump to my feet as fast as I can and begin running back to my Mother. I don’t even bother to glance at the tree as I pass it by.
“Franchesca! He’s behind you!” my Mother yells at me right before she passes out.
I stop when I hear my Mother yelling. After hearing her words, I turn, looking up just in time to see Armand rushing at me. He tackles me to the ground, and I feel a sudden, sharp pain in my stomach. Warmth begins to spread out over me, and we both look down to see the dagger protruding from my stomach.
“Tell Gretchen I said hello.” Armand jumps up and takes off. In the distance, I hear someone calling my name.
38
My Beloved (Winston’s POV)
I see her rounding the corner to the back of the castle. Edrik, Rook, Hawkeye, and I were separated from each other as soon as we hit the front steps of the castle. I have not seen any of them since, but I hope they are doing better than I am at the moment.
Right now I am on the back side of the castle, surrounded by a dozen men, fighting my way out of the circle they have formed around me. I am covered in cuts and bruises. I cannot tell if it is my blood or the blood of the soldiers I have taken down that has seeped into my clothing. The only thing I can think about is finishing them off and getting the Princess to safety. Hopefully, she is able to make it to the tunnels before anyone else realizes where she is.
I hear a voice cry out and look up to see Queen Amelia being cornered by Armand. She does not look like she can hold on much longer. Unfortunately, I am too far away to do much good with my powers. I begin to fight harder and faster so I can attempt to reach the Queen and help her. More determined than ever to finish because if I know anything about the Princess, she would never be able to turn away from trying to help, especially not someone she cares about.
I slay the last man that has surrounded me when I see her running up towards the back door leading to the kitchen. Of course, she is headed straight to where Armand is overtaking the Queen. I start to run after her, but I am stopped when another group of soldiers attempt to surround me. I pull my powers of air from within me and release it, causing all of them to be thrown backwards. The Princess has managed to attach vines to Armand, and they are working their way up his body.
I am about to throw my air at Armand when I feel a pain in my arm. Looking down, I see a slice in my forearm and blood running down. I turn around, and am once again surrounded by more soldiers. A sudden cracking sound in the air distracts the last soldier standing, and I finish him off in time to see a large tree fall over on top of Armand. My shoulders sag in relief when I watch the Princess jump up and start running towards the Queen.
I head off to my Princess, keeping my eyes on the battle going on around me. I hear the Queen yelling, and I take off at a sprint. I see Armand just as he escapes from beneath the tree and rushes the Princess. I watch them both go down, him on top of her. Armand jumps off of her and runs off toward the forest line.
I am torn between going to her or pursuing Armand. When I realize she is not moving, I make my decision and run in her direction.
She is not moving.
I yell her name over and over, willing her to get up.
“Princess!”
When I reach her, I fall to my knees and finally notice the small dagger embedded to the hilt in her stomach. Blood is pouring out, her once green dress, saturated with blood, is now a dark, almost black color.
I lift her head, cradling it gently in my lap. I rip my shirt off, balling it up and putting pressure around the dagger, trying to help stop some of the blood from flowing.
“Franchesca! My beloved, please answer me.”
She looks up at me and gives me a weak smile. The color of her face is beginning to pale, her lips are swollen, and blood has begun to trickle out the corner of her mouth.
“Please, my beloved. Just hold on until I can get you some help. Just a little while longer.”
I look around and see some of the Light Kingdom soldiers headed our way. “Go get help now! Find Edrik and get him here. The Princess has been hurt!”
They scatter, looking for the Knight and hopefully, a healer.
39
Hold On
The pain is unbearable. My stomach burns so much. I reach my hands down and feel something warm and sticky on them. When I lift my left hand, I see it covered in blood. I move my right hand over and feel the dagger that Armand has rammed into me.
I am beginning to lose consciousness when I hear my name being called.
“Princess!”
Is that Winston's voice I hear? It sounds like he is yelling at me through a tunnel.
“Franchesca! My beloved, please answer me.”
I look up into Winston's eyes and try to smile at him. My limbs are too heavy to move, and I am starting to feel very weak.
“Please, my beloved. Just hold on until I can get you some help. Just a little while longer.”
Beloved. Such a beautiful thing to be called.
This is the last thought I have before the darkness completely takes me over.
Acknowledgments
Amy Naylor:
To MoMo and Poopy who support everything I do. To my husband and son, who never complained about the late nights spent writing and the dinners I didn’t cook. To my best friend Stephen, even when I come in like a wrecking ball, you still love me. Last but not least, Kelly, the only one keeping me sane most days. I couldn’t ask for a better partner, and it’s totally normal to hate ice cream and coffee.
Kelly Stephens:
Richard and Brett….what can I say? You are my life and I love you both madly. This book is for my Posse: Mary Jane (my momma), Linda, Sherry and Marcia, the most amazing group of ladies I know. Thank you for being you. Amy, first off, no. It is not normal to hate ice crea
m and coffee. Second, you have taught me a lot, some good and some I am still trying to forget. Last, thank you for not changing a single thing about yourself. You are the best co-writer and I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else.
From Both of Us:
Special thank you to anyone who had a hand in helping us get Rook out there! Our PA, Sosha Ann, thank you for everything you do. You are the best! Nikki, thanks for the late night chats and taking on ‘The Closet’. To Zoe Parker and Vicki Duran, we love you guys and can’t wait for our sleepover at Zoe’s new place. To our Betas, we could not have finished Rook without you. To the faithful readers that follow us everywhere, you are there for every takeover, GIF war and you continue to humble us everytime you share our books. You girls are fabulous! Last but not least, to the Riley Walker Renegades. We love each of you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being with us for this wild ride.
About Riley Walker
Riley Walker is the writing duo of Amy Naylor and Kelly Stephens. They are both from Arkansas, both a little loud and a whole lot of crazy. Amy writes kegger-style and is the ‘bun’ queen. Kelly is the cotillion writer of the two and has perpetual frizzy hair (thank you Southern humidity).
Amy (aka Biscuit) is the alter ego Riley of Riley Walker. She has one husband, one kid and three dogs. She loves to read RH, PNR, UF and Dystopian. She a hairdresser by day and a football mom by night.
Kelly is the Walker half of Riley Walker. She has been married to her husband for almost twenty years and is a proud mom of a future MMA champion. They have two rescue dogs that unapologetically rule the house. Kelly reads anything she can get her hands on, from contemporary to paranormal and everything in between. She survives on coffee and will be the first in line if they ever start giving it out in IV form.
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