Page 74 of To Save a Kingdom

A steady hand gripped her bicep, holding her up when she would have collapsed. Zadé.

“Tell them what you learned,” Zadé whispered, her lips near enough they tickled the fine hairs in her ears. “Put this aside and focus on the mission. The prisoners and your aunt are counting on you.”

Aliya shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. El had promised her he’d be by her side, that he wouldn’t leave.

“I’ll kill th’ wench fer yeh later,” Zadé murmured. “But right now, I needja ta pull yerself together, Princess.” Zadé emphasized her words with a subtle shake of her shoulders.

Aliya opened her mouth to tell Zadé she didn’t care about the hostages. Roland had tricked her into a blood vow and it seemed Tsara had done the same to Elessan.

The sun elf royals were even more manipulative and conniving than her own nobles. Which made sense, considering they’d had centuries to perfect the art.

Aliya glanced at her palm again. There had to be some way out of this. If not for her, at least for Elessan, who would never be stupid enough to get caught in a similar trap.

She held up her hand, displaying the thin line to the room. “Tsara can’t have Elessan. You and I already agreed you would provide those things in exchange for my hand in marriage.” She glared at Tsara. “Not his.”

Elessan’s face paled, his gaze locked on her hand.

Roland clicked his tongue at her. “He negotiated the terms before you and I signed our little contract.” He gestured between her and himself. “Our agreement was… an unexpected bonus, you might say.” Something vicious flashed in his eyes as he turned his attention to his daughter. “Besides, it’s done. Their ceremony ended less than an hour ago.”

Elessan made a strangled sound at the back of his throat.

Aliya’s eyes dipped to the gold and amber band that encircled his ring finger and to the matching one Tsara displayed on the hand wrapped around Elessan’s bicep.

Aliya ran her fingers over her scalp, brushing away the strands of hair that had worked their way loose from her braid. Taking a deep breath, she took all the pain, betrayal and rage, and shoved it into a black iron box—no, antimonite—and tossed it into the darkest corner of her mind where she could process it later. After they rescued the hostages and ended Brooks, when she could fall apart somewhere private and start planning her life without Elessan.

Her eyes burned, but she blinked back the tears. There was no way she was going to show these elven bastards any further weakness. She would rescue their people, send the Enorathils scuttling back to their lands with their tails between their legs, and then she’d find a way to save her kingdom. All by herself.

Then, she’d figure out a way to unbind herself from her marriage vow to Roland.

Digging her claws into the rage that churned in her chest until it was a wildfire exploding through her veins and across her skin, she rolled her shoulders to dispel some of the tension. The stench of burnt hair assailed her nostrils as the faint aura of flames covered her arms, curling the fine hairs into ash.

“Valek!”

Aliya didn’t know who’d sworn, and she didn’t care. Careful not to meet Elessan’s or Tsara’s eyes, she addressed the group as a whole. She took a deep breath, letting it steady her as she turned her focus to the other matter at hand. “The hostages are in the far southwest corner of the library. There are ten of them, and it doesn’t appear any have been hurt. But they’re under heavy guard.” Flaring her nostrils, she explained about the dumbwaiter, the layout of the space, and the forty guards Brooks had managed to recruit. “I have a plan, but it’s going to require precise timing.”

Chapter 29

Elessan

The shock and betrayal on Aliya’s face had been devastating when Tsara had announced the news of their marriage. He was positive the sun elf princess chose that moment to guarantee Aliya wouldn’t be able to make a scene. So, he’d had to watch Aliya fall apart and put herself back together over the course of a few heartbeats as everything inside him was shredded.

He’d intended to tell her in private, where she could explode at him and he’d have a chance to explain. And to top it off, Roland had wrangled his own agreement out of her for the exact same terms, double-dipping. The devastation in her expression had nearly brought him to his knees. She’d been used and manipulated for too long, and from the hard set to her jaw, she’d reached the end of what she would tolerate.

The one positive thing to come out of this would be that the sun elf royals would finally see the core of strength that Aliya’s kindness and compassion hid so well. And boy, were they in for a surprise when she unleashed her claws.

He’d caught the flash of flames flickering across her skin. So had Roland, judging from the king’s muttered curse. Elessan had fought to hold back a vicious grin.

Now, Zadé and Aliya were leaning over the architectural plans of the castle Roland had somehow managed to unearth, their attention focused on the library. “We need to clear the kitchens first,” Aliya said.

Zadé chewed on her lips as her face scrunched in thought. “But we’ll have ta be quiet about it. Don’t want to start th’ distraction ‘afore the rest o’ the troops are in place.”

Aliya nodded. “I can do it.”

Zadé shook her head. “No way’re we sendin’ you, the queen, down there alone.” She raised an eyebrow and fixed Aliya with a glare. “Yer decent with a blade, Princess, don’t get me wrong, but yeh ain’t ready ta kill a buncha civilians.”

“They’re not civilians,” Aliya hissed. “They’re traitors. And we can’t leave enemies at our backs. Plus, I’m the only one who can fit in the dumbwaiter.”

Elessan opened his mouth to offer to accompany her, but Tsara squeezed his arm in warning. Exhaling through his nostrils, he snapped his jaw closed. After everything, Aliya wasn’t likely to trust him enough to let him participate in this mission, anyway.