He holds the sword to my throat. I let out a strangled cry, trying to find a grip on something.
"Tell your father." He hisses. "That by dawn tommorrow the deal ends." My arms are tightly bound by his weight. I can't breathe.
He has the dragon symbol on his left wrist, and I immediately recognize it as a sacred symbol of one of the Northern Tribes. So it wasn't the Duchess this time.
"Let go of her." A calm voice comes from behind me. It's Lucas.
Out of sheer anger, the man's grip on me tightens. His sword starts to cut into my skin by just a few millimetres.
"I've said what I came to say." In a second, his sword is retrieved and I fall to the ground, gasping for breath.
Lucas attacks him, but the man is a good fighter and easily defends himself. Before Lucas can aim again, he's gone.
Lucas takes a shaky breath and kneels next to me on the ground. He puts his hands on my shoulders. The shawl has fallen to the ground.
"Are you okay?" He asks calmly. I nod slowly. My eyes are wet. I wipe at them furiously, but the tears won't go away.
"Shh..." He murmurs. He pulls me closer until I'm wrapped in his arms. My tears stain his shirt but I don't think he cares. His hand is on my back, gently stroking my skin.
"I'm okay." I whisper. I close my eyes and concentrate, pulling myself together. "Why is my life always in danger?" I mutter.
"Perks of being a royal." He chuckles softly.
By this time, somebody hears the commotion and calls the King.
Both our parents come running, mine more shocked than Lucas's.
"What the hell is going on?!" Lucas's father's eyes widen. "GUARDS!" He yells.
Twenty or so guards follow his order, chasing the veiled man. But little do they know he's long gone.
Twenty minutes later, we're all in the library.
Maya hands me a cup of hot chocolate and I thank her, scooting closer to the fire. Caroline and Farkle stand besides me.
"What was the deal?!" Joshua yells at father. "You never told me the entire thing, did you?!"
"Calm down." He answers. His grip on the table is tight. "One of the... one of the terms was to put forward two people from both the royal families to Kila."
I take a shaky breath. As hostages. Two royal hostages to Kila, the most ruthless leader of the tribes.
"I'll do it." I say. I get up from my chair abruptly and pace across the room. "It's the only way to avoid war."
I don't have time to think. So I don't think. All I know is that thousands of lives will be killed if this deal isn't made. We don't have another option. It can't be Joshua, it can't be Lucas. They're both in line for their thrones.
"No." Lucas is shaking his head. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't." I say to him as gently as I can. He takes my hand and squeezes it.
"I can't let you do that." He repeats. He turns to his father. "Let me go."
The king frowns. "Absolutely ridiculous. You're the only living heir!"
Lucas's eyes shift from me to his father. The atmosphere is tense. "You know I'm not of pure blood." He says. "You think the Valaire court will accept me after they find out?"
The King's eyes narrow. My mother looks at me warily, and I turn away from her gaze.
"Don't do anything stupid." He tells him. "I wont--"
"My coronation is weeks away. We'll have plenty of time to escape."
My heart is beating fast. Escape? Was it that simple?
"THIS ISN'T A GAME!" His father roars. "You think they won't kill you the minute you step on that boat?!"
Lucas shakes his head. "Then we won't be useful to them." He says. Even now, I spot a faint smile dancing on his lips. This boy was just way too much.
He walks over to his father and places his hand on his arm. "We'll find a way." He says.
I want to say I'm scared. But I can't. Not when thousands of lives are at stake.
Be strong. This is what you're supposed to do.
No matter how much I think of being strong, implying it is another story. That night is restless. I can't sleep at all, and even the faintest of the wind is disturbing.
Maya is next to me, sound asleep. She's tired, and it's well deserved. At the back of my mind somewhere I'm thinking about her and Joshua never being able to have a future together.
Thousands of innocent lives. I take a shaky breath.
I'm just breathing. I'm not alive. Not truly. All I have is a beating heart.
I don't get to change my destiny. Tomorrow morning I would be a hostage.
With trembling feet I get off the bed. Farkle and Caroline argued with the king earlier today, begging him to reconsider.
They wanted to take our place.
I laugh humorlessly. As if we would let them.
The floor is cold and I'm barefoot. I slip on my nightgown and my slippers and grab a small candle stand.
I don't know where I'm going. I roam the halls, eventually ending up in the garden.
There are two people already there, and they're arguing.
"You can't be serious!" Farkle hisses. "You're next in line for the throne. I can't let you--"
I hide behind a pillar, afraid that they might see me.
"I have to do this." Lucas is saying to him. "I can't let Riley go, I can't."
Farkle sighs dejectedly. "And she won't stay either." His voice drops. "If something happens to her... God forbid it does, but.." he takes a deep breath. "Just listen to me okay?"
He pauses as if he's afraid to say something. "What if you don't make it out of there? There would be no coronation, no marriage, no alliance--"
Wait. Back up. Marriage? I pull my brows together. Who's getting married? Surely not Lucas...
"I can't let her go there alone." Repeats Lucas firmly. Somewhere inside of me, a faint warmness begins to glow. I wasn't alone. He had my back.
Farkle crosses his arm. "Because she's your betrothed, or the future queen?"
I can't help letting out a small gasp. Betrothed? To Lucas? Since when?! I clench my fists. My father has a lot to explain.
"Both." He says.
That's it. I can't stop the anger fueling my desire to go over and yell at him. And that's exactly what I do.
"BETROTHED?!" I scream at him.
Lucas 's eyes widen. "Were you spying on us?!"
Farkle just looks smug. Did he know I was there? Because he didn't look the least bit surprised...
But I don't care right now.
"I'm just going to... um, go." Farkle says awkwardly. He walks out of the garden, leaving me and Lucas and the chilly midnight wind.
"Did you always know?" I ask him, crossing my arms.
He bites his lip. "I couldn't tell you." He says. "Our fathers' orders."
"Dammit!" I scream in frustration. Those two were always up to something.
He scratches his head awkwardly. "Would marrying me be so bad?"
I look up at him and blink. He looks vulnerable, tired because of the lack of sleep. For the first time, I see the situation through his eyes.
I immediately try to calm down. "No, it's just...I'm sorry, it's just surprising." I stutter.
The corners of his mouth twist upwards. "No big deal. I understand."
He leads to me a small bench and motions at me to take a seat. I do, and he sits next to me.
"When did you find out?" I ask him.
"A couple of days before we met." He answers. "I was just as angry as you were. Of course, that changed when I met you."
A smile is displayed on his face. After everything, I can't help smile back. It's very faint, hardly noticeable.But it's there, and it's not fake.
"When is the, um...?"
"The wedding?" He asks. His hand finds mine, and he starts playing with my fingers. "I don't know. Maybe after coronation."
The wind ruffles my hair. Did I really want this? To be Lucas's wife? Ruler of both my country and his?
I don't know if I'm ready to become someone's wife yet, but I'm glad that someone is Lucas. I care for him, more than I'd like than admit.
"Think we can get through this?"
"Why not?" He says. "Thus is just another challenge. It's easy getting into their land, so it must be easy escaping also. And we've got an army for backup."
I shut my eyes.
That thought doesn't make me feel any better.
"Hey." He says, taking my face in his hands and forcing me to look at him. "We've got each other." His eyes are blazing as he's trying to convince me.
I nod, pursing my lips.
And the warm glow in my heart erupts again, and for a minute I'm at peace.
"We'll be okay." He says. Then he leans in, and places a lingering kiss on my cheek.
His lips are warm and soft as opposed to the bitter winter air and the kiss causes a flock of butterflies to flutter in my stomach.
I was alive when I was with him. Truly and fully alive.
I pull my body towards his and rest my head on his shoulder. He seems surprised, but eases after a moment.
His arm wraps around me. "Riley?" He says softly.
"Yeah?" I close my eyes. The weight of everything that happened today is too much on my shoulders.
"Will you marry me?"
I smile faintly.
"I'll think about it." I reply.
The last thing I hear before falling asleep is his soft laughter.
A/N : hey guys! I've decided to post this book on wattpad as a proper novel, not a fanfiction. There will be some minor changes and additional chapters, but nothing that would tamper with the main plot.
Also, for the cast, maybe Colton Haynes and Antonina Vasylchenko? I don't know.. Tell me what you guys think!