Defy (17 page)

Despite the horrible odds, I refused to give up. I kept waiting

for Eljin to send me to a fiery grave, but he never did.

I lunged at Eljin, striking faster, harder than I ever had before.

My sword was a blur of silver, f lashing in the lightning that still

streaked through the dark night overhead. Eljin couldn’t keep up

with the attack, and I actually managed to nick his arm before that

same invisible shield I’d hit in the practice ring blocked me from

being able to push my sword farther, past his arm and into his body.

For some reason, the other two intruders just stood back and

watched, making no move to help.

I clutched my sword with both hands, trying to force it

through the magical barrier, but there was nothing I could do.

Eljin made a movement with his hand and something hit me in the

chest so hard, I was knocked to the ground, hardly able to breathe

from the pain. My sword lay three feet away from me. I stared up

at him in horror.

And then Prince Damian’s door opened, and he stood there,

fully dressed and holding his own sword.

“
No!
Get back — hurry!” I called out to him, rolling over and trying to grab my sword.

“Not so fast,” Eljin said, and with another movement of his

hand, I was f lung across the room and slammed into the wall. My

head cracked against the wood panels and then I hit the ground.

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“Don’t kill him,” I managed to croak out as I dragged myself

up to my hands and knees.

“That was never my intention. Oh no, he’s worth far more to

us and the man I serve alive than dead.”

Just then Rylan burst into the room, his sword swooping

through the air and slicing into one of the men standing by the

door. I wanted to cry out to him to run away, to save himself, but

it was too late. The one he’d managed to hit clutched his bleeding

shoulder, shouting in a language I didn’t understand, while the

other one charged at Rylan with his scythe raised. The sound of

their blades hitting echoed through the room.

I turned in desperation to see Eljin and Damian standing

across from each other, swords raised, but not fighting — yet.

“If you come willingly, this will go much better for you. I

promised to bring you alive — but I never specified
how
alive you’d be.”

I slowly inched my way to standing, trying not to draw atten-

tion to myself. The back of my head felt warm, which I was pretty

sure meant I was bleeding. I didn’t dare lift my hand to check.

So far, Rylan was holding his own against the man he was

fighting. I prayed that he would somehow survive this. I couldn’t

bear the thought of losing him, of Jude being left behind to mourn

yet another death.

I was only a couple of feet away from my cot, and the new bow

and quiver of arrows I’d taken from the armory tonight. If I could

somehow get close enough to grab them without drawing any-

one’s notice, I might be able to get off a shot before Eljin could react.

That’s all I needed.

“If I come willingly, will you let my men live?”

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I edged closer to my cot, holding my breath. Just another foot

and the bow would be within reach. I tried to calculate whether I

had time to grab it and shoot an arrow. I was fast — faster than

just about any
normal
man I’d ever fought — but I didn’t know if I was faster than a sorcerer.

“And leave witnesses to tell your king who took you? I think

not. We’d rather he didn’t know that until we decide it’s time for

him to find out.”

Just a couple more inches. I slowly reached out. Time felt like

it had slowed to a crawl. My heart beat so hard, it actually hurt.

Finally, my fingers brushed the smooth wood of the bow. I

breathed in once through my nose, inhaling a lungful of air, and

then I grabbed the bow and an arrow, lifting it up in one swift

movement and let the arrow f ly almost simultaneously to notch-

ing it.

I’d aimed true — it would have hit Eljin directly through the

neck — but instead, the arrow disintegrated into a pile of ash on

the ground. He turned to me, his eyes narrowed in fury.

“No! Don’t hurt him —”

I heard Damian’s cry a moment before I was hit once more

and thrown by some invisible force against the wall. Lights popped

in front of me as I slumped to the f loor in a heap. I tried to climb back onto my hands and knees, but I collapsed again.

“No! Alex!” I dimly heard Rylan’s voice.

There was the sound of blade hitting blade, and a cry of pain.

Please, not Rylan
, I thought as darkness spiraled in to claim me.

I’d failed my prince. I’d failed Rylan.

I fought to stay conscious, but I couldn’t quite manage. As

I slipped in and out of awareness, I heard the sounds of more

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fighting and then nothing. Only pain and darkness. Then a voice,

close by.

“I’m not bringing him. That’s not part of the plan.”

“It is now.” Another voice. They were both vaguely familiar,

but I couldn’t make my eyes open. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do

anything.

133

 twenty 

I
woke up for the third time in two days with an unfamiliar

ceiling overhead. This time, it was made of fabric — a tent. My

head ached, my body ached, my heart ached. But I was alive, which

was something, I supposed. Whoever had said he wanted to bring

me rather than have me killed obviously won that argument. I

blinked and turned my head to see Rylan lying beside me, uncon-

scious. An unfamiliar woman hovered over him, running her

hands up and down in the air just above his torso, her eyes closed.

She had dark hair, with streaks of gray running through it, pulled

back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Her skin was olive

toned, like mine.

“So, you’re awake,” she spoke quietly without opening her

eyes, making me jump.

“Where am I? Who are you? Is he okay?” My questions tumbled

out unbidden and I snapped my mouth shut in embarrassment.

She paused in her work and opened her eyes to skewer me

with a baleful gaze. Without answering, she gently pressed two

fingers into Rylan’s sternum, cocking her head to the side.

After a long moment, she nodded as if satisfied, then pushed

herself off the ground and looked down at me. “He’ll wake up in

a moment.”

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And with that, she turned and left me alone in the tent with

Rylan.

I sat up, my body stiff as though I hadn’t moved in a long

time. I stared at Rylan, who looked so peaceful in sleep. I couldn’t

see any wounds, and hope surged that he’d somehow remained

unharmed. My heart beat unevenly in my chest as I watched him

breathe, as I looked at the smooth lines of his tanned jaw, the way

his brown hair curled just a bit behind his ears where it was lon-

gest. His lips were parted slightly, and I couldn’t help but stare at the curve of his mouth. I still couldn’t believe he knew I was a

girl — that he’d always known. That he’d admitted to caring

about me.

He stirred and I blushed and looked away, glancing around at

the otherwise empty tent. Where were we? Was Prince Damian

somewhere nearby? My stomach turned to lead as memories of the

night before washed over me. I reached up to touch the back of my

head, expecting crusted blood, or at least a bump, but there was

nothing. I distinctly remembered my head hitting the wall; the

crack of my skull against the wood; the hot, sticky warmth of my

own blood spilling down my neck.

“Alex?” Rylan’s voice was groggy and I turned back to see him

trying to sit up. He looked unsteady, so I reached out and grasped

his arm, helping pull him up. “You’re okay.” He exhaled, covering

my hand on his arm with one of his. “I thought they were going

to kill you. I thought I’d lost you again.”

“No, you’re still stuck with me.” I attempted to joke, even

though my heart raced at the gentle pressure of his hand on mine.

“I didn’t only promise Marcel to keep your secret, you know,”

he said.

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I couldn’t tear my eyes from his. I felt myself getting lost in

the heat of his gaze.

“I promised to help him protect you, to keep you from get-

ting hurt.”

“I don’t need protecting,” I said softly.

“Not until the last two days.”

He had me there. If he hadn’t come to my aid that night in the

jungle, I would have been dead, dragged off to be that jaguar’s

meal. But last night, though he’d tried valiantly, I didn’t think he

was the one who’d saved me. Someone else had decided to keep us

both alive.

I pulled my hand out from his and leaned back a bit, trying to

calm my heart. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “The last thing I remember is

being hit from behind. I was sure they were going to kill us both.”

“Like Kai,” I said, my heart constricting as I thought of him

lying on the ground in the doorway.

Rylan looked down, his expression grim. “Maybe he survived

somehow — like us.”

“You’re right. Let’s assume you’re right.” I also thought of

Jude. I hadn’t seen him, but did that mean he’d been safe in bed,

or something worse? From the bleak look in Rylan’s eyes, I won-

dered if he was thinking about his brother, too. “I’m glad you’re

alive,” I said, trying to force the unbearable questions away. “I

thought I heard you get hurt before I lost consciousness.”

“I did — one of those scythes got a piece of me. But it doesn’t

even hurt.” He lifted his tunic and, sure enough, there was a taut,

pink scar across his ribs, diving into his well-muscled abdomen.

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“It looks the same as the scars I got from the healer after the

jaguar attack.”

Rylan nodded and pulled his tunic back down. “But why?”

I shook my head. It didn’t make any sense. “Why attack and

threaten to kill us, only to abduct us and have us healed instead?”

“An excellent question,” a voice responded from outside the

tent, right before the woman who’d been in the tent with us before

opened the f lap and walked in. Next came Prince Damian, his

hands bound behind his back, and Eljin after him, with a sword

pressed into the prince’s spine. I jumped up, ready to fight, but one look from Eljin froze me in place.

“Don’t even think about doing anything, or I’ll knock you out

again. Now sit.” He commanded, pushing Damian forward.

I forced myself to sit back down, even though my whole body

thrummed with tension, with the need to
do
something. I’d been trained to fight, to defend and protect. Not sit idly by while the

prince was manhandled. He met my alarmed gaze and shook his

head infinitesimally as he sat down next to me. He wore only a

white, open-throated tunic; pants; and boots that came to his

knees. His hair was windswept, unlike its usual pomaded style. He

looked different — but not injured, thankfully. If anything, he was

more handsome than ever.

“You may release his bonds,” Eljin said to the woman, and she

did as he said, bending over and untying Prince Damian’s hands.

“We make camp here tonight, but we’re leaving at first light.

So you’d better rest while you can. My men are sick of carrying

you. From now on, you’ll all walk.” Eljin glared at us, then swept

out of the tent.

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“Are you hurt? Have they given you any idea of where we are,

or where we’re going?” I burst out the moment Eljin was gone.

“Don’t pester him with your questions,” the woman chided me.

I glared at her. “You’ll take part in abducting him, but you

don’t want me to bother him with questions about his well-being?”

“You would be wise not to attempt to judge me, child.”

I lifted my eyebrows at her, irritation surging through me.

“You honestly expect me to —”

“Alex, that’s enough. She healed you. You owe her your grati-

tude,” Prince Damian cut me off, his tone sharp.

I recoiled as if he’d struck me. “Excuse me, Your Highness. I

didn’t realize you had such high esteem for your
captors
.” I couldn’t keep the disbelief and anger from my voice.

“Ah, so we’re back to that again, are we, Alex? And here I’d

hoped that we were friends.” He sighed, and began to rub his

temples.

I wanted to snap back at him, but instead I clamped my mouth

shut. Rylan watched the entire exchange silently, his expression

guarded.

“Could someone please tell me what is going on here?” I asked

when I’d reined in my temper enough to control the tone of my

voice.

“Eljin and Lisbet here have been keeping you and Rylan in a

controlled state of unconsciousness while she healed you both,”

Prince Damian responded before the woman had a chance.

“For how long?” Rylan finally spoke up.

“Four days.”

My jaw fell open. Before I could recover from the shock of

realizing I’d lost four days with no recollection of their passing —

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not to mention how far we could have traveled in that amount of

time — Prince Damian continued speaking.

“Eljin says he’s taking us to a very powerful man who wishes