Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
"What did you do to her?" I growl again, impatient for the answer, even knowing it may destroy me.
"N-nothing, Troy," he wheezes. "I swear, I didn't do anything."
"You fucking liar. You took her from me. There was blood on her dress."
"I didn't touch her!" he cries, fear raging like a storm in his eyes. "I swear to you, I didn't! She cut her arm on a branch."
"She didn't leave on her own. She wouldn't."
"I t-told her that you wanted her dead," he rasps, his voice shaking as he tries to suck in air and speak through the small amount of space I've allowed him. "She said that if I let her live, she'd leave and never return."
"You told her that I ordered you to kill her," I say, pure murder dripping from every word. For the second time in as many minutes, I cut off his air supply, the urge to kill him overwhelming.
The sorry son of a bitch didn't just try to take her life, he broke her heart before he did it. He shattered every ounce of trust she had in me. Everything we had together, everything we were, he destroyed in one cruel act. And then he sent her into the forest, alone and unprotected.
"Troy, let him breathe."
For two days, she's been out there by herself, believing that I betrayed and tried to murder her. She's been out there all alone, scared to death. Cold. Hungry.
"Troy! Let him breathe!"
It takes everything I have to pry my fingers from his throat.
My fucking soul is breaking. I don't give a damn about his betrayal. He is no friend of mine. Not any longer. But she's out there alone, vulnerable, possibly injured.
I can't stand it.
Christ, I can't stand it.
"Why?" I snarl, my eyes locked on him. "Why, Samson, goddamn you?"
"D-didn't know," he gasps. "D-d-didn't k-know w-who she w-was. T-thought you were g-going to abdicate for her."
My own stupidity slams into me like a freight train.
Jesus. This is my fault. I went to him for advice. I told him where she was and what I was planning. Had I just kept my mouth shut—had I never trusted him—none of this would have happened. I set the ball in motion, and this is the result.
He tried to get rid of her to force me into doing what he thought was best for Stonehaven. I thought my father was ruthless and power-hungry, but Samson was the enemy all along. He was willing to murder an innocent woman to ensure I fell in line. And I have no one to blame for trusting him but myself.
"I should kill you right here and now." I stare at him in disgust. "The only reason I don't is because of her. Because I made a promise to her that I intend to keep. Tell me where she is so they can drag your miserable ass out of my sight before I change my mind."
"An abandoned mine in Fable Forest," he says, closing his eyes. "She's been staying there."
Yet again, I have to fight the urge to kill him. He knows that mine. It's abandoned for a reason—a group of miners died in it several years ago when a portion of it collapsed. And yet, he's let her stay there, knowing how dangerous it is.
Is there no depth he's not willing to sink to? No sin he isn't willing to commit? Once upon a time, despite his flaws, he was a man of honor, someone I respected.
Now, he's not someone I want to know at all.
I shove him away from me, knocking his head against the floor as I clamber to my feet. My wild eyes meet my father's. "Take his sorry ass to the tower," I growl, striding away. "He can fucking rot there. I'm going to get my princess."
Chapter Fourteen
Troy
By the time I arrive at the mine, shadows cling to the edges of the forest, sunlight barely piercing the thick canopy of trees overhead.
I park as close as I can, running the rest of the way on foot. My lungs burn with exertion, my heart pounding. I don't stop—not until the entrance to the mine comes into view, the warning signs barely visible in the thick brush that's grown up around them.
The entrance to the mine is in the same state. Vines and ivy have grown over it, all but hiding it from view. The underbrush around the entrance has been trampled—the only sign that anyone has been here in recent memory.
I rush toward the entrance, my heart in my throat. I don't call out, terrified she'll run if she hears my voice. As far as she knows, I tried to have her killed. I need to get close enough to convince her that I mean her no harm before she has a chance to run. Otherwise, she may rush straight into danger trying to get away.