NO, NO. PLEASE NOT ME— but the Knights did not head for me. The kept walking straight. LANDY! NO! I leaned forward and threw my hands out, ready to fight each of them off before they touched her, but then my gaze landed on someone else. Someone I hadn’t realized was here with us. Someone a little younger than me with champagne-colored eyes and messy brown hair. I tried to scream for him but I choked on the words as panic exploded inside of me.
Sage ran her fingers over the black flower hanging from the front of her flowery crown. “What would you like me to do with him, Father?”
No, no, no. Not a Coven member. Not the Hierophant!
Not a Bishop!
This can’t be happening. DO something, Amelia.
Paulina, Landy, and I all dove for him but the Knights were faster. They grabbed him by the arms and lifted him off the ground. My eyes went right to his left arm and I teared up at the sight of his long-sleeved shirt.
The king shrugged. “Whatever pleases you most, dear.”
“I have no use for him, Father, for he is too young to be used.” Princess Sage stretched like a cat after a nap, then gracefully leapt to her feet. “I would see him to the Wild Night.”
He grinned. “Let the forest forget him.”
“Do not hurt the traitor before I return—”
“I would not rob you of your greatest joys, my dear.” The king ran his thumb over his plump bottom lip.
Prince Thorne chuckled darkly. “She merely wants the chance to punish him as she did his brother.”
“You have your fun, Brother…” she looked over her shoulder and grinned. “I shall have mine.”
Without another word or response, Princess Sage flew over and grabbed Bentley by the back of his shirt — and dragged him outside.
NO! BENTLEY!
Prince Thorne’s grin turned sideways and mischievous. He pointed to Paulina, Landy, and me. “And with them, Father?”
“That dark one,” the queen spoke up for the first time with a voice deeper than I expected. “I have particular use for that one.”
The king nodded.
The queen snapped her fingers and then pointed to her feet. “Come. Now, child.”
No, no, no, no. I grabbed ahold of Landy’s arm and squeezed. They weren’t going to take her. I wasn’t going to let them— the guard beside me slammed his sword hilt into my spine. I hissed through clenched teeth as my face smashed into the cold stone. Black dots swarmed my vision as pain shot down every limb. The world blurred around me. I couldn’t see a thing.
Landy screamed— and then it was cut off.
No! Landy! WHERE ARE YOU?
WHY ISN’T MY VOICE WORKING?
I pushed off the ground, then wiped at my eyes, trying to scrub their magic off of me, but my hands were shaking too hard. All I could see were flashes of light. Tears splashed onto my cheeks.
“You won’t get away with this,” Paulina said with her accent thicker than ever. “You should have known better than to steal a Bishop. They shall tear this realm apart to get him back.”
The king chuckled. “I would very much like to see them try.”
“You won’t need to see it. You’ll feel it,” Paulina growled.
I blinked and blinked and blinked and then finally my vision cleared. I looked up and my heart stopped. Landy sat at the queen’s feet, bound at the wrists and ankles by thorned vines, blood trickling along her skin.
“Knights.” The king pointed right at Paulina and snarled, “Seize her and bind that mouth until I’m ready. This one shall stay here for I believe she may be of use to us with that faded mark on her arm.”
Prince Thorne looked right at me and my stomach sank. “And the other little one?”
The king’s fire gaze looked me up and down, and then he grinned and licked his lips. “Bring that one to my chamber. I’ll handle her later.”
NO, NO, NO! My body went ice cold. Bile rose up in my throat and I gagged. Paulina’s hands were peeled from my body as she was dragged away. I wanted to reach for her but my body was locking down. My jaw slammed shut and squeezed so hard my teeth hurt.
The Knights gripped my arms and lifted me in the air. NOOOOOOO!
I tried to kick but my legs just hung there, like someone had jinxed me. My heart pounded in my chest, trying to burst free from its cage. I had to get out of here, out of this. Out of whatever