Ravick draped his bloodied jacket over my shoulders before scooping me into his arms. I trembled—partly from the cold, partly from the fear that still hadn't left my bones. I had never run like that before. Never to save myself. Never while someone chased me with the intent to make me disappear.
And Osric...he had followed us, concerned.
"It's alright... You're safe, my princess," Ravick murmured again and again, like a lullaby meant to calm a crying child. But I wasn't calm. And I wasn't sure I ever would be again.
My birthday dress clung to me, soaked not in my own blood—but theirs. The assassins. The ones who tried to take me.
By the time we crossed into the main palace, the air was thick with urgency. Footsteps echoed across marble, too many to count.
"THE PRINCESS HAS RETURNED! INFORM HIS MAJESTY!" someone shouted.
