Chapter 147
The door shattered.
Splinters flew through the air as Rowan lunged forward, dagger raised, meeting the first soldier head-on. The clang of steel against steel rang out, echoing through the passageway. I pressed my back against the cold stone wall, my breath shallow, heart pounding so hard it hurt.
There were too many of them. Five, maybe six. Their eyes gleamed with malice beneath their helmets, their movements calculated, deadly.
Rowan fought like a man possessed. Even injured, he was faster than them, stronger—but not invincible.
A blade slashed across his arm. He barely flinched. Another enemy swung at him from the left. Rowan ducked, driving his sword through the soldier's gut, ripping it free with a sickening sound. The man crumpled to the ground, unmoving.
The others hesitated. Rowan used that moment to grab my wrist and shove me behind him.
"Stay back, Ariadne," he growled, voice raw with command.
But I couldn't.
The nearest soldier rushed at Rowan. I moved before I could think, grabbing a fallen dagger from the ground. My fingers trembled around the hilt as I swung wildly, catching the soldier's arm.
He roared in pain, knocking me off balance. I stumbled, one hand on my belly, but Rowan was already there. His blade flashed, cutting the man down before he could recover.
I sucked in a sharp breath. I had hurt someone. It wasn't much, but it was something.
Rowan spared me only a glance before turning back to the remaining men. "Surrender now, and I might spare you."
They didn't.
One lunged for me. Rowan reacted too slowly. Pain erupted across my shoulder as the man's knife tore through fabric, slicing skin. I gasped, staggering back.
I could feel my dress getting wetter and wetter with my blood.
Rowan let out a snarl that didn't sound human.
In one brutal motion, he wrenched the attacker off me, slammed him against the wall, and drove his sword straight through his chest. Blood sprayed across the stone. The last two soldiers—seeing their failure—tried to run.
Before they could, reinforcements flooded the passage.
Rowan's warriors descended like the wolves they were. The final Braam soldiers didn't stand a chance. They were disarmed, forced to their knees, their faces bloodied and beaten.
Rowan stepped forward, towering over them. "How did you get into the castle?"
They refused to answer.
Rowan's patience snapped. He grabbed one by the throat, squeezing hard enough to make the man choke. "I won't ask again."
Silence.
Then, finally, one of them cracked.
"Kaelin," the soldier rasped, his face turning red from lack of air. "Kaelin gave us the maps."
I went cold.
Of course.
I should have known. She had been able to sneak in to see me. I should have told Rowan about her. About the woman who claimed to know me and had come to see me.
Maybe, maybe just maybe we would have been able to prevent the attack if I was faster.
"And how did she find a way into the castle? The castle is on lockdown. The whole city is on lockdown?" Rowan pressed.
The man hesitated. Then, through gritted teeth, Your brother, Prince Lucian. He sold you out in exchange for the throne."
A sharp breath left me. The world seemed to tilt.
"No," I whispered. "That's not possible."
Lucian was supposed to be working with us. He had agreed to negotiate with Braam on our behalf. But if this soldier was telling the truth...
Lucian had betrayed us.
Rowan released the man, letting him collapse onto the ground, coughing violently. His expression was unreadable, but his fury was unmistakable.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to focus. "We need to be sure. He could be lying."
Rowan's gaze flickered to me, then back to the prisoners. "Take them to the dungeons. I'll get more answers out of them, one way or another.”
His warriors dragged the soldiers away, leaving Rowan and me alone in the passageway.
I felt exhausted, raw. My shoulder throbbed where I'd been cut. But that wasn't what unsettled me. It was the nagging feeling deep in my chest, the feeling that this wasn't the first time Lucian had betrayed me.
That this was just the type of person he was. And I didn’t know because I didn’t remember.
And Kaelin.
I should have said something, I should have told Rowan.
A flicker of memory—a voice, Kaelin’s voice.
*"Do you really think you can escape who you are, Ariadne?"
“What do you think the court will do when they find out what you truly are?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. It didn't make sense. Nothing did.
Rowan stepped closer, brushing his fingers against my chin, tilting my face up to his. "You're hurt. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
"I'll survive. I hope," I whispered.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood. I’m worried about the baby. Come with me.”
His hand moved to my shoulder, carefully lifting the torn fabric to inspect the wound. His touch was gentle, too gentle, given the blood still smeared across his hands.
"You were reckless," he muttered, but there was no anger in his voice—only something thick, almost vulnerable.
I met his gaze. "I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. You were outnumbered.”
Rowan exhaled sharply. "You could've been killed."
"So could you."
His jaw clenched. "That's different."
"Is it?"
Something in his expression cracked. He leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine. His breath was warm, ragged. I felt his hands slide to my waist, holding me as if I might slip away.
"I thought I lost you tonight," he admitted. "Again."
I closed my eyes. "I'm still here."
His lips brushed against my temple. "For how long? How long will this continue?”
“I am terrified of losing you.”
My throat tightened. I didn't have an answer for that.
He pulled away slightly, his gaze locking onto mine. His thumb traced along my cheekbone, slow and deliberate. "I need you to promise me something."
I swallowed. "What?"
"If I ever tell you to run again, you run." His voice was hoarse, edged with something fierce. "You don't stop, you don't turn back. You just go."
I stared at him. "And leave you behind?"
His grip on me tightened. "Yes."
"Never."
The way he looked at me then—like he wanted to fight me on it, but knew it was a battle he wouldn't win. His lips parted, but before he could say anything else, a loud horn sounded in the distance.
Rowan tensed.
I turned toward the sound, dread curling in my stomach. "What now?"
A moment later, one of his warriors ran into the corridor, his expression grim.
"Your Majesty, the northern watchtower was set on fire. Someone's coming."
Rowan's eyes darkened.
"Who?" he demanded.
The warrior hesitated, then said the last thing I expected.
"Lucian. He's returned."
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