Page 30 of Royal Hunt
Ellis yanked me down, away from the carnage. He dragged me over to the nobles who’d chosen not to fight. They all huddled together in a corner.
“Stay here,” he ordered me, then glared at the others. “Make sure she stays and you’ll get furs.”
That lit a fire under their asses. They formed a tight circle around me, even as I scowled at them. The blood felt sticky on my face, and I used the bottom of my dress and wiped my cheek with shaking hands.
We were murdering each other for food. For furs. Things we readily had available at my manor in the country, on my farm. I looked down to see what measly thing I had managed to grab. It was a tightly rolled bundle of heavy canvas fabric. A woman leaned over my shoulder, frowning.
“We need food and furs! What good will this do?” She sneered.
I hugged it to my chest, intent on keeping it safe now that she’d insulted it. “And what did you bring back?” I demanded. I bared my teeth at her, and she practically flew into Trenton’s lap.
Of course he’d be here, and not risking his neck on the front lines.
I clutched the fabric tightly as I turned back toward the fray, afraid to look but unable to help myself. Bodies were draped over bags of supplies, the fae uncaring as they flung them aside to help themselves to the best supplies. A few human nobles were left here and there, sticking to the outskirts of the barrier, and tugging what they could onto our side while staying out of reach.
The heirs were doing the same, but I noticed they were strategic about what they were taking and when. Lily and Lyra were the quickest, getting in and out with whatever they could get their hands on while the fae were kept busy by Nessian and the triplets.
And Viana.
She was a force of nature, moving with incredible speed and almost as much grace as the fae. Multiple blades whirled from her fingertips, and I wondered how she’d snuck them past her captors. Then I wondered why she hadn’t used them to free herself.
“Aaarrrgh!” A female fae fell as blood flew in an arc from her throat, her hands uselessly trying keep her neck closed. She was dead before she hit the ground, and Viana was already spinning, her knife buried in another fae’s chest. Lyra and Lily scampered behind her, picking up the supplies the dead fae had dropped and scurrying back to our side.
The supplies were waning; only a few scraps were left. The three brothers—Maven, Mixen, and Matthias held the line steady as a group of fae targeted them, working together like a seamless team to pick off anyone who came near Lyra and Lily.
The moment the last supply was plucked from the ground—a fork of all things—light exploded from the center. Fae and humans alike fell back to their respective sides, leaving only bodies scattered in the middle. At least two dozen or so humans lay dead, and only a few fae. Just like the man who’d tried to break down the fence, the bodies erupted into white flames, burning down to ashes before drifting away in the wind.
“Rest now in preparation for tomorrow. The game will be Prisoner’s Base,” boomed Cassus’s voice from above.
The heirs drifted back to the east corner of our side of the boundary, and the humans regrouped around us. I tried to crane my neck to catch a glimpse of Ellis, but the crowd around me made it difficult.
A heavy fur dropped itself down on my shoulders and I flinched.
Gregory collapsed to the ground, panting and clutching his leg, but looking supremely smug. “Got it for you,” he panted.
My fingers burrowed into the soft warmth automatically. “Nothing else?” inquired the nosy girl from before, her hopeful expression falling when she saw Gregory had only brought the one fur.
I angrily pushed her away and tore a strip off the bottom of my dress. At least it was good for something! Gregory laid there, still smirking as I tied the bit of fabric around the bleeding wound on his thigh, tying it as tightly as I could.
My eyes narrowed. “You can stop looking so smug,” I chastised him.
He held out his arms to me, but I leaned back and crossed mine across my chest. That made him frown.
“I did it for you,” he insisted.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, but just barely. “Yes, but I didn’t ask you to,” I stressed, annoyed. People had died, but he was upset over a fur?
The woman next to him huffed. “I think it’s romantic,” she said dreamily, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Gregory shot her an appreciative glance, and I turned away. I didn’t have time for his immaturity. I needed to make sure the heirs were alright.
“Wait! Eve! I got injured for you!”
A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, jerking me back. I slipped in the mud and fell. Then there was yelling, a scuffle, and hands picking me up. I blinked up into Ellis’s enraged face, but it wasn’t directed at me.
“Don’t fucking touch her like that,” Ellis snarled, and then Gregory launched himself at his former prince. I screamed in frustration as everyone gathered around them in a tight ring, yelling and chanting. Viana and Nessian came running.
“I’ll touch her anyway I damn well please!” Gregory screamed, trying to land a hit on Ellis. It was like watching a bull try to stomp on a bird. Ellis was quick and clearly not trying very hard despite his own anger.
“She’s not a piece of meat to be mauled!” Ellis sneered.
