Chapter 104

Evelyn

The rogue’s blade pressed so close to my throat that I could feel its cold kiss every time I inhaled or swallowed. Her grip was unyielding, and the cut she had created earlier that evening had dried to a sticky paste on my neck.

Together, we shuffled into the deep dark of the woods. I wasn’t sure how she was able to navigate the nearly black expanse of trees, but she did so with ease, hauling me along but never once relinquishing the pressure of the blade she held to me.

Her relentless steps forced mine forward through the trees until, finally, the forest thinned into a short expanse of grass and the air shifted. It now hung with the distant scent of smoke like a fire that had long burned out. And in the center of the grass was a dilapidated building.

She pushed me into a clearing so I could better see what used to be an older farmer’s house. Its white wash had peeled like a bad sunburn over time, and weather had warped the wood so that the structure looked like it was one strong breeze away from toppling like a house of cards. And yet there were lanterns lit inside, throwing amber pools of light onto the surrounding grass.

I didn’t dare ask where the rogue was taking me; she had yet to answer any of my other questions. It was clear that this house was the destination, and only when she kicked open the door to reveal the interior did I see why.

There were three other women in the room. Two of the faces were unfamiliar, and one haunted me relentlessly.

Emma.

Emma looked every bit the queen she wanted to be and she fancied herself as. Despite weeks passing with her being missing and on the run, she seemed bathed and well-fed, as if she had lived that time in utter luxury. Admittedly, she looked cruelly beautiful, as though to juxtapose the depressing, disheveled interior of the building we were in.

She was perched on a half-collapsed chair, which at one point might have been an ornate, lacquered spectacle. Now, it was a disheveled excuse for a seat.

Her legs were crossed casually like she hadn’t just ordered my violent abduction. Because it was clear now that the woman still holding a blade steadily to my throat had been working under Emma’s instructions. I had never hated a person more than I did as I glared up at Emma.

The smirk on her lips made bile rise in my throat.

“Well, well,” she purred. “The little healer. Oh, wait! I meant princess. My apologies. It’s all so new to me. Regardless, welcome! I had a feeling it was only a matter of time. I wondered how long it would take you to come crawling after him like the good little pet you are.”

My stomach lurched at the name she didn’t need to say: Logan. She had him, or at least knew where he was. That much was evident in the cruel grin she was giving me, like she knew more than I did and was reveling in the imbalance between us.

“Where is he?” I demanded. I refused to be cowed by Emma. Not again. This feud between us ended here. Tonight. But first, I needed to find a way to clear the space so that it was just the two of us. No overlooking rogues, and certainly no knife against my throat.

Emma’s smirk widened. “With me, of course. Where else would he be? He’s finally accepted that I’m the only one for him. It took him long enough, but now he sees me for who I am. Better than you. Strong enough and ruthless enough to stand at his side. Every inch superior. And so he has chosen me.”

The words sliced deeper than the rogue’s blade could. For a moment, my chest caved inward, the air gone from my lungs like it had been squeezed from me. My mind screamed, casting aside all thoughts but no. Logan would never. Not my Logan. The man I was beginning to fall in love with and who assured me that his kiss with Emma had been a mistake. An assault.

And yet a shadow of doubt twisted cruelly in my heart.

Could he have truly drawn his line in the sand? Is that why he had failed to return to the palace all of these days?

But then it occurred to me: If he had chosen her, then why wasn’t he here? Wouldn’t he have wanted to proudly stand by the side of the woman he had decided was superior?

I straightened, swallowing down the ache. “If that’s true, then where is he?”

Emma blinked, clearly not expecting the question. “He is busy.”

“Surely he’d want to be beside you if he’d chosen you,” I pressed, forcing calm into my tone with considerable effort. “Why hide him away? Why not let him tell me himself? Unless he hasn’t chosen you at all and you are, in fact, hiding him away like a coward. If he’s truly picked you, then I’ll leave. I’ll admit defeat, surrender, and go without a fight. You’ll never see me again.”

Her smirk faltered, just slightly, but I saw it. The rogue’s knife wavered at my throat as if even she felt the shift, too. It was the first time since the stables that I hadn’t felt its sharp kiss.

“You are in no position to play games with me, Evelyn,” Emma said, her voice tighter now. But I could see the subtle changes in her expression, the tension that had made her shoulders rise and her jaw tense.

“I’m not playing games with you. I’m serious,” I said. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might break through my ribs. This was a gamble, but if it was the last hand I could play, then so be it.

“I just want to hear it from him. I need to hear it from his lips directly. Let him come out here and tell me he’s chosen you. That’s all. Then I’m gone for good. I swear it.”

Her eyes flickered with a flurry of emotions. Hesitation, annoyance, something close to fear moved through her expression in the span of an eyeblink.

My pulse thundered. It was all the reassurance I needed. She’s lying, I thought. She has to be lying.

Emma rose slowly from her rickety worn chair, smoothing her hands down her dark skirts as she collected herself. When she finally looked back at me, her smile was thinner.

“Very well,” she said, voice sharp as a blade. “If you need to hear it so badly, then that can be arranged. And then I will never have to see your sorry face again.”

She turned toward the rogue female to her right, meeting her eye with stern authority.

“Bring him here,” she instructed.

Her order cut through me. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to keep up the ruse or was truly so confident in Logan’s response that she had no problem bringing him forward. Only time would tell.

The rogue gave a single curt nod of confirmation before mutely retreating to go fetch him.

I watched her go and stood frozen, every muscle taut with dread and desperate hope, waiting to see what Logan would say when he returned.