Chapter 57

Logan

I was lost in a simple, peaceful dream of a clearing filled with rolling, bright green grass when the pounding came like a war drum, ripping me from sleep.

My door burst open a second later, not even waiting for me to rise and answer. The metallic clatter of armor echoed through my chambers as I sat up, squinting into the onslaught of light as I reached for the dagger I kept on my bedside table.

I was halfway out of bed, still shirtless, when I recognized that they were two of our guards. And between them, Prince Alex stood, pale and out of breath, filling the doorway with a kind of tension I hadn’t seen in him before.

“What—” I began, but wasn’t even able to finish my question.

“It’s Evelyn,” Alex said, cutting me off, voice sharp with urgency. “She’s gone.”

Gone.

The word landed like a blow to the ribs. It knocked the air from me. The knife I had been clutching to defend myself clattered uselessly to the floor in shock.

And then I was moving. I was reaching for my shirt and boots, wasting no time. “Gone where?”

“She snuck out. We had guards watching her, but she lost them in the woods,” he said. “She took one of the Alpha King’s horses. She took his best and fastest one. No one could track her down after they set off. We think she’s headed for Jesse’s camp.”

“Of course she is,” I muttered, tugging a shirt over my head. “She’s stubborn enough to bleed for peace if she thinks it’ll save someone else from doing it. If she thinks it will help the treaty, she’ll do anything.”

“We need your help,” Alex said. “We need you to help us track her. We need to find her before Jesse… before something happens.”

I slipped on my shoes and swordbelt. In an instant, I was pushing past them and into the hallway.

“Let’s move.”

The forest was silent when we reached it. Only the chirping of insects flitted through the night. Emerging daylight sliced through the trees in broken fragments, illuminating the prints of hooves and a path that had clearly been carved in desperate haste.

Alex and I followed this makeshift path doggedly, winding through the trees on the trail. Two guards were behind us, scanning the forest for threats while we searched the ground for clues. All the while, none of us spoke unless it was to exchange information about some new development.

We found the horse next. The stallion was alone, spooked, with sweat lathered across its sides and neck. A broken saddle strap trailed it in the dirt as it emitted a panicky shriek.

But even as my heart lifted at this next hint, I felt my insides clench. Still, there was no sign of Evelyn nearby. And if she had abandoned her mount, it wasn’t likely voluntary.

Alex cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair as one of his guards gathered and soothed the stallion.

“She really did it,” I said quietly, crouching by the hoof prints. “She went to Jesse.”

Alex nodded grimly. “She thinks this is the only way. Jesse offered peace… in exchange for her.”

My fists clenched. Of course. I should have assumed that would be the proposed exchange. He had seen my reaction when she was in harm’s way. Now he knew that possessing her was one of the best ways to torment me. And Evelyn, in all of her bravery and foolhardy optimism, would have trusted him when he offered the exchange.

And she hadn’t told me. She had avoided my questions about it because she knew how I would react. She knew I would have said no.

“You should’ve known she wouldn’t care about exchanging her life for peace,” I said. “If you knew about this proposal, you should have stopped it at whatever cost. She doesn’t need permission to throw herself into danger, trust me.”

“You think we don’t know that?” Alex snapped, then exhaled hard, scrubbing at his jaw. “Of course we assumed she would try something. That’s why we had guards watching her. But she slipped them. One caught on and came to me right away because he couldn’t outpace my father’s horse. That’s why I came to you immediately.”

I gave him a sharp look, then kept walking. “She shouldn’t have gone alone.”

“It’s not exactly easy to tell her what to do,” Alex muttered.

Didn’t I know it.

We continued on, following the trail of hoof prints and broken branches as the sun rose. The woods thickened as we drew closer to rogue territory. My senses prickled as tents began to appear on the horizon.

Something was wrong.

No sooner had I realized this than a whistle rent through the trees. Then came the snap of movement.

“Down!” I barked, shoving Alex to the ground as a rogue scout leaped from the shadows, blade flashing.

My body moved on instinct. I unsheathed my own blade and brought it up without hesitation.

I caught the attacker mid-swing, slamming into him and wrenching the blade from his hand in a swift moment. We hit the ground hard, rolling through dirt and over thick, unyielding tree roots before I pinned him, my fist flying. It connected with the scout’s face again and again until he went limp beneath me.

Another scout lunged for Alex, who was scrambling for his dagger.

I threw myself off the first rogue and sprinted, just as the second raised a blade, aiming for the prince’s throat.

The prince had no time to react or protect himself, but fortunately, I had always been quick and possessed fast instincts. I tackled him from behind, slamming his head into the ground once, twice, two more times, until he stopped moving like the first scout.

I sat back, panting as I scanned the surrounding trees for more threats. The two guards were turning in circles, blades raised, doing the same.

I looked at the prince. Alex stared back at me, dazed and with wide eyes, his chest heaving. “You didn’t have to—”

“Yes, I did,” I cut in. “She’d be destroyed if you died out here.”

I couldn’t let that happen. When we saved her—and we would—she would want the prince alive to greet her. I was certain of it. And I wouldn’t be the one to deprive her of such a reunion.

Alex nodded slowly. “Thank you.”

It was a rare thing for a prince to show gratitude. I returned his nod. “Then stay close and don’t make me save your life again.”

We continued to the camp on foot. The guards had hung back with the horses upon Alex’s order. Our blades were naked and glinting in the morning sun as we entered the rogue camp.

We were bruised and bloodied, and yet the horns sounded, low and bellowing, to announce our arrival and warn of intruders.

The rogues knew we were here now.

Many stumbled from their tents, bleary-eyed in the early morning to see this new arrival. But strangely, no other rogues approached us or tried to use force against our intrusion.

I glanced sideways at Alex as we approached the torchlit edge of Jesse’s territory. The rogues let us penetrate deeper into camp, stumbling on until an overlarge tent came into view.

I set my shoulders with determination. We had come for Evelyn. And we were not leaving without her.