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Walther hadn’t been lying
For a second, Elle couldn’t move Then the adrenaline kicked in, and she dashed across the bathroom, pushed her way to the back of the linen closet, secured the door, and shoved against the false wall It gave She stu the barest amount of time to press the wall back in place, she hurried down the cobweb-lined hall, getting as far as she could before releasing her breath and inhaling the clean, if stale, air
Step one, done Now to find Walther before he found her
It was obvious froht that no one used the servants’ hallways much anymore, if at all Still, she kept her eyes peeled for security cah the dimly lit halls
Left Right Left again She hadn’t been inside these walls since she was a girl, but playing defend the castle in the up Another few feet and there’d be another turn and then, finally, another door She’d end up outside her father’s cha the inner courtyard garden At that point, it was a si in with the crowd no doubt already starting to gather in the garden for the Kronig The pajamas would make her stand out in the foro that the key to any situation was to brazen her way through with her chin held high
She turned the corner There it was Daylight peeked out through the small space between the door and the wall The knob felt cool against her palm as she turned it and slowly inched the door open A cool, fresh breeze tickled her nose and brought the sound of voices into the hall But they weren’t talking They were…singing She opened the door enough to confirarden as expected and peeked out to ’s chaave in to the draw of the song
She stuck to the shadows but caet a look at the children’s choir singing the folk song that was the unofficial Elskov anthe about star-crossed lovers ere separated by distance and a bitter faed to sneak off and make a home on a barren island Their love turned the island into a paradise, and that paradise becolasses in pubs as they sang it together Often at weddings, nealked out of the church to an instrumental version
Pursing her lips together, she closed her eyes and for aout of the national cathedral with Do It was a pretty dream that ripped apart her insides It couldn’t have happened, and now it never would Sing past the ean to turn to—
An ar her back into the shadows, and a hand claht over her mouth
“You shouldn’t be out wandering around, Your Highness,” Walther whispered against her ear, evil clinging to his every word “I see we’re going to have to get you through the day using the power of che tocoronation ceremony” He buried his face in her hair and inhaled “Of course, with any luck it will have worn off by the tiht back”
Good, because that’s exactly what he was about to get Recalling Do room, she stomped down as hard as she could on
Walther’s instep His hold on her loosened just enough that she could throw her head back and sainst his nose The sound of bone cracking bounced across the high ceiling, and so wet sprayed the back of her neck
“Bitch,” Walther said, his voice quiet and weirdly erous for it “You’ll pay for that”
His hand went fro around her windpipe and squeezing hard enough to make black spots appear in her vision She clawed at his iron hold but couldn’t break loose He kept his feet out of striking distance and kept her tucked close against hiet in another head butt or other defensive hit She tried to screaled whisper ca
“Don’t worry, little princess, you won’t die…yet” He dragged her back toward an open door that led to the king’s former chambers “But you are about to learn an important lesson”