Burning Bridges (15 page)

“
I
’
m not your
stupid
P
rincess!
”
I snapped. The boy hadn
’
t a clue what I was talking about. I swallowed.
“
I don
’
t want this anymore. I can
’
t do it. I
’
m sorry...
”
I turned and ran in the direction of the forest, away from the streets
and markets—anything that was
New Haven.

“
Princess, wait! You can
’
t leave at this ungodly hour!
”
t
he boy yelled.

His voice was another piece of the past as I ran. I ran until my feet couldn
’
t carry me anymore, until my lungs refused to let me breathe, until there was no where left to go. And the whole time, I wept.

Finally, I stopped running. Tears still stung my eyes, but after all that, there weren
’
t many tears
left to cry
.
I
’
ve never been here before
, I thought to myself as I took in the wide river,
the
sand, and c
hirping N
ightingales alighted on the branches of the trees.

I clenched the pamphlet between my fingers,
quickly
remembering I had it still. It felt hot in my hands as if
it
was the source of everything—why I was so miserable, why the world was so broken...Why I felt so alone and no one cared about what I thought. Even thinking of its existence angered me.

I tore it up into pieces,
relishing
in the way it became nothing but broken
pieces
of a puzzle.
“
I hate this!
”
I yelled. Still running on anger, I threw it into the river. Watching it float away wasn
’
t enough
,
so I
hastily
tore off my gown and the thread struggled
to h
old together under my onslaught. I
thr
ew
it in
to
the dark waters, and as I watched it float away, I prided myself. I
sank to the sandy floor in nothing but my bodice and underskirt. I swore that if anyone found me I
’
d strangle them.

I hurt too much...

Somewhere in the back of my
mind
I knew I should
’
ve go
t
ten
up and go
ne
back to the
palace
. I should
’
ve
apologize
d
to Father and g
otten
married to Noah despite how I felt. But that part was minuscule c
ompared to my anger,
it didn
’
t stand a chance. If I could help it, I never wanted to return.

Something ruffled the trees behind me and I stopped sobbing to listen. They were footsteps, slow but heavy and distinctive.
“
I
’
m not going back. I refuse,
”
I yell
ed
out, assuming it to
be one of my father
’
s guards he
’
d
sent for me. If it was the same boy, he
’
d be wise not to touch me again.

The footsteps still approached. Did he not hear me, or did he not speak English?
“
I said I do not wish to be disturbed! What part of—
”

“
You sure have a big voice for a damsel in distress,
”
a male voice echoed.

I caught his shadow first, and as his face drifted into view and his voice rung clear in my ears, I had a sudden awareness of who he was.

The boy with the violet eyes. The Hunter.

Ayden.

“
You followed me,
”
I whispered. I turned away from him and stared out at the moonlit river.

“
No.
”
His voice sounded closer.
“
I heard you. It
’
s kind of hard to miss a
screaming girl
tearing at her clothes at this time of night. That
’
s not something you can exactly walk away from.
”
I could sense him smiling at his own humor.

“
I didn
’
t mean… I just wanted—
”
I froze.
“
I don
’
t know what I want.
”

Ayden
’
s footsteps stopped beside me, and when I looked up, he was busy staring out at the moon. It was weird, how comfortable a moment with him truly was. I knew he was no different from me despite the posters and the chants, but he was
different
. In some unspoken way we understood each other; running into one another was inevitable. He didn
’
t ask me why I was here like I didn
’
t ask him why h
e stole from my mother. I think
whether we both chose to acknowledge it or not, on some level we connected.

That thought should have scared me, but I waited eagerly for the day this boy wouldn
’
t intrigue me.

“
Here,
”
he said. He held something out for me, and in the night it was hard to see what it was. As soon as I took it, though, I knew.

“
The invitation. You read it.
”

“
So quick
to assume, Princess. Is that a R
oyal thing?
”
He snickered.
“
I didn
’
t read it. I can
’
t.
”

I threw the wedding invite back
into the waters and prayed it
’
d float as far away from me as possible. There was
n
’
t going to be a wedding
.

Breaking free from my musings, I realized what Ayden had said.
“
Can
’
t? You mean you cannot read?
”
My voice cracked to my dismay. How could anyone live without knowing how to read?

Ayden said nothing.

Turning away, I whispered,
“
I could teach you. It isn
’
t too hard and I
’
ve always been good at it, I guess.
”

That made him smile.
“
It
’
s okay. I
’
ll get along fine, thank you.
”
He looked down at me with those eyes that shone brighter than a million suns. I wondered if mine shone the same.

“
Do they have schools where you come from?
”
As soon as the words fell from my lips, I regretted them. What a
stupid
question.

But Ayden only laughed at me.
“
Yes, we do. We have those things.
”
He kicked at the sand below his feet, the laughter draining from his eyes.
“
But it
’
s not like schools here. We can only learn so much from the people who learned nothing. Everything we know is instinctual. I guess that
’
s why they call us Hunters, eh?
”
He smiled, but it was very cold.

“
I don
’
t know why your people are called Hunters, but everyone should know how to read.
”
I crossed my arms over my chest as a slight wind began to pick up.
“
Are you going back?
”

We looked at each other.
“
To Old Haven? Yes, I must. I was just finishing up some things for the Queen in preparation of the wedding.
”

“
There
is
no wedding,
”
I ground out.
“
Prince Noah is unlawful. I refuse to marry someone who I do not love. Isn
’
t that the point, to marry for love?
”
I stared up at him expectantly, but he only shrugged.

“
I wouldn
’
t know the first thing about love, Princess. I can say I
’
ve seen it, but I do not know it. Marrying for love is beyond me.
”

My eyes shifted to the river again, regretting ever bringing up such a personal matter. I closed my eyes and willed myself to fall asleep for
millennia
, but the gods wouldn
’
t have it. Did they even care? The thought was foolish, I knew, but at the moment, when life seemed to be giving me the thumbs down, it was safe to doubt. It was solace.

Voices came from behind us, followed by running footsteps. Both of our hearts seemed to
stop
in our chests
as if we were
being c
aught in a scandalous tryst
.
“
I must go,
”
Ayden said.

I immediately jumped to my feet.
“
Wait! You can
’
t leave me.
”
He stopped walking and turned to face me, confused from crown to sole. I murmured,
“
Take me with. T
o Old Haven, I mean.
”
When he began to shake his head, I added,
“
I beg of you, please.
”
I knew crossing the border terrified and excited me in the worst way
s
, but anything was better than going back to the imprisonment that was that
palace
.
Anything
.

“
You can
’
t be serious?
”
he whispered, approaching me. His head darted between me and the voices in the dark.

“
But I am. I need to be as far away from here, I need to get away.
”
Tears sprung in my eyes and blurred my vision. I was desperate.

“
I can
’
t, I
’
m sorry.
”
He turned away from me, but I didn
’
t let him get far.

“
Please! I
’
ll do anything.
”

As the voices inched closer, Ayden seemed to weigh his options. And he didn
’
t take long. He pulled off his overcoat and handed it to me.
“
Wear this. The guards will notice you at first sight.
”

I tossed the coat over my shoulders, making sure to cover my hair and face. I looked up at him and
whispered
,
“
Thank you.
”

“
Don
’
t thank me yet.
”
He slipped his hands in
to
mine and led me through the trees in the opposite direction of the voices. I was oddly aware of his calloused hands holding me, the way they made my own hands seem so small and childish. His coat smelled of leather and clover, lilacs and sun. It was a weird mixture, but it was definitely Ayden. The smell of him was intoxicating and I hoped it would never leave me.

“
Don
’
t look up until I tell you,
”
he whispered. We slowed as we reached what I assumed was the border. Ayden gripped my hand more intimately and I tried not to think anything of it, despite the way it made my heart jump.

“
Names,
”
said a deep voice. He seemed to pause.
“
Ayden. Who is this you have with you?
”

I froze.

“
Feven. She
’
s not feeling so well, the Serv
ant K
eeper believes her
to
have the flu.
”