Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms 1)

Magnus swore loudly. Cleo looked up at him still on his horse. He seemed shocked by the guard’s death, as if he’d been fully expecting that Theon would easily surrender and give custody of Cleo over to him without argument or resistance.

There was nothing easy about this. But Cleo was confident that Theon was going to win. He was her hero. He’d saved her once. He would save her again.

Theon fought harder against the second guard, who moved toward Cleo. This one was older and more experienced, and he handled his sword so easily it was as if it was another limb. Cleo had witnessed guards practicing together with wooden swords and then again matched in tournaments every summer with real ones made from iron and steel. But she’d never seen a fight like this.

Just as she feared Theon would be defeated, the other guard lost his footing on the rocky ground. Theon didn’t hesitate—he ran him through with his sword.

The guard’s weapon clattered to the ground and he collapsed. A moment later, he choked on his own blood and fell limp. He was dead.

Cleo had also stopped breathing, but now she exhaled deeply and shakily as relief flooded through her. Theon had stopped them. He’d killed them to defend her, but she knew there had been no other choice. They would have taken her against her will and dragged her back to Limeros as a prisoner of war to use against her father.

Theon had just saved her life again.

Cleo looked toward him, gratitude welling in her heart, a smile ready to bloom on her face. His chest heaved with labored breath; his forehead was damp with sweat. Their eyes met and held.

Then a sword thrust through the center of Theon’s chest from behind, the sharp, bloody tip impaling the front of his uniform. He looked down at it with shock as the sword pulled back and dark blood soaked the fabric.

Horror crashed all around her.

“Theon!” Cleo screamed.

Theon touched his chest and drew his hand away coated with blood. His pained gaze met hers again briefly before he collapsed heavily on his back, his eyes open and staring straight up at the sky.

Magnus stood behind Theon holding a bloody sword.

He frowned down at Theon’s body, his brows drawn tightly together as he shook his head. “He killed my men. He would have killed me next.”

Cleo trembled violently from head to toe and her feet moved without conscious effort. She collapsed at Theon’s side, grabbing his arms, his shoulders, his face. She couldn’t see past the tears in her eyes.

“Theon, you’re all right. It’s only a wound. Please, look at me!” Her hysterical sobs made her words impossible to understand.

He was fine. He had to be. She already had it all planned. He would take her back to Auranos and her father would be angry for a while. She would tell the king that she loved Theon and she didn’t care that he was a guard. He was everything she’d ever wanted. And Cleo always got whatever she wanted—provided she wanted it badly enough.

“I regret that it had to come to this,” Prince Magnus said. “If your guard had backed off when I told him to, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“He’s not just a guard,” she whispered. “Not to me.”

When she felt the prince touch her arm as if to pull her up to her feet, she screamed and clawed at him.

“Get away from me! Don’t touch me!”

His expression was stone. “You have to come with me now.”

“Never!”

“Don’t make this more difficult than it’s already been.”

She stared at him in shock, not seeing anything but a blur. This horrible creature before her was no better than the most evil beast. He’d done this to Theon. Theon had come here to rescue her, and now he was...

Now he was...

No, he wasn’t. He would survive this. He had to.

Cleo pushed away from Magnus and clutched Theon’s body, trying to hold him, trying to shield him from the prince who might try to hurt him again. His blood soaked into her fine silk dress, the one she’d tried not to dirty even while forced to wear it for days on end locked in the cold, dark shed. She didn’t even look at the other bodies. They were dead. But Theon wasn’t. He wasn’t.

“Enough of this.” Magnus grabbed Cleo’s arm and wrenched her to her feet. “This has all gone very wrong and now I need to get you back all on my own. Don’t try my patience another moment. Behave yourself.”

“Let go of me!” She lashed out and scratched him across his face as deeply as she could. It was enough to draw blood on the same side as his scar. He snarled and pushed her back from him. She stumbled and fell hard to the rocky ground. All she could do was lie there, stunned and gasping for breath.