Chapter 7

7

O n our way out of the castle, we stop to grab Kasim . He follows behind, a deep frown on his face. “ This is a stupid idea. Why should we risk our lives for a spoiled princess who doesn’t care what happens to us?” he grumbles.

I flinch at his words, and Asher gives my hand a squeeze. Looking over his shoulder, Asher replies, “ She doesn’t know what the world is like now. Her parents didn’t tell her what was going on, and you know Dax’s father certainly didn’t educate her.”

I can feel Kasim glaring at the back of my head, and he huffs out, “ Doesn’t change the fact she doesn’t give a fuck about what happens to us. We risked enough by making the journey to pick her up.”

Asher leans down to whisper in my ear, “ I promise he normally isn’t this grumpy. We lost men on the journey to Arcelia . We were lucky not to have lost anymore on the way back to Wylan .”

I arch a brow in question. How is it possible they lost people on the journey to Arcelia ? With a sad smile, he says, “ You will understand once you see what lies beyond the walls.”

As we approach the doors of the towering walls, Kasim yells from behind us, “ Open the doors. Weapons at the ready. If you see anything coming our way, you shoot.”

Archers are wedged within arrow slits strategically placed throughout the wall. “ Yes , sir,” echoes around us as the door slowly begins to rise.

I gasp once I’m able to see the other side. Kasim lets out a humorless chuckle as he comes up beside me. “ You’ve seen nothing yet, Princess .”

Why is it when he says princess it sounds like poison spilling from his lips. Asher tightens his grip on my arm, and my gaze shifts to see his windblown, chocolate-colored hair moving in the wind. His eyes don’t drift to me, though, as he continues to survey the land beyond the wall. “ Nothing will happen to you, Eira .”

Kasim snorts as he begins walking forward. “ Shame . One less spoiled princess in the world would be nice.”

I bristle at his words. “ Excuse me, who are you calling spoiled? I may be a princess, but that does not mean I’m spoiled.”

He looks over his shoulder, arching a brow. “ If you say so. Although , you're not much of a princess anymore, are you? To be a princess you need a kingdom. Your kingdom was stolen, and your people were killed, so you are a princess of nothing now.”

“ Kas !” Asher hisses.

He looks to Asher before dropping his gaze back to me. “ What , it’s the truth isn’t it? That’s how those fancy titles work.”

My eyes narrow on him as I ask, “ What is your problem? You don’t seem to have this much venom directed toward your prince. He rules over you and has a fancy title, as you so eloquently put it.”

He smirks. “ Dax may be a prince, but he’s a warrior first.” He looks me up and down before adding, “ It takes more to earn the respect and loyalty of your people than having a fancy title. Remember that when you think you are entitled to something just because your blood reeks of privilege.”

As much as I hate his attitude, he does have a point. But I’m not about to give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. A screeching sound outside the wall makes me jump. I look around, but I don’t see anything.

Kasim looks in the direction of the noise, huffs out a sigh, and looks back over his shoulder at Asher and me. “ Make sure she doesn’t scream. You know that only provokes them.”

“ Scream ? Why would I scream?” I feel my heart quicken at his words.

Asher pats my hand that rests in the crook of his elbow. “ I would advise you not to scream, please. If you think you will, please scream into my arm.”

My wide eyes met his, but the usual laughter behind his steely blue gaze is missing, replaced with determination. All I can do is nod as I look nervously back out to the barren land of blackness. I suck in a breath when I see a humanoid figure walking oddly in our direction.

I say humanoid because while it may be the shape of a human, it looks nothing like a human. Its skin is gray, and it has white orbs for eyes. Its clothes are torn and dirty. “ What is that?” I whisper.

“ A death-bringer,” Kasim answers darkly.

“ Those are the people who have lost their lives and are now nothing but soulless corpses that wander the lands. They do only as the king bids. They kill anything and everything that moves. It’s why we have the wall,” Asher explains.

“ To protect everyone inside,” I say breathlessly.

“ They normally hunt in groups. We haven’t figured out why, but it’s best if we don’t leave the protection of these walls unless required.” Kasim looks back at me, his eyes dark and judgmental. “ Our prince left the safety of these walls for you.”

My body stiffens as he walks back toward Asher and me. He lifts a hand in the air and yells, “ Close the door.” His eyes never leave mine as he continues in our direction. Once he is standing right in front of me, he says, “ We lost twelve men because we left the protection of the wall… for you. As heartless as you think we may be, those were great men who didn’t deserve to lose their lives.”

He continues with a sneer, “ A spoiled princess who doesn’t know what is going on in the world. A naive brat who believes the world is black and white. Who believes herself a hero.” He gestures over his shoulder to the wall. “ Well , Princess , how are you going to save the world since you think so highly of yourself? Are you going to save the rest of us, so we don’t turn into death-bringers? We had to burn the bodies of the twelve men, so they would not turn into those things! Their families have no bodies to mourn!”

“ Kas ,” Asher sighs beside me.

Kasim turns his glare on Asher . “ Stop protecting her, Ash ! If she thinks us the villains, then let her continue believing so. I don’t care if I’m the villain.” His eyes shift back to me. “ I would rather be a villain than a conceited hero.” His eyes narrow and spits out, “ Who will mourn the hero princess of nothing when she fails?” With one last disgusted look, he stomps off, heading back to the castle.

I stand stiffly as I stare at the door standing between us and the outside world. Leading directly to where I want to escape. Or was… was wanting to escape. These men are right… I am a naive princess. I didn’t ask enough questions, and I certainly did not look into the surrounding kingdoms as much as I should have when the king started taking over. My chest aches when I think over his last words. Who will mourn the hero princess of nothing? No one… that’s the truth; no one will mourn me because I have no one left. No one who cares for me. No one I love. And no one who loves me…

I’m jerked from my depressing thoughts when Asher pops up in front of me. He levels me with a look and says, “ Eira ? Eira , pay him no mind. He’s taking out his anger over losing soldiers on you.”

“ He’s not wrong, though,” I whisper.

Asher shakes his head. “ No , he’s just angry. It’s not your fault that you weren’t informed.”

“ It is, though. I should have asked more questions when I had the chance to get answers, but I didn’t. I thought my status as princess would automatically give me those answers.”

When he reaches up, I can’t help but flinch. His hand stops a few inches from my face before curling into a fist. He looks away from me as he quietly says, “ Please don’t cry.”

I didn’t realize I was crying until I reached up to touch my face. My vision blurs as the tears start to fall faster. I let out a hiccupped laugh. “ I’m so pathetic. A princess of nothing, just like Kasim said.”

Asher straightens and steps closer, wrapping his arms around me. He pulls me into his chest, just holding me close. His hold isn’t tight, which allows me the ability to break away if needed. “ Just because we are villains does not mean we are without a heart. Kasim is angry, and he feels the loss of the men he trained for years. He said many things out of anger, whether true or not.”

“ He does not like me,” I mutter.

“ He doesn’t like most people, to be honest.” He sighs. “ I like you more when you are feisty and angry.”

I let out a watery laugh and say, “ You mean to say you like Snow Bunny me.”

He laughs softly. “ She is my favorite.” He gives me a soft squeeze before pulling away. “ Let’s head back to the castle. I’m sure we can find some way to entertain you,” he teases.

I wipe my face as I peer up at him. “ I did not realize it was your job to entertain me.”

He shrugs and offers me his elbow again. “ I’m your guard for the day. My job is to take care of you.”

I can’t stop the smile that pulls at my lips as I slip my hand through to hold his forearm. I may have hated his happy attitude before, but right now, it’s the only thing drawing me out of my depressive mood. I need to be more open-minded while here. It’s time to learn everything I possibly can because I won’t stop until I get my kingdom back.

I need to do whatever is necessary. Which means I need to learn from the villains. It will take a villain to defeat another. I’m beginning to realize the heroes I grew up with bowed to villains instead of fighting them.