The Princess and the Guard (Book 1)

Twenty-Nine

Noah pressed back against the closed door, checking to make sure it was locked. Juliette didn't let him hold her for long before breaking away. He understood it, understood her frustration; at Odette, at him for being the one to hold her back, at being trapped in this frozen prison. It did little to lessen the sting. He couldn't let her out until she'd settled down, or Odette would kill them both.

"How could she say that?!" Juliette screamed, hurling one of the pillows on the sofa across the room, knocking over a glass vase. "She's... I hate her!"

I hate her, too, Noah thought to himself, his hands shaking. He thought for sure he wasn't going to get Juliette away from Odette fast enough.

"And you just do what she says!" Juliette shot Noah a glare. He knew she was mad—mad at Odette, and even mad at him.

"What did you want me to do?" he demanded. "Let you attack her? She'll just retaliate!"

"Then let her!" Juliette was screaming again, tears still trickling down her face. "She does it every day, what difference does it make?! At least if I don't always have a guard holding me back, I can show her I won't just lie down and take it!"

"Jules—"

"No! Don't! Just let me be mad, please." Juliette sank back against the wall beside the fireplace. Her face was red, her cheeks blotchy. She wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in her knees. Her shoulder trembled. She was angry, she was frustrated. None of that did anything to lessen how beautiful she was. Lifting her head, she grabbed something from the mantle and hurled it across the room. It must have been glass, because Noah heard it shatter.

"Okay, be mad. Let me know when you're done."

Juliette looked at him, still glaring. "Don't try and make me laugh."

"I wasn't." Noah pressed his lips together. He'd never felt more trapped in his life. He hated—hated—that he had to listen to Odette. That he had to one more person to control Juliette.

She shook her head. "She's such a witch," she muttered, brushing her face with the back of her hand. "And no one ever does anything to stop her, because no one can."

Noah scoffed his agreement.

"Why did you stop me? I could have taken her."

"I have no doubt of that, but she has guards who will stop you."

Juliette arched her eyebrows.

"More than just me," Noah amended. "She has guards who will hurt you, okay? At least all I did was get you away from her before she had the chance to do anything."

It sounded like she almost laughed. "I know what she's capable of, Noah. I've been dealing with it my whole life. I know what would have happened to me if I hurt her, and I don't care."

"And I would let you make that choice for yourself, butterfly, but try to understand where I'm coming from. I'm a guard. I have no power, no value. She can replace me in a minute. If I disobey an order and stand by while the queen is attacked, what do you think is going to happen?"

Juliette exhaled.

Noah arched his eyebrows. "She'll go after me, she'll go after Phil, or one of the other guards here, and then she'll go after you." He sighed shortly, stamping down his own mounting frustration.

Juliette didn't reply. She swiped at her face, but tears continued to trickle down her beautiful face.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked after a few seconds of silence. The words sounded flat, empty.