Kalin leads me and Darien into a small hut near Ailee's house. He throws me a look before moving to stand by the door. I push past him and pull a bandage off of the wooden shelf. Darien plops himself down on one of the chairs sitting in the middle of the room. I walk over to him and sit in the chair across from him. I tap the table twice. He places his hand where I tapped it. A piece of his white hair escapes from his ponytail and falls into his left eyes. I inhale a sharp breath and begin bandaging his hand. I bite back a gasp at how deep the cut is.
"Does it hurt?" I ask, lowering my voice so Kalin won't hear me.
Darien looks at me, an unreadable expression on his face. He shakes his head slightly, but there's no mistaking the beads of sweat rolling down his face.
"Why did you do it?" I ask while gently wrapping his hand.
He looks up at me. "What?"
"Save my life?"
His eyes move to Kalin standing at the door.
I tug on his bandage, making him wince and look back at me.
"I know you said you want to give me a fair chance, but there shouldn't be any chances to give. You chose to help your sister, helping me isn't helping her."
His eyes grow wide. "Why can't I help you both?"
I sigh. Is he really that naive?
"Darien, I am the rightful ruler of Arania, you know that. I know you don't like me, but if we work together, then I promise I will give you free reign over whatever part of the sea you want."
He looks at me, an appalled expression sitting on his face.
"Don't you think you're pushing your luck, missy? I saved your life in order to give you a fair chance. But also to give my sis a little more fun, do you think this game would be interesting if she just got her way all the time?"
My eyes grow wide.
He's lying. Why do his eyes keep looking everywhere but at me?
"Why do you want your sister on the throne? Do you think that after she becomes queen, she's going to stick with you? She's not even your real sister, is she?"
Darien stands up and slams his injured hand down on the table, uncertainty mixed "Ailee is-"
Suddenly, loud shouts float into the room.
I follow Darien out the door to where Ailee is standing outside, her sword drawn. Two of Darien's men stand holding down a young girl dressed in ragged clothing. Tears stream down her smudged face.
My eyes follow hers to where Ailee has her sword pressed against the girl's throat.
YOU ARE READING
RULE (Completed)
Adventure"You are queen now, start acting like it." Ariana has waited her entire life to become queen and rule her country. But things prove to be much more difficult than she ever thought they would be. After the death of her beloved father, her mother sudd...
