She gritted her teeth but didn’t lunge as I had hoped. If I could get her to strike first, maybe I could be faster, dodge her attack and strike a blow from behind.
“We’re waiting on the announcement. Wouldn’t want the public to think Evander has moved so quickly from woman to woman. The kingdom isn’t aware, of course, that his heart has been mine the entire time.”
“Oh, I think they’re well aware of you, after you pulled that stunt where you fled at midnight.” Hatred welled up within me, taking over my lips as I grinned and seethed. “I imagine their impression will be that the dog returned to his own vomit after being left at the altar.”
That did the trick.
She pounced, but I was ready. I sidestepped and allowed her to pass me before taking a stab at her side. But she whirled quicker than I could strike, narrowly avoiding my poker. This time when she struck, I was unprepared, my arm extended into the air. The blunt side of her blade went slamming into my temple, sending dots of black across my vision. My elbows hit the floor, shooting another wave of pain up my arms and into my shoulders. She was on top of me then, scraping her knife into my face as if to carve letters.
Cinderella shoved her hand over my mouth before I could even let out a scream.
A muffled whimper escaped through the gaps between her spindly fingers.
“You shouldn’t have kissed him,” she whispered.
Fear propelled my arms and legs despite the pain, and I flailed at her, thinking to poke out her eyes or knee her ribcage. I landed a punch to her left ear, and the shock of the impact afforded me enough time to scramble to my feet.
It mattered little in the end, because she recovered quickly, and before I could react, she’d slipped behind me, tucking the edge of her blade to my exposed throat.
“Goodbye, Elynore Payne,” she whispered, her voice curdling in my ear. “I do wish things could have been different between us.”
I braced myself for death.
CHAPTER 53
ELLIE
There was a moment when I could have sworn that hesitation dampened the craze in Cinderella’s bloodthirsty eyes.
It only lasted half a breath, but it was enough to cost her.
“Get away from her.”
In the throes of the struggle, neither Cinderella nor I had heard Evander slip into the workshop. How he’d known to come I had no idea, but that didn’t matter.
His sea-green eyes glowed with rage, his perfect jaw set with determination.
It was then that I realized Evander was going to kill her.
The only problem was, she was going to kill me first.
Cinderella yanked me to my feet, placing me between her and Evander. My throat bobbed against the trembling knife pressed against my throat. Cinderella’s hand was shaking, causing the knife to nick at my skin and draw blood.
Evander advanced on us, backing us into a corner as Cinderella drew me backward. “Draw one more drop of blood, put one more bruise on her neck, and I will end you.”
Cinderella clicked her tongue, her erratic breath stinging my cheek. “You know I can’t let her live.”
This woman was insane. She was insane, and I was going to die.
“If she dies, you’ll—”
“I’ll what?” Cinderella snapped. “Regret it? Oh, I don’t think I will. Because if she dies,” she crooned, tracing the knife across my throat as Evander tensed, “then I’m free to have you.”
I let out an exasperated cry. “You’re insane. Can’t you see I’m out of the picture? The two of you deserve each other. You can have him.”
Pain flickered in Evander’s eyes at my words, and I instantly wished I could take them back, swallow them, and bury them in the gaping pit gnawing at my stomach. His gaze flashed to mine, but only for an instant before he turned his attention back to Cinderella.
“Oh, do you not know?” Her voice was a serpent slithering through my ears, nestling into my gut, leaking trepidation into my veins with its sharp fangs.
I paid her no attention, my eyes set on Evander.
“Know what?”
He winced, his jaw working as if he was trying to formulate words, but his ability to process them was broken, rusted.
He ripped his gaze from mine, his voice going slack, desperate. “Please. Please, just let her go. I’ll do anything you want, just don’t hurt her.”
“I can’t have what I want, Evander. Not while she lives.”
“Evander, what is she talking about?” My heart raced, frantic and wild and aimless as I tried to think of anything, anything at all that could make any of this make sense, but I came up short.
“Why don’t you tell her, Prince? Why don’t you tell Ellie what you gave up for her right before she walked out on you and practically spat in the face of your sacrifice,” she hissed.
My heart stilled, my mind turned to stone. I couldn’t think, couldn’t speculate. All that was left was a quiet dread. A single question.
What did he give up?
I’d never bothered to ask him. I’d been too hurt, too heartbroken to give him the chance to admit the lengths he might have gone to in order to save my life that day of the third trial.
