Prince of Traitors

Jasper

When we were young, Alix and I used to chase each other through the palace wielding little wooden swords. Laughing, he'd run after me and I'd whirl to swing my play sword at him. He'd parry and block and while he recovered from defending, I'd run off again.

We'd race around the palace and laugh as the servants hoisted their baskets of laundry and whatever else up high to avoid our heads.

No matter how fast I ran or how I tried to evade my brother, he always caught me, tackling me onto the plush sofas in the parlor or the soft rugs in the throne room. He won every game of tag, every game of kingfell or hide and seek.

I sigh and glare down at the parchment in my hands, my own printed face staring back at me. Owin watches me quietly from where she sits beside me.

"What does this mean?" she asks quietly. "Will he come after you?"

I nod. "He won't stop until he finds me," I say. I stand upright and walk a few paces from her. "We should split up. This isn't your fight."

She scoffs. "We made a deal, Your Highness," she says, standing. "We need to watch each other's backs out here. You said so yourself."

"Not when I could get you killed for no reason. You didn't agree to this."

"Sure I did." She shrugs and crosses her arms in front of her. "So what now? What does this price on your head change?"

I sigh. "There will be signs with my face on them posted everywhere. There'll be guards patrolling all over the country looking for me."

She thinks for a moment, chewing on her lip. "So we leave," Owin says. "We cross into Astria."

"What? No!"

"Why not?" she snaps.

"I'm the Crown Prince of Odrend—"

"Runaway prince."

"—And Astria is at war with my country. I can't go there," I say.

"It's our best move," Owin replies. "If your brother's guards are going to be looking for you here, then you need to leave."

"I'm not going to Astria," I say shortly. "It'd be going from the belly of one beast into the mouth of another."

"Astria doesn't have a king actively hunting you," she counters, crossing her arms over her chest.

I give a heavy sigh. "You can go to the border if you want, but I'm not." I pull the chain with the rings over my head. I take Zinat's engagement ring off the chain and throw it at her as she glares at me. She makes no move to catch it as it falls to the grass at her feet. I turn from her to grab my horse.

"Stubborn bastard," she mutters.

I whirl around to face her, spooking my horse. "You're the stubborn one. You won't even listen to me!"

"I'm trying to help!" She clenches her fists at her sides.

"I don't need your help—"

Her face is flushed with anger. "Fine, then go! I have your ring, I don't need you anyway!" She picks up the ring and lobs it at me, hard. "Fuck you!"

"Fuck you!" I snap. I turn back to the horse and mount up. "Keep the ring. Congratulations, you're not indebted to me anymore."

"Great," she growls at me as I spin my horse around. I kick the horse into a canter and the beast snorts and flips his tail, his ears pinned back.

I rush into the trees without looking back, leaving Owin seething behind me.