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an arm or a leg. She swept her hair out of her face to see who had saved her from the fall. A pair of pale green eyes was staring into his.
    Those same pale green eyes.
    His men were pointing their swords at her, accusing her of being an assassin.
    “ The girl is not an assassin!” The King ran toward them breathlessly. “I assure you she can do no harm!”
    His men slowly withdrew their swords.
    “ She is the bride elect of my son,” the King quickly replied. “He is off to battle and left her in my care. The girl is no assassin.”
    Sayan looked down at her. “Instead of the princess, I will take this girl.”
    Horror crept up the King’s face. “That will not do! If my daughter does not please you, our kingdom has many beautiful women!”
    “ I want this girl.” Sayan flipped her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Normally there would be a lot of kicking and screaming, but she remained still. Perhaps she had recognized him.
    “ She belongs to my son, Prince!”
    “ They are not married.”
    “ There will be a wedding once he returns-”
    “ I want this girl,” Sayan repeated.
    There was no further objection from the king. He could only watch as Sayan carried the girl away.
     
    The news struck him like lightning.
     
    Ce thought he wasn’t going to be able to stand. He shook away the dizziness of the shock and shoved his servant aside from his path. He wandered out of the camp, desperately searching for a horse healthy looking enough to carry him home. He needed to talk to his father, and immediately.
     
    He stopped a soldier, grabbed the horse’s rein right from his hands and mounted the animal. He knew he owned a far superior specimen, but this one would have to do. He couldn’t afford to waste another second. The woman he loved and his dignity was depending on it.
     
    The words of the messenger burned into his chest. Someone was going to have to die if it was true. His father had given his bride elect as a peace tribute to the tyrant prince of the Northern Kingdom. The messenger reminded him several times to think of his country, but those words fueled the fire coursing through his vein. All he had thought about was his country! He had spent restless years at the border securing the kingdom from invaders instead of enjoying the luxury of a prince inside gilded palaces. His father rewarded his loyalty by taking away the only woman he had ever loved?
     
    He felt tricked, deceived and beguiled.
     
    He fell head over heels for her the first moment he laid eyes on her when she performed courting dance of the butterflies . He had spent so much effort tracking her down, fencing off the vengeful prime minister, and finally managed to persuade her to marry him. Now all of these efforts had gone to waste because his father had just given her to another. The sole thought of another man’s hands on her was enough for a murderous rage to burn a hole in his chest. Humiliation was eating him away.
     
    He rode nonstop for two full days and night before his city came into sight. His horse was near the brink of exhaustion, but he needed it to survive until it got him through the gate. The soldiers on the city wall were on the lookout, and when they saw him, they immediately opened the gate. He dashed onto the city streets with the goal of getting to the palace’s gate. He didn’t care who or what was in his way. They better get out of his way and fast.
     
    Escorts were following him as he walked down the hallway. They informed him that his father was in the study and that was all he needed to know from them.
     
    With his sword firmly in his right hand, he kicked the door to the study open. Despite his obvious entrance, his father sat calmly at his desk. His father had been expecting him.
     
    Protocol demanded that he kneel before his lord father.
     
    “ Where is she?” The question he couldn’t wait another second to ask.
     
    His father looked up and calmly answered, “I’ve given her to