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“I’m very capable of love,” Buttercup said.

“Hold your tongue, I think.”Advertisement

“I have loved more deeply than a killer like you can possibly imagine.”

He slapped her.

“That is the penalty for lying, Highness. Where I come from, when a woman lies, she is reprimanded.”

“But I spoke the truth, I did, I—” Buttercup saw his hand rise a second time, so she stopped quickly, fell dead silent.

Then they began to run again.

They did not speak for hours. They just ran, and then, as if he could guess when she was spent, he would stop, release her hand. She would try to catch her breath for the next dash she was sure would come. Without a sound, he would grab her and off they would go.

It was close to dawn when they first saw the Armada.

They were running along the edge of a towering ravine. They seemed almost to be at the top of the world. When they stopped, Buttercup sank down to rest. The man in black stood silently over her. “Your love comes, not alone,” he said then.

Buttercup did not understand.

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The man in black pointed back the way they had come.

Buttercup stared, and as she did, the waters of Florin Channel seemed as filled with light as the sky was filled with stars.

“He must have ordered every ship in Florin after you,” the man in black said. “Such a sight I have never seen.” He stared at all the lanterns on all the ships as they moved.

“You can never escape him,” Buttercup said. “If you release me, I promise that you will come to no harm.”

“You are much too generous; I could never accept such an offer.”

“I offered you your life, that was generous enough.”

“Highness!” said the man in black, and his hands were suddenly at her throat. “If there is talk of life to be done, let me do it.”

“You would not kill me. You did not steal me from murderers to murder me yourself.”

“Wise as well as loving,” said the man in black. He jerked her to her feet, and they ran along the edge of the great ravine. It was hundreds of feet deep, and filled with rocks and trees and lifting shadows. Abruptly, the man in black stopped, stared back at the Armada. “To be honest,” he said, “I had not expected quite so many.”

“You can never predict my Prince; that is why he is the greatest hunter.”

“I wonder,” said the man in black, “will he stay in one group or will he divide, some to search the coastline, some to follow your path on land? What do you think?”

“I only know he will find me. And if you have not given me my freedom first, he will not treat you gently.”

“Surely he must have discussed things with you? The thrill of the hunt. What has he done in the past with many ships?”

“We do not discuss hunting, that I can assure you.”

“Not hunting, not love, what do you talk about?”

“We do not see all that much of each other.”

“Tender couple.”

Buttercup could feel the upset coming. “We are always very honest with each other. Not everyone can say as much.”

“May I please tell you something, Highness? You’re very cold—”

“I’m not—”

“—very cold and very young, and if you live, I think you’ll turn to hoarfrost—”

“Why do you pick at me? I have come to terms with my life, and that is my affair—I am not cold, I swear, but I have decided certain things, it is best for me to ignore emotion; I have not been happy dealing with it—” Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high. “I loved once,” Buttercup said after a moment. “It worked out badly.” pqdm.com