“I get the happily ever after, and I wil not concede to a spoiled brat like you.”

“Then you leave me no choice.”

I summoned al my power, concentrating and focusing on everything I had been practicing. I held my hands out toward him, palm out, and using everything I had in me, I began to push. I knew I couldn’t kil him this way, but I hoped to get him incapacitated enough that I could get close to him.

His hair ruffled, his robe even blew back, but nothing else happened. I used everything inside me, and a buzzing sound started in the back of my head, growing more painful as I tried to use al my energy.

But Oren never even moved. He only smiled wider.

“Is that al you’ve got?” He threw back his head and laughed, the sound reverberating through the room. “I have highly overestimated you.”

I pushed and pushed, refusing to give up, even when the pain in my skul became excruciating. Everything else in the room, the furniture, the books, began flying around like there was a tornado, but Oren remained unmoved.

I could feel something warm and wet on my lips, and I realized my nose had begun to bleed.

“Oh, Princess, darling,” Oren said, as sweetly as he could.

“You’re exhausting yourself. I hate to see you in so much pain.” He sighed, attempting to sound regretful. “So I’l put you out of your misery.”

He stepped forward and raised his hand. He struck me across the face, backhanding me so hard I flew across the room and slammed into a wal. Everything that I sent flying in the air colapsed to the floor around me.

Loki had tried to warn me about how strong Oren was, but I hadn’t understood until then. It was like being hit with a wrecking bal. My side ached terribly from where I’d crashed into the wal, and I probably had broken my ribs. My leg felt like it snapped, and I was lucky I hadn’t broken my neck.

“I hate to do this to you,” Oren said, and at least he wasn’t smiling when he said it. “But I told you what would happen if you went against me.”

I pushed myself up so I was sitting, stil leaning back against the wal. He towered over me, and I steeled myself, waiting for him to hit me again. But instead, he went over to his chamber doors and opened them.

“Bring him to me!” Oren shouted out into the hal. He left the doors open and returned to me. He crouched, his black eyes meeting mine. “I warned you. I gave you every chance to join me. I wanted you with me, not against me.”

“I would rather die than serve you,” I said.