Prince of Spies Read Online Free PDF Page A

stretched in front of her, pointing toward a small stream. Suddenly she realized just how thirsty she was. “Then I can heat the little pool and you can have a bath, if you like.” His hand moved slightly and Riki followed it with her gaze to a small area where the stream fed a shallow pond just to the right.
    “That sounds like heaven.”
    Nico chuckled as he released her, slowly, as if to be certain her feet would support her. She stumbled toward the fresh, flowing water and sank to her knees on the soft bank. The water sparkled at her in the early morning light, beckoning her to drink her fill.
    Riki didn’t know how long she knelt at the stream’s edge, repeatedly cupping water into her hand and bringing it to her mouth, but the cool freshness of the water roused her from her lethargy. She was aware of Nico drinking at her side. After a while, he moved off to rustle around behind her. Riki had no idea what he was doing, nor did she particularly care. No, at that moment all that mattered was the fresh, clean taste of the water against her tongue and the astounding feeling of freedom.

    She hadn’t been outside the palace walls in more than a year and hadn’t seen the sun in months. Lucan kept her chained in his room and there hadn’t even been a window for her to see the outside world.
    “Now to get those manacles off you.”
    Riki looked up to find Nico standing at her side. She pushed back from the edge of the stream, but didn’t—couldn’t—rise. Her legs were numb. Nico crouched down next to her. He had two rocks in his hands. One was large and somewhat flat and the other was fist-sized with a sharp edge. He lay the rocks down next to her and took her hand, rubbing lightly at her sore wrists.
    “I know these must hurt.” His hushed words spoke straight to her heart.
    “But we’ll get them off one way or another.”
    The manacle was welded shut around her wrist, with the remnants of chain trailing down her arm. Nico, in dragon form, had snapped the chains easily, but she realized why he’d left the delicate work ‘til now once she’d seen his wickedly sharp dragon talons. Still, his strength had astonished her and continued to do so as he inserted the forefingers of both hands into the topmost link of the chain and pried it apart.
    “That’s amazing.” Those were thick iron links. No man should be able to bend them as if they were malleable lead. She blinked up at him.
    Nico chuckled. “One benefit of my heritage. Some of the dragon’s strength remains even in human form. Now, let’s see if this will work as well.” He tossed the chain into the deep part of the stream and it was immediately swallowed up by the rocks below the surface. He then squeezed those same two fingers into the manacle, next to her sore skin. She couldn’t help but wince when he rubbed a particularly sensitive welt, and he immediately stilled.
    “I’m sorry, Riki.” The look in his eyes spoke of anxiety over hurting her, however unintentionally.
    “It’s nothing. Please, keep trying. I’d suffer almost anything to have these things off my wrists, and you really didn’t hurt me. I’m just a little sore.”
    He continued after a moment’s pause, slower than before and twice as cautious. The idea that this big, strong man would temper his strength for her was humbling.
    He pulled and pulled, but though the welded iron creaked a bit, it wouldn’t give. Riki could see the bolt loosening, but it refused to break off, even under Nico’s enormous strength. It was better than it had been, though.

    “I think we need to try this another way.” Nico removed his fingers easily now the manacle was looser, then took her hand to the ground, laying her wrist on the flat rock.
    “What are you going to do?” She thought she had an idea, but she wanted to be sure.
    “The rock here is some of the hardest in the world,” he explained as he positioned her wrist just so. “I’m going to try to bust the head off that bolt and