Page 9 of Mirror of Malice
I stayed rooted to my spot, ready to run if he made a move toward me. “Yes, thank you for clearing that up.”
“Your betrothed was never here. He’s not the one who rescued you.”
My mouth dropped open. But that was impossible. The ring. I saw the ring on his finger, the one that belonged to Jasper... My thoughts trailed off as I looked at the man’s empty finger, no ring present. I shook my head.
“What have you done with him?”
“Look, Princess, I can assure you he’s safe, but we are not. Word is, the queen’s sent her Huntsman after you. He’ll be looking for you, and we need to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain. And—” I looked around. “Where are my friends? Jillian? Driscoll?”
“You’re the only one who was rescued. There was no way to break out more than one person.” He smiled gently, sympathy lining the curves of his mouth in a way that made me want to scream.
No. No, no, no, no, no. They got left behind?
I turned. “I’m going back for them.”
His hand grabbed my arm, his grip tight. “Sorry, but I have orders, so you’re coming with me.”
“Orders from who, exactly?” I asked through gritted teeth, my mind muddled, thoughts tangled. This man had said he’d explain everything and so far he had done a fuck-all job.
He sighed heavily, his grip loosening. “We really don’t have time for this. We’ve got to get out of Elwen and to safety.” He gestured behind him, and I realized where we were.
A huge wall of branches, vines, and thorns rose up, so high I had to arch my neck. The border between Elwen and Mosswood Forest. No one crossed that border, not ever since the false king and queen had it erected. I’d only visited the border once, long ago. A day I’d forever regret. The day I made myself an enemy of my stepmother. I backed away, remembering what we were taught as children, how if you tried to cross the border, the wallwould eat you up and spit your bones out. My gaze trailed to the ground, littered with bones and skulls.
The man in front of me grimaced. “I’m really sorry for what I’m about to do.”
“What are you about to?—”
He covered my face with a cloth, and once again, darkness overtook me.
Chapter Four
Voices filtered in and out of my mind, and light penetrated my eyelids, but darkness kept its firm hold on me, and every time I tried to open my eyes, they stayed firmly closed.
“Is she awake yet?” a female voice said, sounding distant and far away.
A man tsked. “I tried to flirt with her, but even my charms weren’t enough to wake the sleeping princess.”
“You tried to flirt with her? No wonder she’s still sleeping. Probably pretending to be unconscious until you go away.”
“Remind me again why she’s here,” a low voice growled. “What was Boss thinking? Need to send her straight back where she came from, if you ask me.”
“I like her,” yet another voice said, this one male, soothing, melodic. “I mean she wasn’t particularly happy with me when I was putting a sleeping cloth over her face, but you know, I think I’m gonna grow on her.”
“You like everyone,” the female voice said.
“I think she just wiggled her fingers. My flirting must’ve worked after all.”
I summoned all my strength to open my eyes, but I’d been in the dark for so long, it was hard to escape, and the voices faded away as I drifted back into unconsciousness.
My eyes fluttered opento see a man standing over me, the same one who’d been with me outside the border. He raked a hand through his dark, curly hair as I shot up in bed.
“Take it easy,” he said. “You’re going to be a little groggy.”
“What do you want with me?” I inched back toward the wall, as far away from him as I could get. “To sell me off? To ransom me? The queen doesn’t care about me, so if you’re hoping to get gold out of her, she’s more likely to kill you than bargain with you.”
“It’s nothing like that,” he said. “The name’s Wayfinder. It’s nice to officially meet you, Princess.”
