Page 8 of The Prince and His Stolen Groom
“Francesca?”
“Just a second!” My hand finally closed around the small bag and I yanked it out. I poured a generous portion of dust into my hand and turned around. I hadn’t heard him move, but he stood right behind me. Close up, I could see that he was taller than me, and now he looked down his straight nose at me with strict disapproval.
He opened his mouth to speak again, giving me the perfect opportunity. I blew hard on the dust and a sparkling purple cloud wafted into his face, up his nose and into his mouth. And into his eyes, if the startled cry of pain was anything to go by.
“Fucking hells, that hurts!” he exclaimed as he stumbled back, covering his face with his hands. “What the fuck did you—” His words abruptly cut off and he suddenly stilled.
I waited a little longer to make sure the fairy dust had kicked in, then approached him slowly. “Your Highness?”
He straightened and looked at me, his expression blank and his pupils huge in his bright blue eyes.
I nodded, satisfied, and then took his hand. His hung limply in mine as I led him back to Primrose. “Get on the horse.”
He did, staring straight ahead.
Without anyone to help me up, it took a few tries for me to climb on behind him. I couldn’t sit side-saddle like this, so my borrowed skirts bunched up around my thighs, exposing my calves. I should have worn pants underneath. Too late to worry about it now. I wrapped my arms around Brendon and urged Primrose into motion.
She wasn’t too jazzed about having two riders on her back, but after some nudging, cursing, and wheedling, she finally began a slow walk. Hopefully the prince’s bodyguards wouldn’t chase after us anytime soon or they’d find us before we reached our destination.
Two hours later, I finally saw my tower in the distance, its cone-shaped roof peeking cheerfully from the tree line. Just in time, becausemy captive had begun to come out of his daze. He wasn’t fighting me yet, but he wasn’t as pliant and obedient as he had been when we first set out.
Deciding it would be faster to get him there without waiting on Primrose’s snail pace, I pulled her to a stop, then dismounted. “Get down.”
His movements were slow and jerky, his jaw clenched in annoyance, but he hadn’t shaken off the fairy dust yet. I took his hand and pulled him through the forest until we reached the tower.
It was one of my favorite places in the kingdom. It used to be a tourist attraction, but when the evil mages stopped kidnapping princesses and putting them in towers, the stories based on their exploits lost popularity. On my sixteenth birthday, I found it abandoned and begged my parents to let me renovate it. Now it was my personal tower, and I had kidnapped a prince to put at the very top.
I unlocked the door and turned on the lights, revealing a cozy front room with a couch and cozy chairs surrounding a coffee table and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Beyond an open archway were glimpses of the kitchen—fully stocked—and a bathroom. Upstairs had a second bathroom, because no one wanted to climb down one hundred and fifty steps every time they had to piss in the middle of the night.
As I climbed those stairs now, dragging Branden behind me, I started to second-guess my disguise. Skirts were not good for climbing stairs. Since my hands were full of prince, I couldn’t hitch them up, so every time I lifted my foot, I stepped on the edge. Franny would kill me if I ruined the hem.
Panting and sweating, I finally made it to the top. Behind me, the prince looked as fresh as a rose, damn his good stamina. I settled him on the bed and surveyed the room. “You’ll be staying here for the next”—fuck, I hadn’t planned that far ahead—“few days.”
He glared at me and tried to pry his jaw apart. His hands slowly rose from his side, a warning that I only had a few minutes before the dust wore off completely and he’d be free.
“It’s a magical tower and only I have the key, so you won’t be getting out of here without my permission. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this little vacation. There’s food in the kitchen and I’ll stop by to check on you tomorrow.”
He started to stand up and I backed nervously toward the stairs. “You—” he began, the rough word wrenched from his throat.
I held my hands up to ward him off. “I’m sorry, I am, and Ipromiseto explain later.” Then I ran for the door, escaping before he could act on the killing intent in his eyes.
Running down the stairs was faster than climbing up them, especially when I fell on my ass and slid on the last twelve steps to the bottom. That would definitely leave a bruise. The door behind me opened and I knew I didn’t have time to nurse my wounds. The prince stomped down the stairs behind me and I barely managed to run out the front door and slam it shut as he reached the last step.
Once that door closed, the tower was locked up tight. I stood panting on the other side, clutching a stitch in my side, while he pounded on the door, yelling obscenities and threats. Even though he couldn’t see me, I flipped him off, then limped away to find Primrose.
I’d successfully kidnapped the groom, buying myself at least a few days. Now onto step two. Whatever that was …
Chapter Four
The next day—dressed in my own clothes—I stood in the courtyard with my family to await Branden’s arrival. Only I knew he’d never come. I wasn’t sure if his entourage would arrive without him and admit that the prince had disappeared in the middle of the night, or if they’d delay the journey and try to hide that he was missing. I really hoped for the latter. Things would be much easier if my parents didn’t learn he had been kidnapped for at least a few days.
Kidnapping the prince was only a stalling method. At some point we’d have to sit down and have a conversation about a long-term solution. Eventually,someonewould have to get married, or the defense spell would deteriorate and expose all five kingdoms to evil. I was only trying to buy myself time to think, not invite every evil mage to our doorstep.
A horn blared from up the road and I bit back a groan.Why couldn’t you tuck your tails between your legs and leave, dammit?
The sounds of horses approached, as well as the wheels of the golden carriage clattering along the road. I shifted uneasily from foot to foot, dreading their arrival. How much information would they give about the prince’s disappearance?
“Stop fidgeting, Frederick,” Mother snapped, hiding her downturned lips behind her fan. “It’s unbecoming of a prince.”
