Page 60 of Lost with a Scot
Anna curled her fingers around the deck railing. Rope bound her wrists together in front of her. It was one of Gustav’s requirements when she was allowed on deck. Thankfully, none of them believed she could swim. She could, even with her hands bound in front of her. But unfortunately, she saw no advantage to diving into the sea, even now that their ship was docked in the harbor. There were too many men watching her every move to do so unnoticed.
They were at the same port she had fled from almost two months ago, but the world here had drastically changed. The once lively port was now a shell of its former self. The docks were almost empty. Only a handful of fishing vessels made berth here now. At one point she saw a child peek out a window of one of the residences in the harbor village, but the mother came and slammed the shutter almost as quickly.
This was what the war had cost her home. Tears burned at her eyes, but she held them at bay. She could not show any weakness now.
A gangplank was lowered between the ship and the dock so the sailors could unload supplies. Gustav came to her, scowling. He’d changed out of the clothing he’d worn to blend in with the English crowds and now wore a red-and-black uniform. The uniforms for her family had been white, gold and blue. Red and black must have been what her uncle had chosen for his new guards. Anna’s stomach turned at the reminder that her uncle ruled her country now.
“Time to go,princess.” He spat the word as if it was a curse.
She followed him, silent as a lamb being led to slaughter, but beneath her complacent demeanor, she was thinking through every possible scenario. One thing she had learned when the men believed her to be asleep was that she had been captured not only to keep Fain’s loyalty intact but because her uncle believed it would lure Alexei out of hiding. She knew with dreadful certainty that word of her capture would draw her brother out. She had to escape, or else she would doom her twin, and her country would fall forever into the hands of her enemy.
Anna followed Gustav, and his men flanked her as they left the ship and walked toward the grouping of buildings that formed the small port city. Horses were waiting for them, and Gustav shoved Anna roughly into the arms of a hired groom who assisted her up into a saddle. She was surprised at her good luck. She stood a better chance of escaping on horseback than if they’d shoved her into a carriage again.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the groom whispered in apology and ducked his head as he adjusted the stirrups for her feet.
“Tie her hands to the pommel,” Gustav told the groom. The poor man gave a red-faced glance at her before he complied with her captor’s orders. Anna pressed her wrists together but did her best to keep them a bit apart to give her some room to move. If she worked at it, she might be able to slip her hands free of the rope later.
The groom hesitated only a second when he noticed her attempt to keep the bonds loose, but he made no mention to Gustav. A flicker of hope stirred in her chest. Her people were resisting her uncle’s rule, even if it was only in small ways. Gustav signaled his men to ride. Anna had no choice but to follow when they closed in around her.
They rode out of the port and into the Dark Forest, and Anna soon had an eerie feeling of being watched. They said the woods held old magic in them, but it was a magic she respected and did not wish to defy. These were the woods of her dreams, the place she was forever trying to escape, the place where Aiden came to her and tried to rescue her through the enchanted wishing well.
The soldiers grew uneasy as they rode deeper into the forest, and they all fell silent. They were so focused on what might come out at them that they paid her little mind, allowing her to work at her ropes in secret.
Somewhere a raven croaked, and the sound made several men jump, their horses startling. Anna saw her chance and broke free from the group of men and kicked her booted heels into the flanks of her horse. The beast galloped madly into the woods, away from the soldiers. She bent low over the horse’s neck, hanging on for her life.
The sudden crack of a pistol and a searing pain in her right arm drew a cry from her, almost blinding her. She fought to keep steady on the horse as it ran even faster from the soldiers, as if it sensed the threat they posed. A second shot echoed through the woods, and the cry of ravens taking flight mixed with the screams of her horse. The beast buckled forward, and Anna’s hands were freed by the jarring movement.
A moment later, she was flung off the horse and landed on her back, the air knocked from her lungs. She tried to breathe as she stared up at the canopy of dark leaves above her. Her horse’s scream was silenced by the sound of a third gunshot. Tears clouded her vision, both from the pain in her body and for losing an innocent horse to such evil. They’d killed that beautiful horse, killed it because she had tried to escape.
The ground shook as the soldiers’ horses thundered toward her and surrounded her. She clutched her arm, the pain of the wound so fierce that it was hard to breathe and even harder to think.
“Better a wounded bride than no bride at all,” Gustav said. “Pity you landed on your head like that, but I’m sure you’ll be fine when we reach the castle.” His lips twisted in a dark sneer.
He nodded to one of his men as she said, “But I didn’t hit my—” just as a blow struck the back of her head and she blacked out.
* * *
Anna stirredin her sleep and reached for Aiden. Pain shot up her arm and through her head, causing her to groan. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared in confusion at her surroundings.
This wasn’t Castle Kincade. She lay in a bed she recognized, but it wasn’t the bed she should be in. It was her bed in... the Winter Palace. Yuri’s stronghold.
Anna moved to sit up, and pain lanced through her upper arm. She pulled away the bedsheets and saw that her arm was heavily bandaged.
Flashes of her race through the Dark Forest came back to her. Gustav or one of his men had shot her, and when that had failed to stop her, he’d shot her horse out from under her. She repressed the wave of nausea that swelled up in her stomach as she struggled to get up. The instinct to escape was so overpowering that for a moment she couldn’t think rationally. The bedchamber was empty, but sunlight peeped in through the blue-and-gold brocade curtains that half covered the window.
Her bare feet touched cold flagstone as she stood. She wore only a nightgown. Her stomach turned at the thought of who might have changed her out of her dress. There was a robe draped over the edge of the bed. She hastily slipped her arms through the sleeves and belted it around her body, glad for the extra warmth and concealment it gave her. She used the wall for support as she crept to the bedchamber door.
She wasn’t sure what she would find on the other side. A guard, most likely. The handle turned beneath her palm, and she breathed a sigh of relief at not being locked in. But when she opened the door,twoguards were there to block her path, one on either side of the doorway.
The men turned to face her, but Anna didn’t dare show fear. If there was one thing she’d learned from Aiden about animals that could be applied in this situation, it was to never show a predator fear.
“Tell Yuri the princess is awake,” one guard told the other. The subordinate stood to attention, turned, and left, leaving Anna alone with the remaining guard.
“How long have I been here?” she said in her most commanding tone.
The soldier reacted to the natural authority in her voice. “A day. They brought a doctor in to see to your arm and your head.”
She had lost an entire day...
