She forced herself to sit up straight, lifting her chin with false confidence. “Where are you taking me?”
The golden haired man behind her chuckled. “Do you really need to ask, Princess?”
She pressed her lips into a thin line. “You're taking me to the prince.”
“Got it in one.”
“I'm surprised he's bothering with me at all. Why not just have me killed, like he did my father?”
“Is that what you'd like, Princess? For me to kill you?” He dipped his head so that his lips were brushing her ear, his warm breath running down her neck. “A tempting proposition. I wouldn't mind slicing through that smooth skin of yours, wetting my blade with your blood. I've never killed a princess before.”
His teeth nipped at her earlobe, and she couldn't stop the shudder that ran through her body. He pressed his lips against her neck, and she could feel them turning up into a grin. “You could be my first.”
He's just trying to get a rise out of you. Don't give him the satisfaction.
“I think I'll pass, thanks.” She tried to sound as indifferent as possible, as if she were threatened with such things everyday. With a surreptitious glance around, she attempted to get her bearings. As far as she could tell, they were on the Eastern Road, headed back toward the castle. She noted at least two other horsemen flanking her captor's horse. By the sound of the hooves pounding on the road, she would guess there were at least two more behind them.
She could still feel the comforting weight of her dagger strapped against her thigh, so they must not have found it when they took her. Not that she could really make use of it now, but perhaps she'd have a chance if they stopped somewhere along the way. She squirmed in her seat.
“Excuse me, um... what was your name?”
“Conrad.”
“Well, Conrad, if you don't mind, could we make a quick stop, please?”
“I do mind. And no, we can't.”
“Ah, but you see, I need to... relieve myself.” She whispered the last few words, as if embarrassed.
“Hold it.”
She squirmed again. “I don't think I can... I drank an awful lot of wine with dinner...”
He growled, pulling up on the reins. “Fine. But you'd better make it quick.” He swung down off the horse, then turned and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her off the horse as if she were as light as a feather.
“Piss break,” he called out to the others. Grabbing her arm, he led her off to the side of the road. “Well? What are you waiting for?”
She gave him a look. “I can hardly pee like this, with my hands tied behind my back and all of your men staring at me. I need privacy.”
“Go where you are or don't go at all.”
“I doubt Prince Stefan would want a bunch of mercenaries gaping at his future bride as she urinates on the side of the road.” She glared. “He is the one who hired you, is he not?”
He cursed. “Fine. I'll have them turn their backs.” He turned to the others. “You hear that, guys? No gawking at Her Highness, you got it?” He waited for them to turn before looking back at Josselyn. “Happy now?”
Not really.
She made a face. “If I go like this, it'll run all over my skirt. I need my hands free so I can hold it up.”
“You're a royal pain in the ass, you know that?” He let out a long suffering sigh, but stepped forward to grab her hands, working the knots out of the rope that bound them together.
Josselyn held her breath until she felt the rough rope drop away. The moment it did, she pivoted around to face him, thrusting her palm up into his nose with a satisfying crunch. This was immediately followed by a kick to the gut that sent him stumbling backwards, swearing loudly as he clutched his bloody nose.
Turning toward the woods, she plunged into its depths, branches tearing at her clothes and scratching her skin. She could hear Conrad pursuing her, his footsteps pounding on the forest floor behind her. Reaching down, she yanked at her skirts as she ran, her fingers wrapping around the hilt of her dagger.
“You think you can escape me, bitch? Do ya?”
Her skirt snagged on a branch, making her stumble. She gave the gauzy fabric a hard jerk, and it tore free with a loud rip.
A hand grabbed her forearm, and she let out a cry as the fingers dug into her skin.
“You're going to regret that little move, Princess,”Conrad growled, pulling her back into his chest.
Her fingers tightened around her dagger, and she plunged it into his thigh as hard as she could. His grip loosened as he let out a roar of pain, and she pushed forward, yanking her arm free. Her sandals slipped on the dead leaves that covered the ground, making it difficult to run.
An angry roar tore through the dark woods as Conrad chased after her, moving quickly despite the gaping wound in his thigh. Josselyn searched the woods frantically for somewhere to hide, but he was too fast, and she suddenly felt her feet fly out from underneath her as he caught hold of her hair, ripping her head back with a vicious jerk. She hit the ground hard, all of the air leaving her lungs.
Conrad panted, his chest heaving above her, as he pulled her across the ground by her hair. She tried to swing her dagger back at his hand, but he slammed his foot down on her wrist, grinding it into the dirt.
“Oh, no, Princess. No more knives for you.”
Pain shot up her arm, and she felt heat begin to build in the black lines of her mark. Please, if there really is something inside me, now would be a really good time time to come out. Her arm started to pulse, sending tremors rippling through her body. Come on, come on...
And then, it stopped, fizzling out as she was being lifted up by her hair. Her feet scrambled to find purchase on the ground as she found herself
