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No light penetrated the trees as Rio navigated through the brush. My eyes kept closing, but I refused to succumb to sleep until we had gone far enough that Henry would not be able to catch up on foot. Besides, if I fell off the horse now, I doubted I would ever get back on.
So, I held on like my life depended upon it, or the lives of my love and my friends to be more precise.
The wind stripped the heat from my bare back and I shivered. Each pound of Rio’s hooves echoed in my bones, rattling my teeth. I needed to get to the cottage and get some proper clothes before I headed into the heart of the queen’s kingdom.
Rio ran faster now that he wasn’t saddled with the weight of the cart. I prayed we would make it home before the next sun set. Even then, I wasn’t sure I would last that long.
By the time the sun lightened the sky, my stomach rumbled, folding in on itself at the pure emptiness. I couldn’t stop to satiate my hunger, especially since I was sure Henry was already awake and panicking at my absence.
So, we rode.
Relentlessly.
I held fast, despite the exhaustion and pain pummeling each muscle. All I could envision was how good my bed would feel once I got home. But that was as much of a fallacy as dreaming about a proper wedding.
Henry had always told me that as soon as we found a way to beat the queen and claim the kingdom back, we would get married in such a grand, royal wedding that the entire countryside would be talking about it for years. I closed my eyes, envisioning the pearlescent gown I would wear. Henry stood before me in the royal colors of his family, blues and reds so deep they nearly blended together. A gold embroidered lion stood out on the front of his tunic in a proud display of his family crest.
Heat rippled through me, and I blinked my eyes open. Rio entered an open field, and I could see the enchanted forest in the distance, shimmering like a beacon. The late afternoon sun beat down on my back, and I slowly sat up.
I’d lost half the day, but at least I had clung to Rio, even as sleep pulled me into its grip. A deep longing cramped my stomach. It was stronger than hunger pangs. It was the agony of having that dream ripped from my future.
Tears blurred my vision, running hot trails down my cheeks. The swell of sadness mixed with anxiety in my blood, leaving me quivering. I swiped the tears away, focusing on the tree line. The open glen left me exposed.
“Please don’t let them be here,” I whispered to the wind.
Midway through the field, a rumbling from the north yanked my attention away from my destination. An entire army galloped towards me. My heart pounded as loud as the hoof beats tracking us.
I gripped Rio tighter, crying, “Go!”
The horse either understood my command or the panic in my voice. His burst of speed nearly threw me from his back. I clamped my thighs against his sides, ignoring the burn flushing the inside of my legs as his muscles worked under my grip.
We crossed the distance and fled through the icy wall of my magic. It had changed since I had gone, leaving me hollow inside instead of giving me a calm sense of peace. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see the legion following us, but all I saw were the trees and the shimmer of the shield beyond.
I laid my head against Rio’s neck, wrapping my arms around him as he slowed to a canter. My breath came in ragged gasps that matched the horse’s. It didn’t take us long to reach the cottage. Rio went straight to the drinking trough, and I slid off his back, collapsing on the ground, drained.
I pulled myself up the side of the wood and dunked my head in the trough. The cold water was like a slap, and I flung my head back, whipping my soaking hair with it. My hair thwapped against my skin like a wet flog.
The chill went straight to my bones, so I climbed to my feet, heading inside. I could not fight the queen in a flimsy nightgown. I needed something warmer, along with something that wouldn’t expose my injury. If Queen Odette knew I had been struck by one of her dead soldiers, she would likely just wait until I was hers to command.
I ran my hands over my face and into my wet hair, fighting with the tangles. The smell of apple cider clung to the air. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and every cot was in a state of disarray. Blankets half draped, pillows askew, slippers half tucked under the beds. They didn’t even take the time to pack their most precious belongings.
Blackie’s whittled wood collection still sat on the shelf next to his bed. Domino’s pipes still sat on the table next to his bed along with his rich tobacco. Simon’s cards remained half shuffled. As I glanced around, a lump formed in my throat. They’d dropped everything for me yet again, and what had I done to repay them? I’d left them at the mercy of the trolls.
I forced myself to move and crossed into our bedroom. Henry’s natural cologne filled the air, and I inhaled, relishing the smell of honey and sawdust just as much as the smell of the cold apple cider.
I shook my head and crossed to my dresser. One look in the mirror and I cringed. My hair was a mess of wet knots and my body streaked with dirt. My once white nightgown looked like someone had poured mud over it and mixed it with blood. As much as I would have liked a bath to wash the sludge from my skin, I didn’t have time to indulge.
I pulled my nightgown off and discarded it on the floor. My cream-colored sparring shirt lay on top of the pile of clothing in the second drawer down. I pulled it over my head with a wince and clasped the red leather around my wrists with pins that doubled as picks in case I came across a lock my magic wouldn’t penetrate.
The matching skirt with red leather trim came next, then I pulled the red leather corset over my shoulders and laced it up the front. The red leather would hide any hint of blood seeping from the cut on my back, although it was a bear to tighten.
Each yank of the cords pulled a hiss from my mouth and caused a slow spin of dizziness. When I finished, I closed my eyes and leaned on the bureau. I had to count to ten to make sure I wouldn’t pass out. After the initial bout of vertigo, the room stopped spinning and the pain subsided.
I dragged my brush through the knots, wincing just as much as I had when I’d tied my corset. But at least straightening the tangles didn’t bring waves of dizziness. When I finished, I tied a red ribbon in my hair and stared at my reflection. Besides the dark circles under my eyes and the layer of dirt marring my skin, I didn’t look as bad as I thought I would, but I still looked more battle weary than battle ready.
I crossed to the far wall where our weapons hung. I stared at my mother’s broadsword, studying the royal designs inscribed in the steel. I still remembered the lessons she gave me whenever my father allowed her to leave the court. She was fierce and brave and just, and my heart still contracted with her loss.
I ran my fingers over the cold steel before I slid my hand into the basket hilt, pulling the blade from the wall. With my mother’s blade in my hand, I turned and walked out of the bedroom with a new sense of confidence. Before I left, I grabbed a half-eaten loaf of bread and tore a sizeable piece off with my teeth.
When I stepped outside, I glanced at the trough where I had left Rio. The horse wasn’t drinking water anymore. I closed the door and glanced around the clearing. He wasn’t in the clearing. I whistled and waited.
Rio didn’t come. I leaned against the closed door. With one last look in the direction we’d come from, I turned the opposite way, towards the north. Towards my likely demise.