No.
Stop, I commanded myself.
I was not going to think about that. Icould notthink about that. Giving those thoughts life, even in my mind, would be letting him win. Allowing that poison to fester within me would give him a foothold. And if that happened, if I stopped and thought about it, I knew I would stop. My legs would cease moving and I would collapse to the ground.
I would not let myself think about what was to come.
Instead, I focused on the way my every muscle seemed to ache. I had never been in so much physical pain in my life. The excruciating burn in my body was a reminder that I was still alive. Even though the Red Shadow had me, I was alive.
When he finally turned and grabbed my arm, I jumped.
He looked… fine. It was as though hiking through the woods for hours hadn’t affected him at all. A product of Maturity, I assumed. He could do so much more than me. He was so much more dangerous than me.
“We’re going to stop for the night,” he said gruffly. “Are you going to try anything?”
I wished I could have. With every heartbeat, my body was yelling at me to fight back. But I wasn’t yet Mature, and I was very, very aware of my limitations.
I shook my head, my eyes heavy.
He lifted a hand, yanking the gag off my mouth. I winced at the sudden relief of pressure. The Red Shadow grabbed my hair, yanking my head back until I was staring directly at him. “What was that?”
“No,” I whispered hoarsely. “I won’t try anything tonight.”
“Good girl,” he said, patting my cheek before he reached over and lifted me off my feet.
And Thelrena help me, but I didn’t pull away. I was so tired, so weary, that I let him lay me on the cold, hard ground.
I tossed and turned all night long as visions of fire filled my mind.
Not So Naïve Anymore
“Wake up.” A gruff voice reached into the depths of my nightmares moments before smooth hands roughly shook my shoulders.
I blinked, trying to swat away the person so rudely waking me when my hands snapped back to my side.
No. It was real.It had been real.
A sob threatened to rip through me as I stared at the blond curls that haunted my nightmares. The Red Shadow smiled, the expression on his face nothing less than terrifying as he crouched before me.
His eyes were hard, and there wasn’t a trace of kindness on his face as he said, “We leave in ten, sweeting. Take care of your needs over there.”
Tilting his head, he gestured to a cluster of rocks that hadn’t been visible in the night. I did as he asked, coming out from behind the rocks a few minutes later.
“We?” I asked.
He nodded. “We. You didn’t think High King Edgar would be so foolish as to only send a few Winged Soldiers after you, did you?”
I had hoped so, but I didn’t say that.
The Red Shadow chortled. “No, those soldiers you killed were just a few of the ones Father sent all over Ithenmyr. Nice trick, though,” he said thoughtfully. He tapped his chin before turning on his knees. “Kolvar, bring me the bracelets. We can’t have my fiancée playing her little games with us while we travel.”
There was a rustling sound before the shifter appeared beside my captor. He was back in his human form and his cat-like eyes gleamed as he bowed. “Here you go, sir.”
Resting in Kolvar’s hands were two thick black bracelets. They gleamed in the early morning sunlight and an aura of complete wrongness emanated from them.
A chill ran through me as I stared at the bracelets. It couldn’t be… It had been a dream. They hadn’t been real.
“No,” I whispered, my shaky voice betraying the fear running through my veins.