The Red Shadow put out a hand, placing it on the elf’s shoulder. “You need to go ahead of us. Ride asfastas you can to the capital. Do whatever it takes to reach my father as quickly as possible. Tell him he may need to prepare his contingency.”
“Sir.” The elf dipped his head. “It shall be done.”
Without waiting for a reply, he strode over to his horse and hopped onto the saddle. I glared at the male who could have helped me. Fenris left us without a glance, galloping down the road.
The other two males jumped to action, doing what the prince commanded. They threw me onto the horse in front of the Red Shadow. With a flick of Remington’s hands, the bonds around my upper torso twisted, becoming red ropes that tied my hands together at the wrists.
“Hold on to the saddle,” he commanded gruffly. “We’ll talk about your death wish later. Perhaps I canpersuadeyou to see things differently.”
I snorted, ignoring the way his chest pressed against my back. He felt nothing like Xander had when we had ridden together.
The thought of the silver-haired male made me sick. How I wished I was still with him. I would take fighting with Xander over being with Remington any day.
With that thought empowering me, I hissed, “I will never marry you.”
“We’ll see about that,” Remington snarled.
Then, before I could say anything else, he withdrew the gag from his pocket. The moment I saw it, my stomach twisted. I tried to get away from it, but the ropes around my hands held firm.
“Please, no,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. “I’ll be quiet.”
“It’s too late for that,” my horrid fiancé replied. I nipped at him as he came too close to my mouth, but it didn’t stop him. He cursed, replacing the gag around my mouth before tying it at the back of my head.
“Let’s go,” Remington snapped. “Kolvar, you ride ahead. Phrin, you will follow us. Make sure no one is in our path.”
The three horses quickly moved to a gallop, taking us down the road with alarming speed. I held onto the saddle horn with both hands, trying desperately not to fall.
As we rode, I thanked the nameless shadow for providing me with a temporary reprieve. Whatever it was, it had bought me some time. Time I desperately needed if I was going to think of a new plan.
Vlarone was on the other side of the kingdom and even if we rode as hard as we could, I knew it would take at least two weeks to get there.
My wedding day would have to wait a little bit longer.
Thank Thelrena for small mercies.
* * *
The shadow appeared twice more that first day.
Just like before, it flew above us as we rode down the roads. Every time I saw it, it seemed to be getting a bit larger. I watched the shadow carefully. I had never seen anything like it in my life.
Whatever it was, it seemed to scare Remington. He tensed behind me, his words becoming more clipped as the day wore on.
He was afraid.
And that, more than anything else, caused a spark of hope to grow within me.
* * *
When we stopped that first night, I practically fell off the horse. My entire body ached.
Remington loosened the bonds so I could rest, but he tethered my ankle to a tree instead. He took the gag off long enough for me to eat and drink, quickly replacing it when I was done.
“You can relieve yourself behind the tree,” he growled. “Don’t try anything, Aileana. We don’t have time to go chasing you through the woods.”
I glared at him, my eyes filled with fury, but he just turned his back on me. Whispers rose through the air as Remington spoke with his companions long into the night. I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
As I lay in the cold, hard dirt, I thought I saw a strange blue glow coming from underneath my dress. My brows furrowed, I turned from the others and peered beneath the neckline of the now-very dirty gown.