to never listen to reason. Once he had something in his head it was hard for anyone to remove it or change his opinion. If
Dorian and the others made him believe I was under a spell, I would now have to face trying to convince him otherwise.
“The mages Karim and Panya, will be able to remove the spell. They’ve assured me it will not hurt but we are to take you
someplace near the barrier, to break the connection.”
My eyes widened as I read how connection spells were broken and it worried me deeply. If they broke the vow Nicholas
and I had created, wouldn’t that mean one of us, or both, would be in danger, or possibly die? No, surely not as I wasn’t
breaking the vow by choice, I was going to be forced.
There was no arguing in the minutes that followed. Norok’s guards lifted me up out of my seat and hooked their arms
through mine, guiding me forcefully out of the tent and into the back of a carriage. Dorian and Nora stood either side of the door
smiling while Norok followed behind me. My eyes widened as a pair of iron cuffs were placed around my wrists and then
another pair on my ankles.
“To keep you from escaping,” Dorian whispered in my ear, nipping at my earlobe when no one was looking.
I shuddered at his touch, thrusting away. Talia appeared out of nowhere shouting, screaming as her maids held her back. I
didn’t know what was happening, she’d told me to trust her, was this part of the plan?
Tears burned in my eyes as my heart raced. Throwing me into the back of the carriage, I landed with a loud thud as the air
was knocked out of me.
“You will feel better after this, I promise,” Norok shouted through the door.
I could hear only muffled voices as the carriage began to move away and then the sound of horses followed.
‘Don’t break. You will not let them break you.’
I echoed my thoughts again, holding on.
W atching the sun set low in the sky, the carriage became dark. So dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. We’d been
travelling for hours. I tried my best to stay awake, to keep my wits about me but I was running on fumes. I was desperate
for sleep and dying for some food that I was sure wasn’t going to kill me.
As we came to a sudden halt and shouting began, the back door swung open. The same guards from earlier pulled me out,
my ankles before one heaved me over his shoulder. This was certainly no way to transport a royal. I felt one of his hands rise
above my thigh and I begun kicking as I shouted, he soon stopped.
Small fires were lit all around in a circle. They were not large enough to cause a forest fire but large enough I could feel
the heat warm against my skin. I was set down in the middle of the circle and two people approached me in grey robes. Mages
I assumed.
Lowering their hoods, I could see they both shared the same face—twins. The only two differences being one was female,