His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 31: Escape (3)

"What did you do to Faidon?" Curiosity finally grabbed a hold of me and was bursting from my lips.

"Faidon?" Soren asked, still scanning our surroundings. He wore long johns now, but they were a little tight. There was at least two inches of height between Soren and Theo, not to mention the difference in muscle mass. Theo was still lean, but Soren was bulkier after years of training.

"He was the man preventing our escape," I replied, flicking my gaze away from Soren’s chest muscles. I was only looking because I wondered if he was cold in these temperatures! Soren caught me looking, though, and a slight smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"You had enough time to chat and learn his name?" Soren asked the smirk dropping, the knight replacing the man.

"I recognised him," I explained and fiddled with the ring around my finger. "He is one of Eryx’s men."

"He was tailing you?" Soren questioned, leaning forward slightly.

"Seems so," I sigh. "It makes sense. Eryx probably wanted more dirt on me."

Soren’s hand curled into a fist. "So his confession was fake. What has he done?"

I shake my head, trying not to smile at his protectiveness. "It does not matter now." Soren would never be able to resolve the issue anyway. At least running away was a great strategic move.

Soren glared at me, but he didn’t push the topic further. I drew back onto the first topic. "So, Faidon?"

Soren glared into the darkness like the trees were somehow to blame for whatever was on his mind. "If it were not for the angle of his head hitting against the tree, we would either still be fighting, or he’d be dragging you back to the palace."

A shiver ran through me. Soren was a good warrior, but Faidon seemed like some sort of phantom beast. His skills were out of this world. I was a little jealous of them.

We fell into a comfortable silence, and slowly, I started to feel fatigue scraping along my body. My head dropped a few times, eyelids drooping. I did not know how long the journey was, but I was so tired. I couldn’t stay awake.

"Here." Soren reached for me, and I was too stupefied and sleepy to do anything but allow him to pick me up and turn me around so I could sit beside him and rest my head on his shoulder. His cinnamon and steely scent wafted around me. "Get some rest while you can, Princess."

I nodded, content with the decision. When I next woke, golden light began to peek through some of the trees around the frosted road. I blinked tiredly and snuggled further into Soren, needing his warmth. I shouldn’t but I couldn’t help it.

The smell of sea salt and rose petals slid along my senses. Were we already close to Vargrfjell Fjord? No, the scent was not from the wind. In a daze, I blinked up and froze. I’d been sleeping on Theo, my leg between his, his arm wrapped around me, a blanket covering us.

Theo was asleep, his brown locks brushing against his cheek and the top of my head. The enchantment had worn off, and now he was back to his almost angelic-looking self.

Slowly, I looked around, the sounds of the wooden wheels creaking and rolling over the ground. Soren was sitting up front, now wearing a cloak over his head.

Blinking away the sleep in my eyes, I focused on our surroundings. We were going through rocky terrain, the forests still dense around us, high from on top of the mountainous walls on either side of the road. This location would be an easy place to ambush us.

The wind was picking up the more we rode along this ongoing slope. Sliding out of Theo’s hold and ensuring the blanket remained tucked around him, I leaned onto the back of the front seat. Soren’s large frame made it impossible to allow another to sit beside him.

"How is your shoulder?" My voice does not startle him. He knew I was there.

"All healed," Soren replies quietly and looks at me twice. "Your disguise is gone."

"Damn." I thought it might have when I woke up to see Theo’s face. "I was kind of digging the whole brunette thing."

Soren’s lips twitched. "I didn’t."

"No?" I tease. "I thought I kind of looked like a pale Southern Were."

Soren looked me up and down then, and my jaw slackened. "How dare you, Sir!" I jest, slapping his shoulder. "Am I not built like a Southern Were?"

His eyes crinkle as he looks between the road and me. "You’re hardly built like a Northern Were."

I clutch at my chest. "That hurt, Soren. That really hurt."

Soren shook his head.

My smile broadened as the endless slope finally stopped, and beyond it was the white mountainous range surrounding vast deep blue water, almost grey and mirroring the tips of the mountains. The wind roared against our faces, bringing with it the smell of the sea, blood and fish. At the bottom of the hill we were on, the ground was a mixture of red dirt and thick snow leading to villages and ports.

Unlike the wooden and brick chalets and buildings in Ulfstad, all dark and gloomy, matching the forest, the wooden stilted houses were red and white, almost camouflaged with the mountains.

The sun still rose, shimmering golden rays along the water and warding off the darkness of night. Birds sang, and people had already begun their day. At the sight of it, my heart swelled and excitement filled every fibre of my being.

Soon, I will be down there, leaving my life behind.

Adventure awaited us. I was so done with the palace and the life of Princess Idalia Snorravik.

I released a soft sigh after inhaling the smell of the ocean and everything that awaited me. "Theo," I called softly over my shoulder. "You’ll want to see this..." My voice trailed off as something moved in my peripheral vision.

Theo stretched out, blinking away, unaware that something was quite possibly wrong.

"Soren..." I murmured, reaching for... Well, I had no weapon because I was utterly useless. Note to self: if I make it out of whatever is about to happen, get a weapon and learn how to fight.

"On it. Take the reins?" He looked at me, then registered who I was and seemed to hesitate.

"Oh, give it here!" I climbed over the rail and grabbed the reins, but before I could settle down, Theo took them from me, and Soren jumped into the cart. "I can handle it."

Theo patted my head. "It might get a bit rough from here, Princess. Best to hold on."

I frowned at him but didn’t bother arguing, more concerned with what might be following us.

Or who.

Giant wolves leapt over the cart. The horse stopped, front legs kicking out as the cart rocked and skidded to the side, almost falling over. I held onto the rail, expecting to fall out, but I didn’t.

Wolves bared their sharp teeth at us. Four of them blocked our path; four were on either side of the white rocky walls, and four more blocked the way we’d come. We were completely outnumbered and surrounded.

"Princess Idalia." One of the grey wolves in front shifted back into his human form, strolling forward like he hadn’t ambushed us. "The Queen sent us."

Ice lodged itself through my veins from that sentence alone. Deyanira already knew I’d escaped. Wouldn’t it be best that I was gone? Or did Alaric also hear and send his men after me?

I squashed those questions as the naked guard started to narrow his eyes at Theo and Soren. They were my ’accomplices’; they would be punished.

"Please..." I hopped off the cart, raising my hands and looking submissive. "I forced Soren and Theo to come with me."

"Your Highness!" Theo and Soren called after me. I glared at them over my shoulder, only to pause when more guards pinned down both. Multiple men were on Soren with claws sinking into his neck and lower back.

The guard, Orym, one of Deyanira’s favourites, tilted his head. His good looks were wasted on a disgusting personality, with long red hair tied back into a bun and golden-hazel eyes that always lured she-wolves to him.

He sneered, looking me up and down. "You..." He mocked, not believing it. "Forced them?"

Raising my chin, I nodded, putting on an air. "I am still a Princess. You cannot expect me to travel without a guard or a slave."

Orym smirked. "I suppose you are right." He caressed my jaw; cold spider legs crawled along my skin where he touched me. Orym was always gross, touching me whenever he could. He gripped my chin roughly. "You will return quietly then without complaint. Isn’t that right?"

I nodded. Ignoring the way his eyes roamed over my features. He was ten years my senior with a mate, but it was no secret that he sought out pleasure in the local bordello.

"Yes, Orym," I say softly, lowering my gaze, hatred boiling my blood. I despised acting submissively, but for Soren and Theo, I would.

"Good," Orym almost purred, the praise in his voice making my skin crawl. "Now, climb onto my back."

The men pinning Soren and Theo down laughed. It was a reminder that I was without a wolf.

Orym stepped back and shifted into his beast form, lying down and moving a paw out so I could climb onto his back. It was embarrassing, and I hated the idea of my body clinging onto his for hours of the journey.

As he rose to his full height, my hands clinging to his fur, I stared at Vargfjell Fjord, at the colourful Blóðfjell havn and blinked away another trampled dream, already resigning myself for Deyanira’s wrath.