CHAPTER16
We had been riding for hours, and my thighs ached with a desperation to get off the horse.
“Just a little bit farther,” Evren spoke from behind me. “We’ll stop for camp shortly.”
I nodded even though I wasn’t sure I could handle even a few more feet.My body was exhausted, and I could only blame myself.
“You’ve done so well so far.”
I gritted my teeth at his compliment. He had found me, but still, I had no interest in hiskind words. I just wanted off this damn horse.
“Captain.”
I rubbed my thighs as Evren looked up toward Jorah.
“Evren!”
I heard his name just as an arrow whizzed past me.
“Fuck,” Evren groaned before wrapping his arm around my middle and jerking me down from the horse.
We landed against the ground hard, and my head slammed down against Evren’s chest.
“Stay down, princess.” Evren moved out from beneath me, and I watched in horror as he reached for the arrow that was embedded in his left shoulder and snapped it just before his flesh.
“Evren,” I called out for him as he pulled a black dagger from his hip, but he was already on the move.
I scurried back from the direction he was going as rocks and sticks tore at my hands. My back hit the base of a tree just as our horse spooked and kicked up on his hind legs. Another arrow was shot in my direction, and I quickly pushed to my feet and reached for my own dagger.
I could hear shouting before I ever saw the five men that surrounded us. One was pulling his sword from Caelum’s neck, and I gasped as I watched the guard I had just met a few days ago drop to the ground.
Evren launched his dagger at the man who was dressed in a uniform of all black, and he hit his target perfectly. The soldier’s eyes bulged as his hand met the dagger that was launched into his neck, and I watched as he searched for his killer before his gaze landed on Evren.
Evren stormed toward the man, unaffected by the others fighting around him, and he jerked his dagger from the soldier’s flesh before kicking his boot into his chest and knocking him to the ground.
Evren moved on to the next, launching his dagger into the back of the soldier who was currently facing off with Jorah. The man fell to his knees instantly as blood leaked out onto his dark uniform, and Jorah raised his sword and finished him before he could truly know what was happening.
Another soldier surged forward, his sword held high over his head as he aimed for Evren. The prince didn’t have his dagger back yet, but he charged the soldier before he could bring his sword down and knocked the both of them to the ground.
“No!” I gasped, but I couldn’t clearly see what was happening.
Landry lay on the ground behind Jorah, but I couldn’t see his chest well enough to see if he was still breathing. He had to be breathing. This couldn’t be happening.
I was trying to find Evren as the two of them fought on the ground, but my head was jerked backward with a cruel jerk of my hair. I screamed as pain shot through me and raised my hand to stop the man.
But it was no use. He pulled me backward, making me lose my footing, and he dragged me against the forest floor as I tried to fight against his hold.
I slammed my other hand behind me, trying to blindly hit the man with my dagger, but the way he held me made it impossible.
“Come on, star whore.” He lifted me to my feet, holding nothing but my hair, and I whimpered. “I want to see what all the fuss is about.”
I fought against him, kicking and swinging my arms, but his blade was swift, and he cut my cloak away from my body within seconds.
“Please don’t.” I searched for Evren, but the man behind me had pulled me farther into the forest and all I could hear was the grunts of men fighting and the sound of metal clanking against one another.
“Hold still.” He jerked me back harder before I felt his blade against the back of my neck. The cold metal induced a fear in me like I had never felt before, and I screamed out Evren’s name as his blade tore through my shirt and sliced it open all the way to my trousers.
Chill bumps broke out across my skin as the cold forest air kissed my skin and my mark, and the man’s hand tightened in my hair. I tried to force power from my hands like I did before, but nothing came from my trembling fingers.