“Tillie!” I called out, knowing I was outmatched in abilities with this shifter. “Don’t fight them,” my voice broke, “please.I will be okay.”
It hit me as I spoke—I’d likely never see her again. I wouldn't exchange blows with Brenson tomorrow morning. I’d never have a chance to train Mira. A pit of despair opened in my stomach, threatening to swallow me whole.
Her voice grew distant as she yelled back, “No! Don’t you dare give in, Siyana. Fight back! Remember who you are!”
My eyes pricked with tears as my face heated.
I dropped the dagger and my heart shattered as it clattered against the floor. It felt like an omission of my subservience, making me feel sick to my stomach.
I couldn’t allow her or anyone to get hurt in their attempt to free me. If Tillie had heard of my marriage already, it was likely Brenson had as well, considering the generals had been at the meeting and would be appraising the commanders. I couldn’t let him risk insubordination when there was no point.
No one could change my fate—save the elementals themselves.
"Now that's settled," my captor said with disdain before releasing the ice from my skin, warmth slowly seeping back as the blood flowed once more within. "You'll learn your place soon enough."
My heart swirled with fear and anger as I realized the true extent of my imprisonment. I liked to think that I could change the world, that I could be a voice and pillar of strength for women to see what we were capable of. At this moment, my dreams and desires tasted like ash on my tongue, burned to a crisp with the actions of these men.
I glanced back at my father as I allowed a single tear to fall from my eye.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his head shaking as if in shock and despair—helpless.
I swallowed harshly, whispering back with the tiny bit of strength I could muster in my voice, “I don’t forgive you.”
The room spun as I was suddenly picked up and thrown over the drackya’s shoulder, his arm strapped over my body just below my ass with an iron-like grip.
“You’re a brute,” I spat, hitting his back with my fists. “Put me down!”
“But I’myourbrute, dear wife.”
The scent of him wrapped around me, suffocating me with every bit of him. Spearmint with a subtle underlying hint of cedar. I couldn’t escape his scent, his body, or his claim on me.
“Don’t fucking remind me,” I retorted as he walked down the corridor and toward the castle doors, stripping any last shred of dignity I held as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch.
I couldn’t bring myself to meet anyone’s eyes, embarrassed and ashamed that I couldn’t do anything to fight back.
Maybe I was only ever just a princess and not a warrior like I thought.
Chapter Five
SIYANA
My heart thunderedin my chest as I rode away from my home, filled with churning emotions of anger, fear, and despair. The rhythmic clopping of the horses' hooves only amplified the turmoil within me, and I couldn't shake the sinking feeling that this journey would not end well for me.
As we left behind the familiar, rolling green hills of my lands and our glistening, white stone castle disappeared from sight, I could feel all hope slipping away. The realization that I may never see my home again weighed heavily on me, threatening to break my spirit.
Upon asking my captor if he had a blanket I could wrap around myself to shield me from the biting wind–considering he’d forced me onto the horse in a dress fit to be inside a warm castle– and him telling me to toughen up, I’d decided it was far past time to make his life as difficult as he was making mine.
“Stop right this instance!” he growled out as my horse let out a neigh, alerting him as I wiggled out of the saddle for the fifth time and dropped onto my feet with ease, despite having my wrists bound together with a coarse rope. After the second time I’d slipped to my feet to walk, he’d thought that would stop me.
I was proud to say it had not, despite the ground between our feet growing uneven as we cut through a rocky mountain pass.
“I don’t even know how you’re managing to do that in a dress,” he whispered under his breath.
I’m so glad I was able to hear the whispered words, reveling in his annoyance. I was practically preening as he glowered at me, and I couldn’t help but send him a wink.
"Till death do us part, dear husband," I taunted with a sardonic smile. "It's a lovely day for a stroll."
It was, in fact, beginning to turn into a frigid day that had my nipples pebbling beneath my gown, and a shiver began to work its way through my body despite the rays of sun peaking through the lush trees surrounding us. I couldn’t let the weather force me into servitude just like he wanted, though.
