He spoke as if this was a common everyday occurrence. As if he expected me to be accustomed to waking up sprawled across a horse like a sack of potatoes, unable to move or speak.
He set me down at the base of a tree, straining a bit with the effort.
“Mmmans,” I grunted.
“Hmm?”
“Mmmans!”
I attempted to shift enough to wag my fingers at him. Unfortunately, I hadn’t regained complete control over my core. When I turned, my weight pulled me over into a fern. I slurred a plethora of curses, spitting at the plant.
“Hands. Right.”
The rope around my wrists fell away, and my arms dropped to my sides. I took a moment, flopping like a fish out of water before I got them under me to push myself upright.
I struggled, limbs shaking as I propped against the tree. “You’ll ay fr’tha,” I snarled.
“I’m sure I will, just not now.” He shrugged, angling his small blade at the ground. “I’m going to be on the other side.” He patted the oak I leaned against, loosening some of the bark. “Don’t try anything.”
“Me?”
I massaged the sore skin on my wrists, giving him my most innocent smile. My lashes fluttered to top it off. Though, in my current state, it probably looked as if the drug he used affected my brain.
He stood with a grunt and rubbed at the bloody bandage on his arm. With another stern look, he stepped around the tree, out of my line of sight.
Slander and insults spilled from my mouth as I struggled to stand. I had to have been out for quite some time—my bladder was screaming. My plan to kill Sainte would have to wait.
“You snathd me away!” I stumbled a step, catching myself on the tree before I toppled. “You idnappd me lie a ‘ommon fief!”
I worked on my trousers, confident he would at least give me privacy.
“I understand your reservation—”
No, I don’t think he did.
“—but this has to be done. It’s not about what you or I want. There’s a bigger picture, Elspeth.”
I screeched as I tumbled over in my crouch, landing in my piss. I threw my head back, ensuring he stayed put, and cursed loud enough to wake the dead. Furious, I thrashed, pulling my trousers over my hips. They were soaked in a vile mix of urine and mud, adding to my already questionable decorum and lovely scent.
My cursing paused only to take a breath as I rolled to the side, grappling to stand. Sainte gripped my arm and hauled me to my feet, supporting my precarious balance.
“And here I thought you couldn’t reek any worse.”
I dropped my weight, and he grunted, struggling to brace me at the odd angle. He glanced at me and I matched his glare.
“Stand.”
“No.”
“Petty brat,” he growled, then drove his shoulder into my stomach.
My breath huffed out in a gust as he lifted me off the ground, but I took pleasure knowing I got piss-mud all over the front of his armor. Every step back to the road sent a jolt of pain through my middle, and it was almost worth it until I heard the soldiers’ muffled snickers.
“You ride with me, or I’ll carry you as the burden you are,” Sainte hissed.
I managed to wriggle enough to ram my knee into his chest, eliciting a satisfying grunt. In return, he dumped me onto the ground near his horse. I peered up at the white beast towering overhead. One misstep from those massive hooves, and I’d live with it for the rest of my life.
Before I realized what was happening, Sainte pressed a cloth over my face, gripping the back of my head. I gagged on the putrid stench, jerking and clawing at his hands. In seconds, my limbs fell like limp noodles, and my mind slipped away in a foggy breeze. The last thing I saw was Sainte’s conflicted frown.
