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I'm going to have to be fast, because he's going to be able to find me on my scent alone. Just the thought makes another hot prickle move through me, and my breath sobs into the air. Faster, I warn myself as I catch my breath, leaning against a tree. Run faster.
I picture the enormous club with the spike on the end, and that gets my feet moving.
Dashing through the trees, I skid to a halt when I come upon the edge of a cliff. I halt and take a few steps forward, peering over to see how far below the ground is. It's not too far, maybe three times my height. Below me, it looks as if half the hill has crumbled away into rock, with a few branches hanging over the sides. Since I can't go straight, I follow along the edge of the cliff, looking for a way down.
As I do, I hear a man's laugh.
I draw up short, worried that Agakor has found me already. Hot excitement pulses through me, and I look around for the next spot to dash to. There's a cluster of trees up ahead, and I race off once more, heading for their protection in the hopes that it'll slow down my soon-to-be husband.
Being chased is so thrilling. I thought it was silly at first, but now that he's hunting me, I don't think I've ever been more aroused. I both want him to catch me and I'm terrified of (and excited about) what happens when he does. I hear a twig snap behind me, and I lunge forward through the trees—
—an arm snags around my waist.
I squeal, loud and breathless. He's caught me! Anticipation flares, but when a strong hand grabs my jaw and forces my head back, my excited senses change to flat terror. The arm around my waist is cruel, and the hand that clutches my face is bruisingly tight. I stare into the eyes of one of my father's most trusted knights.
"By all the gods," he breathes, just as shocked to see me. "It's Lady Iolanthe."
Another man emerges from the shadows a few steps behind him. They're both dressed in dark colors, hoods pulled over their heads. Immediately, I realize what this is. My father has sent out scouts. They're lurking in these woods—Agakor's woods—and are going to attack my husband or his men. I have to do something, and quick.
As both men stare at me, I realize the second is clutching a knife. Both of them are wearing swords, and there are dark smears on their faces, as if trying to disguise their pale skin at night. An ambush. That's what this is. So I use a woman's best defense—tears. I immediately burst into sobs. "You've saved me!"
They're clearly taken aback by my theatrics. The tight, bruising hands on me loosen and fall away. "Lady—"
I fling myself against my captor, like the terrified woman I'm supposed to be. "You're taking me home with you, aren't you? Please say you are! My father's sent you to rescue me, has he not?" I weep loudly and balefully, all the while my mind frantically working. "Surely that's why you're here?"
"Ah, lady…" The closest one pats me on the shoulder. "Your father was planning on rescuing you soon, never fear."
"But not tonight?" I wail.
They give each other alarmed looks, and one puts a finger to his lips. "Please, quiet, if you will, Lady Iolanthe. These woods are surrounded by orcs."
Of course they are. I rode out here with them. But I pretend to sniffle and be a weak, simpering fool. "Then you've saved me."
The men exchange a look again. "We're scouting," blurts the second. "We have a mission to complete—"
"No mission is more important than returning me to my father's side, don't you agree?" I cling to the first man's tunic, an unhinged and slightly desperate look on my face. "Father will be glad if you take me home first!"
They're silent. I realize, to my dawning horror, that this isn't part of the plan at all. My father isn't sending these men to rescue me. They're not here scouting on innocent things. They're here to gather information and report back to my father. All at once, I see why they're so reluctant at the sight of me. My father can't protest and demand my return if I've already returned. He can't demand me back safely if I'm home. He can't pick a fight and sack Agakor's keep if there's no reason to attack.
I thought Agakor was wrong, that my father would never mount an army to retrieve me. Well, I was half right. He's mounting an army, but it's not to retrieve me. It's to rob Agakor under the pretense of rescuing me. It's obvious by the way these men act, as if I'm a problem they must suddenly solve.
