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“You need your rest, and so do my men.”
Jorah dismounted, and I could see the tiredness in his eyes.
“Jorah needs the rest.” Evren spoke only loud enough for me to hear.
I dismounted without questioning him further and wrapped my arms around myself once my feet hit the ground. I didn’t wait for Evren. I simply stepped away from him and looked around the forest. For something that was rumored to be so ominous, it felt peaceful.
I ran my fingers along the dark bark of one of the trees, and comfort settled into my bones. It felt like it was calling me, begging me to venture farther.
I dropped my hand from the tree and moved to the next. The bark scratched against my fingertips, but the feeling was the same. It was as if they were welcoming me.
I looked back over my shoulder, and neither Evren nor Jorah were paying me any attention. Both men were tying off their horses as they spoke quietly, and the three other guards were still dismounting from their horses.
I took another step into the woods.
Evren hadn’t believed me when I said that I wasn’t returning back to his brother’s palace, or maybe he had. Maybe he cared as little about what I wanted as his brother did.
But I hadn’t been looking for his permission.
I felt that I owed it to him to tell him the truth, but regardless of how he felt, I couldn’t go back.
And his loyalty to his father’s crown would force me to.
Another step into the dark forest, and the trees began shadowing my steps. There was a slight breeze in the air, beckoning me forward, and I allowed it to do so.
My steps were silent even through the brush, and I let out a rushed breath when I slid behind a larger tree and out of Evren’s sight.
“Princess!” his voice called out to me immediately, and my marks sparked to life. They begged me to turn back to him, to stop listening to the trees, and turn to the man I knew I couldn’t trust.
But I refused.
I took another step forward, my boot sinking into the soft earth as they carried me away from him, and I heard him call for me again.
But despite how badly I didn’t want to run from Evren, everything inside me knew I should run from his brother. I should run and never look back, and I didn’t know if I would ever have another opportunity.
“Adara, where the fuck are you?” Evren’s voice echoed through the trees, and my heart hammered in my chest.
I moved faster and faster, careful to keep my footsteps light, and the trees seemed to pull me further as if they knew I needed the protection. I dared a glance behind me, but all I could see was the darkness that surrounded me.
Panic poured through my veins, but I pushed it down. I couldn’t handle the fear when I needed my strength. Both had to coexist, but the choice was mine to make. And I couldn’t be scared of a forest when I was running from my enemy.
“I swear to the gods, princess.” I could barely make out Evren’s voice now, but he was following me. He was searching for me, and my bones ached with the truth that he wouldn’t stop.
But the more distance I put between myself and the palace, the better. Gavril had a plan for me, and I needed to derail it.
I came across a small creek, and even the water that flowed through it looked as dark as the night sky. I squatted down as I stared into the black depths, but all that stared back at me was my reflection.
The starlight on my cheeks was the only glow of light to be seen.
I lowered my hand to press my fingers into the water, but something in my gut warned me against it. I clenched my hand into a fist before standing back to my feet, and I leaped over the water and onto a large rock that jutted out in the center. One more jump and I was across.
I didn’t look back again as I took off. My feet carried me swiftly through the forest, and it didn’t matter that I had no idea where I was going. Nothing mattered at that moment except for the way everything inside me begged me to turn back to Evren and the will I found not to do so.
He was my enemy whether I wanted him to be or not, and those were the words I repeated over and over in my head as I forced my feet to carry me farther away from him.
