AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But just as I tell myself that I shouldn’t care, I halt to a dead stop when my gaze lands on the infuriating woman herself.
Looking indisputably like the queen she claims to be, Katrina is mounted on a majestic white horse, looking ready to lead this train all the way to Arkøya all by herself. Not only that, but she’s also wearing some kind of skintight white pants underneath her long flowing coat. And with the way the material hugs her legs, leaving very little to the imagination, she might as well be naked as far as my men are concerned.
Her apparel, unconventional as it may be, is not my main concern, though.
It’s the possibility that she may be stolen from me before we even have a chance to pass through Arkøya’s gates that has me up in arms.
It’s blind fury that snaps me out of my trance and has me rushing toward her at lightning speed.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” I blurt out when I reach her, loud enough for everyone on the train to hear.
“What does it look like?” she counters, bored.
“You look like you’re about to ride east on horseback.”
“Hmm,” she hums, tugging softly at the reins in her grip while continuing to look straight ahead. “The godshavebeen good to you, Levi. With the amount of times I would assume a soldier like you was knocked on the head on the battlefield, I wasn’t sure you could be so perceptive.”
My hands ball into fists at my sides.
“As much as I would love nothing more than to give you a witty comeback to the insinuation that I’m thick in the head, I’m more concerned about your pride, my queen. It will get you killed.”
“Really?” she coos, turning that gorgeous arctic face of hers my way. “After last night, I would have bet that my safety was at the bottom of your list of priorities.”
“If you’re to be my queen as well my lady wife, then your safety will always be my number one priority.”
“Iamyour queen,” she seethes through a gnashed smile. “Your wife, on the other hand, is still up for debate.”
“Kat,” I warn through gritted teeth, finally coming to my wits’ end. “Get off that fucking horse. Now.”
With blatant defiance, she stares me down, white knuckling the horse’s reins.
“Mind your place, Your Grace. The only one here entitled to shout out orders, is me. Remember that.”
Her glower persists, stubborn to the very end and forcing my hand to consider all my options.
The road home is hard and full of perils, and I’m not sure how experienced a rider she’s become since I’ve last seen her. What I do know is that Kat has never traveled east in her life and therefore has no clue to the dangers the open road holds.
Even the most veteran of us know that this journey isn’t without its hazards. Not only does Mother Nature have a way of keeping us on our toes, but so do the wild beasts that freely roam the vast terrain between the northern mountains to the eastern meadows.
There are other monsters who like to hide in the forests, too. Men made of flesh and blood who wait steadily for the perfect mark to reach their sights. These unscrupulous bandits and thieves won’t think twice about taking her hostage for a few bags of gold. One glance at her diamond-encrusted coat would be enough for them to know she’s of means, and therefore their pick to kidnap. Kat should know better than be this reckless. Especially considering what she went through when she was young.
I’m starting to think that no one is more dangerous to Katrina’s safety than herself.
This nagging feeling that she’ll end up falling and snapping her pretty little neck just because she is too proud to do as I say, is far too real for my liking. As much as the idea intrigues me, I can’t let her die under my protection. The kingdom would split in all directions and war would undoubtedly ensue, all battling for a chance at the throne. And all because I couldn’t keep her in one piece long enough to reach Arkøya.
“So are we riding out or not?” the brat has the nerve to taunt.
“Not.”
She lets out an exaggerated exhale at my reply.
“Now there’s the Levi I remember. Always so boresome in his need for safety.”
“Don’t make me take you off that horse,” I warn, aggravated with how she’s chosen to remember me. “Believe me when I tell you that I’ll drag you off there if I have to. Don’t test me, Kat.”
The flash of hatred I see in her eyes anytime I call her by her nickname has my heart in a vise grip, squeezing it to the point of pain.
“No,” she quips, turning away from me, eyes back on the road. “I’m riding down east and there is nothing you can say or do that will change my mind.”
