“Emperor’s going to pay us quite well for his favorite pet,” said the first.
I seethed, my hands trembling. That fucking nickname.
“Much better than the vorakh task force,” the second agreed.
Wind rustled through the trees and the wheels began to slow as we shifted off the stone ground onto grass, moving into a woodland.
I started straining against my bindings. Seeing if I could rip through the rope around my wrists, or kick off the ones around my ankles. But there was no give. None at all.
My only opportunity to escape might come from the moment they stopped. At some point, they’d release the back wall to pull me out. It would be a small moment. A blink of an eye. But if I could get my legs free, maybe I could run. But that was a huge maybe.
I closed my eyes. Fuck. How the hell had they found me? Was it Lady Aliyah? No. Alistair would have vetted her.
Someone with her that couldn’t be trusted? But these were Kormac soturi, loyal to the Emperor, enemies ofEl Zan Vylette. I didn’t think I’d been betrayed by any of my “supporters” though it had happened before.
I tried to think. As if knowing how would stop this from happening. But I needed to know. Needed to know if I truly couldn’t trust anyone. My stomach turned.
Was it possible that it was one of the chayatim from the Palace? That was most likely. They could have a mind reader wandering Korteria, just listening. If it was someone who knew me, knew my voice, it would have been easy. Gods. Weeks of turning nahashim away and staying inside to avoid this very situation. Being all cooped up as Dario would say. And here I was. I’d done everything right. Again! And it still wasn’t fucking enough to save me.
“Shhh, whoa. Stop!” the first soturion yelled out.
“The fuck?” asked his companion.
I heard a whooshing sound, and then a scream, and a thud.
A sword was withdrawn, the metal singing in the air. “Show your face, you fucking bastard!” It was the first soturion.
I sat up, peering into the dark, my eyes straining. Something moved in the trees, shifting. A body. A soturion’s. My captor held up his torch, shining it up at the branches and I caught the profile of the man there. A strong broad nose, and curls tied on top of his head.
Dario!
My heart leapt.
He pounced from the tree, falling on the captor that remained. They both moved out of my sight, until all I could hear were grunts of pain, and the awful sound of flesh hitting flesh, followed by the singing of metal as swords were drawn.
Dario cursed, and then cried out.
There was something that sounded like a punch, and then some rustling noises and grunts. The second soturion was awake.
“You bastard,” he roared. “I’ll have your guts for this!”
“Not if I have yours first,” Dario taunted.
My breathing grew shallow and pained. Dario was strong. I knew that. But it was two against one. And these men were motivated by something more powerful than anyone realized. Money. I had to get out.
I inched my way across the floor, my shoes just barely sliding over the wooden planks beneath me. I reached the back of the wagon, and sucked in a breath, bracing my body. Then with all I had left, I slammed into the wall, again, and again and again. “Shit, she’s up! Get back there. Grab her!”
“No,” Dario roared. There was a slapping sound. Someone hit the ground, and the back wall of the wagon was pulled back.
I stared into the black eyes of the man who’d kidnapped me. Who’d climbed the tower, chased me back inside the balcony. He reached for my neck, fingers gripping my throat as he pulled me off the wagon.
I couldn’t even scream, or kick my feet as they dangled in the air.
A shadow appeared behind him. The hilt of a sword slammed into the man’s head.
His eyes rolled back and he collapsed, releasing his hold on me.
Dario caught me in his arms before I could fall, and a second later, he cut my bonds, freeing my hands and dropping to his knees to release my feet.
