“They said their names were Lori and Faye,” Indi piped up, running over to join them.
“Goldwyrm. These two are Lazuli's daughters,” Oriel spat.
“Goodness – really?” Magna gasped.
“Yes, now will you just fucking get in the house?” The prince let out an exasperated sigh.
“How? Why are they here?” the woman continued, ignoring Oriel's request. “I thought you said there had been an ambush? Wasn't Lephas with one of them?”
“He was supposed to be and we had no idea there were two of them.” The man paused. “I don't like this one bit. Get me some rope, I need to secure them. Quickly.”
“A-alright. I think I have some in the barn,” the old woman agreed, shakily. Her footsteps crunched away through the snow.
Neither of the princesses said a word. Lori glanced across at her sister. Faye's sparkle had all but dimmed with fear and she shook violently.
“They said they were with your friends, said they'd be coming for them,” Indi muttered quietly to Oriel.
“It could be a trap. For all I know, Lephas and Raxx are dead in a ditch somewhere and these two were attempting to make a getaway,” the prince growled.
“And if you're wrong?”
“Then my men will be on their way here as we speak and they can explain the situation for themselves. Until then, the princesses remain bound.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What's that? Just up ahead.” Lephas shouted, his lungs burning as he gasped for breath.
“A cottage. The one I spotted last night,” Raxx replied.
“The tracks lead straight there.” The commander jogged on, ignoring the exhaustion in his muscles. His heart was in his mouth and his stomach churned.
Please let them be alright.
It had all happened so fast. One moment Raxx had been beside him, telling him he could sense majick nearby and the next the horse had been bolting off through the forest. He had barely managed to warn the girls before they had been galloping away.
They had never stood a chance at keeping up, the mare had vanished in seconds through the dense blizzard and even Raxx had been unable to traverse through the wild weather quickly enough.
Thankfully Gaia's tracks were easy to follow. Big, deep messy furrows marred the snow as the horse had thundered frantically away.
What had spooked her? They had no idea, but Lephas had a sick sense of dread that the majick Raxx had sensed had something to do with it.
The men fought on, dragging their exhausted bodies through the drifts as they approached the farm. A stone wall loomed ahead and the tracks lead straight to it.
Raxx gave a short laugh. “They jumped it.”
Both he and Lephas clambered over the wall and dropped down into a sheltered garden area. Stopping for a moment to catch their breath, the demons looked around warily.
The farm was void of any activity. The wind howled through the trees around them. Raxx walked forward to study the horse's tracks.
“They definitely came through here, but...” He started walking on. “They managed to pull up.”
Lephas stalked to his friend's side, keeping an eye outfor ambushers.
“There were other people here. At least two, maybe three. It's hard to tell.” Raxx continued. “They went this way.”
The demons tucked themselves into the hedgerow and kept their bodies low so as not to be spotted.
“Surely any demons living here would have been too terrified to do them any harm?” Lephas muttered quietly.
