Would he even notice she was gone?
Would he think she’d abandoned him?
Sophia prayed he would not think she’d left him.
She prayed Caspian would come for her, that he would find her and save her before it was too late, before Lady Manning’s plans would come to fruition.
Tears rolled down her cheeks and she hid her face in the scratchy hay in the bottom of the wagon.
How had Lady Manning found her? And why? Why couldn’t she just let her run away? Why couldn’t she just let it be? Why did she feel the need to track her down and bring her back? If she was going to kill her, why couldn’t she have just killed her there? Did she need the theatrics of bringing Sophia home to kill her?
No.
Lady Manning’s household and Riyel were not home anymore.
Home was the manor with her goats.
Oh, her goats! What would they do without her? Would the stable master send them away since he had no patience for them? Would Liliana be heartbroken? Would Mollie miss her?
Sophia stifled the sob that threatened to break out through the gag.
Caspian would find out she was missing, and he would catch up to her.
He had to come for her.
The wagon jostled and she fell awkwardly onto her stomach, landing on her bound hands. Pain ran up her arm.
She just wanted to be home.
Home, in the Northlands, with Caspian and his family and her friends.
Maybe Thea would notice she was gone. Or Dietrich. Any of the others.
If only one of them would notice she’d left the festival—all it would take was one.
Caspian was a guard. Surely he would come look for her. She couldn’t imagine Caspian ignoring the fact that a woman of his acquaintance had disappeared, no matter who the woman was—and after everything that had happened this evening, she had to assume he’d be even more inclined to look for her.
The need to be back by the bonfire with his arm around her hit like a bale of hay. She could no longer smell the smoke of the bonfire and the fact that she couldn’t even smell her home anymore made her want to cry more.
She just wanted to sleep, to fall into ignorant slumber, but she couldn’t imagine falling asleep now.
She hadn’t recognized the man binding her.
Was he Lady Manning’s new henchman? He must be loyal to her in order to kidnap an innocent girl on her orders.
She wanted to know, and yet, the knowledge wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t make her feel any better. Maybe she should just pretend that they were taking her away to kill her. That might make anything else seem better in comparison.
Anything else and there was a chance Caspian would come and save her, or that she would be able to run away again.
No. Lady Manning would never allow her to run away again.
She knew that much.
Time seemed to stretch forever and yet not long enough as the wagon continued to roll on through the darkness, with only a few torches and the moon lighting their path. Sophia began to grow cold. The fine dress from Lady Rendon was not meant for staying warm on a chilly night.
She welcomed the cold, though. It reminded her of her first escape from Lady Manning’s clutches.
She’d done it once. She could do it again.
