“We need to leave,” Lady Manning screeched, her voice closer than Sophia had been expecting, and she flinched.
Had Lady Manning seen that she was awake? Would she say something to Sophia?
“I have plans for you,” Lady Manning’s voice rasped uncomfortably close to Sophia’s head. “You should never have run away. But I’ve found you, and you will never get away again.”
She let out a cackle as she walked away, and Sophia began trembling.
She didn’t have to imagine what sort of plans they might be. She’d had a taste of it before. It was never pleasant, and often included a lack of food and water.
But she’d survived it before. She could survive it again. And Caspian would come for her.
Sophia took a deep breath.
Caspian was a man of honor. He wouldn’t care for someone and allow them to disappear without trying to find out why. And he wouldn’t have kissed her if he didn’t care for her.
No, he had to know something was wrong. Especially since he knew she was potentially still in danger from Lady Manning. He had enough pieces of the puzzle—hopefully he would be able to put them together quickly enough.
The wagon jolted as it started to move forward, and Sophia took a deep breath again…and again…and again.
Caspian would come for her.
He had to.
Because if he didn’t, she might not make it out of this alive.
Chapter sixteen
Caspian
Caspiancouldn’tshakethesense of unease as he sat up in bed.
Something didn’t feel right about the way Sophia had disappeared last night.
He still hadn’t seen her as he helped his sleeping sister and exhausted mother get into the carriage, and he’d reluctantly followed them home after asking Thea to keep an eye out for Sophia.
But something was wrong. He could feel it.
He quickly got dressed and hurried down to the kitchen. “Have you seen Sophia?” he asked Cook.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Ask her roommates.”
“Who are her roommates?” Caspian asked.
“I don’t know,” Cook said. Caspian fought down his frustration at her unhelpfulness. She was bustling around preparing breakfast for his family. She had no idea what had happened last night.
But he didn’t care about breakfast—he cared about Sophia.
He glanced around at the full kitchen and said, very loudly, “Has anyone seen Sophia this morning?”
Everyone in the room paused and looked around at each other before shaking their heads no. Caspian was about to ask who shared a room with her when a voice piped up from the back and said, “She wasn’t in our room this morning, either.”
Caspian froze. “She never came home?”
“Not unless she slept in the barn with the goats.”
That didn’t seem likely, but he raced out the outer door toward the barn anyway.
Sophia wasn’t with the goats, either.
