It’s pounding, searing with pain, thumping every goddamn second.
I move my body, but my arms are restricted with my back up against a cold surface.
Where the hell am I?
I open my eyes. Darkness surrounds me. I try to remember what the hell happened and why the hell I’m unable to move my legs and arms more than a few inches.
I blink a few more times, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, and that’s when I see a door, a millimeter of light filtering through the crack at the bottom, offering just enough visibility to help my eyes take in the rest of the room.
Dingy stone walls encompass what seems to be an eight-by-eight room, a stone-sized window up to the left, and only a pile of hay off to the side with a flimsy blanket as a bed. I attempt to move my arms again but notice they’re chained down.
That’s when it all comes flooding back to me.
Being tased and brought down to my knees.
Being tossed to the floor by men dressed in black.
The secret passageway in my room.
The note . . .
Fuck . . .
Lilly.
The wedding. I’m not there.
A surge of anger takes over my body as I pull on the restraints. The metal digs into my arms as I yank.I need to get to her. I can’t let her think that I left because I was scared.
“Fuck,” I shout as I pull again, yanking so hard that the metal cuts into my skin, tearing through the flesh.
“Looks like someone is awake,” someone says from the other side of the door right before it opens. The light from the hallway blinds me, so when I look up, all I see is a shadow. “Well, hello.”
“Where the fuck am I?” I shout, tugging on the chains again.
“Good idea chaining him up,” the man says to another person who steps into the light. But because the backlight is so blinding, I can’t make out any faces, just silhouettes. “He seems quite angry.”
“I don’t see why,” the other person says. “We did him a favor. Torskethorpe wasn’t ready for him to take over the crown. He wasn’t well liked.”
“Yes, I noticed that,” the other voice says, so full of sarcasm that it makes me want to rip through these chains and wring their necks.
“Who are you?” I demand, which causes both of them to laugh.
“Oh, that’s funny. As if we would tell him that.”
“What do you want with me?” I ask.
“Isn’t it obvious?” the main voice says. “Without you directing the new princess around, that gives us a world of opportunity.”
“It does,” the other voice says. “You see, from what we’ve seen, Princess Lilija lacks confidence when you’re not around.”
“Not true,” I shoot back, forgetting all my training. I’m not supposed to be arguing with the enemy but rather attempting to befriend them, but the pulsing pain from my head, and the searing pain in my heart from knowing Lilly is alone, left without a groom, it’s making me throw everything out the window.
“Oh, it’s very true. And with her heart now broken, that leaves us with two options. One, she gives up on the stupid idea of being the next heir to the throne of Torskethorpe, which would be ideal. Or, after a decent amount of time to let her grieve, we show her that more than one man can take care of her.”
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” I yell, pulling at my chains.
“Oh, we wouldn’t,” the main voice says. “But we have just the right man for the job.”
