He shrugged a meaty shoulder. “You didn’t give me a choice. That draught was the safest way to transport you.”
“Really? How so?”
“Without it, you would have kicked and scratched while I brought you back to my men, cared for your wrists, and maneuvered us all out of Third Territory without running into any soldiers.” A brow arched. “And while I’m not remotely affected by your attempts to fight, my defenses aren’t made to be gentle.”
His honest words hung in the air.
I didn’t know what to say because he was right. I would have fought with all I had, and I wouldn’t have stopped until he made me. But he was still a terrible, horrible man. He was my captor, stripping me of freedom, binding me like a prisoner as he carted me wherever he wished on his massive horse.
He chose that moment to remind me of this, dipping once more to my ear. “That all being said, remember what I said before. Don’t disrespect me in front of my men, because then I’ll have to do something about it.”
“You said you wouldn’t harm me.”
“I won’t, but my idea of harm is different from yours.”
That was as clear a threat as any. I broke his gaze, clenching my jaw as I drilled holes into the ground with my eyes. He didn’t care about me using his title, but he wasn’t kind.
He was a predator. All Princepes were. That was something I couldn’t afford to forget.
His hand left my side as we returned to his men. I held myself as upright as I could, wishing my hip wasn’t touching his lap. We rode in silence for a long time, the terrain blurring into the monotonous scene of trees, rocks, inclines, and hollows I’d seen in Third Territory. In our conversation, Harthon said he’d maneuvered us out of Third Territory. But surely, I hadn’t even been close to the border when the ambush occurred. We’d been traveling across Third for days, but with all of Koerlyn’sstops, little time was spent moving.
I sucked in a breath to ask, then paused. Technically, speaking to a Princeps without invitation was a sign of disrespect. Harthon may not care much for titles in private, but who was to say an uninvited question before his men wouldn’t cause offense?
A soft sigh tickled my hair. “Say what you want to say.”
Could I be read that easily?
“How did you get into and out of Third Territory so quickly?” I asked cautiously.
“We’ve been making successful incursions on Third. Our borders have shifted, and the area you were in was just beyond a more recent acquisition.”
“Why would Koerlyn travel so close to a dangerous border?”
“Because Koerlyn is too arrogant for his own good,” someone said.
The owner of the voice pulled up to our left side, which I faced. While he seemed to be slightly shorter than Harthon, he had a similar muscular build. His tousled hair was a muted red, his eyes were a sparkling green, and his clean-shaven face was all angles and symmetrical lines.
He was handsome. Pretty, even.
“He is also overconfident, which we should be careful of becoming,” Harthon replied, giving the other man a hard look.
The soldier wasn’t affected. Instead, he grinned, the expression utterly boyish. “It isn’t overconfidence if there is evidence of success.”
“Callen, shut your mouth.”
I spun my head around toward a harsh, gravelly voice, finding a man riding on our right. This one was the opposite of the pretty one, a shaved head, full light brown beard, withering scowl, and smear of dried blood across his cheek making him more animal than man. Two axes were strapped across his back, both ends still covered in blood. Harthon might be well-built, but this man was overly wide with muscle.
“Don’t be mean. You’re giving a horrible first impression to the pretty lady,” Callen said, and I turned back to him. He winked.
Winked.My mouth parted.
“As if I give a fuck,” the bearded man drawled.
“Exc—”
“Not another word,” Harthon rumbled, cutting the green-eyed man off.
Callen rolled his eyes. “Always have to ruin the fun,” he muttered, falling behind us once more.
