“I thought you didn’t like mice,” she whispered. She’d probably meant it to be more snarky—the little minx was doing this on purpose. Two could play at that game.
Leaning directly into her ear, he said, “But I am still a man.” And he thrust his hips against her backside to show her how much of amanhe was. Her sharp intake of breath dropped straight to his cock and Emmeric smiled smugly. But she settled down after that—he had to fight against his body to force it to calm down—and they finished the day’s ride in relative peace.
Bunking down for the night in a small copse of trees, Emmeric tried to afford Iyana some semblance of privacy by setting up her bedroll away from the others. As he was readying his own bed for the night, she clutched onto his shirt.
“Please, Emmeric,” she whispered furtively, “let me go.”
He placed his hand over hers. His fingers tingled, and he swore little sparks flew at the contact. “I can’t, Iyana.”
Yanking her hand from his, she spat, “Why not?”
“Zane has realized there’s something…more between us.”
“There’s nothing between us,” she hissed.
“There is, and you know it!” he whisper-shouted at her. Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “He asked me about you this morning. What you are to me. I gave him an excuse, but he’s not buying it. If you were to escape now, he’d know it was me.”
“So come with me,” she pleaded.
He shook his head sadly. “You don’t want that.”
“Of course I don’t, but you can’t just donothing.”
“There’s nothing Icando, Iyana.”
“Bullshit,” she spat. “If you don’t help me, I—I’ll expose who you are.” Emmeric was taken aback. She was trying to blackmail him?
From the other side of camp, Zane shouted towards him, “If she’s a flight risk, tie her to the tree.”
Emmeric hung his head, then looked at her, silently begging her to cooperate. “Don’t you fucking dare…” she said. Really, she left him no choice. So, pulling out the rope, he tied her to the tree. It hurt even more because she didn’t fight him. Iyana only stared at him with unshed tears threatening to fall. Almost as though everything he’d done before then was forgivable, but now there was no coming back from this.
He might as well go all in.
“If you so much as breathe a word of my involvement,” he said, “you’re damning yourself with me, and I will tell them everything about Altair.” Effectively shutting her up, he curled inside his bedroll, guilt eating a hole through his heart.
Iyana
Once she was certain the five men were all asleep, she began fighting against her bonds. But she quickly realized it was no use. Grudgingly, she admitted Emmeric knew how to tie a good knot. So she attempted to get as comfortable as one could be tied against a tree, and assessed her surroundings. Not that it would do much good if she couldn’t get free, but any information might be valuable.
The stars twinkled far in the sky, and her mind turned to Altair. Iyana was sure he was fine, but why hadn’t he come for her yet? He had fought off two wild wolves on his own; he should be perfectly capable of dealing withfive humans. Maybe he was waiting for the right moment. Still, she thought of the stars above her, and how they had assisted her before.
Please,she begged,please help me get out of here. Or show Altair where to find me.
There was no answer.
Iyana struggled for hours to stay awake, waiting for Altair to arrive and whisk her away from danger. But, because she was still only human, sleep dragged her under.
Hours later, she awoke with the dawn, hope in her heart. Only to find she was still bound to the tree.
Chapter 18
Iyana
Iyana spent the rest of the morning disappointed Altair hadn’t come to her rescue, whisking her away like a princess in a fairy tale. But then she questionedwhyhe wouldn’t, or couldn’t, help her. Maybe someone had captured him as well. Maybe everything he’d said to her in the woods was a lie, and he didn’t actually care for her. Maybe this was another step in his master plan to defeat Uther; although she didn’t understand how being kidnapped and dragged to the man she was supposed to overthrow, without a solid grasp on her magic, was supposed to help. Iyana dismissed the idea. Perhaps her goal was to befriend Prince Zane and sway him to their cause. He’d have a motive to join them as the next in line for the throne. She dwelled on this train of thought further. If Iyana convinced him to stage a coup against his father, then she wouldn’t need magic. She’d heard rumors about Zane and none of them good. He was a brutal killer, a womanizer, and just as power-hungry as his father. The man riding in front of her, though, didn’t seem like the villain he was portrayed as. He was quiet, reserved, and had been nothing but polite to her—except for when he ordered her bound and tied to a tree. No, he’d be no help. If he wasn’t fully in agreement with his father, then he feared him, and that sometimes was a stronger motivator to stay in someone’s good graces.
Emmeric had mentioned the night before that Zane suspected there was something more between them, and as much as she was loath to admit it, Iyana could feel her soul attached to his. Since they’d been reunited, the tightness in her chest had been completely gone. While Iyana was still angry at him for tying her up and taking her against her will, she admitted to herself that he had little choice in thematter. When he had seen her in the street, Emmeric had initially tried to warn her away. Guilt crept through her for threatening to expose him as the Kanaliza. In the moment, it had seemed like a good motivation tactic, but she knew it was something she’d never do. Just as she understood, deep down, Emmeric would never purposefully betray her, either. Though the gods knew she’d never tell him any of that.
Iyana would also never tell him his sweet sandalwood and lemon scent wrapped around her, soothing her frayed nerves. She felt safe here with him on the horse and could sleep without worry. It must be a byproduct of the link between them, though, and not because she actually liked him. Liking him was a completely ludicrous notion.
