My eyes caught Bennett’s over Maddox’s shoulder. He was looking at us strangely. I hauled myself into the carriage after bidding my brother good night. Misty and Pippin had already settled themselves on the opposite seats.
“Sweet dreams,” I said to Misty, giving her a peck on the forehead. Pippin stared at me expectantly. I sighed and gave him the same treatment.
***
IAWOKE TO A TORRENTof grainy particles raining down on my face. I sputtered, jerking up.
What is that?Misty jumped onto my chest. She narrowed her eyes as a shadow of a serrated blade bobbed in and out of the ceiling. Three sides of a rectangle had already formed. But despite hacking through wood, the blade made no noise.
I sat up. It was a silent saw.Magic. A rioter could very well be in possession of a witch-made item if it suited their purpose. Whether it was to kill me or kidnap me, I didn’t want to find out.
I squeezed myself to a corner, holding the cats close. Fear froze my limbs. I had been in the company of dangerous people before, but I was never their target. The change was paralyzing.
There were four guards in all protecting my carriage. Maddox, Flannery, and the two others, judging from their thunderous snoring, were all asleep. We were placed at the perimeter of the camp, strategically hidden by the underbrush.
But whoever was on top of the carriage had taken advantage of that. They had me in direct target without passing the rest of the guards.
What are you sitting there for? Run!Pippin demanded as the fourth side of the rectangle took form above.
Just as the ceiling came crashing down, I wrenched the door open. But the movement was impeded by something—or rather someone.
“Ow!” Flannery’s voice came from the other side.
A figure hovered over the gaping hole in the ceiling, engulfing the carriage in his shadow. I made out dark hair and a stubbled jaw. A large hand swung down to grab me. I dodged, my head knocking into the satchel dangling from his shoulder. It landed with a thump on the carriage floor.
“Intruder!” a guard shouted.
The carriage jerked as the assailant launched himself off. Tree branches rustled as the camp awoke, torches lighting the forest in an eerie orange glow.
Flannery opened the door, eyes wide. He removed a pair of cotton plugs from his ears. “Milady! Are you alright? Why didn’t you scream?”
From the way my throat was clenched, screaming was the last thing it wanted to do.
A draft swept in through the top of the carriage. I swung my legs outside and held Misty to my chest. “Did you catch the intruder?” I asked, voice trembling.
Flannery shook his head, letting the cotton fall to the dirt. “We’re going now. Stay here, milady. The others will guard you.”
Guards from the camp abandoned their cots, scouring the premises for the intruder as Lord Frederick shouted instructions.
Pippin stumbled into my lap, tripping over the satchel.What an unpleasant way to be woken up, he said crossly as I gathered him into my arms beside Misty.
I forced my racing heart to calm, though to no avail. Because I was certain that the shadowy attacker was Dominic Turner.
I shivered. Something was horribly wrong with the man. Once I got my hands on him I’d box his ears for having the audacity to invade my privacy time and time again. Did he think he was entitled to my whereabouts because we were once engaged?
I recalled what he had said to me during the ball at Huntington Abbey.
It’s not too late to leave all this. I can take you away and make it seem like an accident.
Could he possibly be in cahoots with the rioters? Whatever treasonous secrets he was hiding, I fully intended on weeding them out and throwing him in the dungeons.
I grabbed his fallen satchel and searched its contents. It was nearly empty, save for a flask and a bruised lemon. Stuffed in the corner, however, was a piece of paper. I took it out.
What is that?Pippin asked.
“Another one of those opera fliers,” I muttered, turning it over in my hand. But it was the same as the one the farmer had dropped, with no strange markings or anything out of the ordinary.
Do you think that might be where the rioters are meeting?Misty meowed.
