The horse nods. I’m definitely dreaming. But climbing onto his back doesn’t feel like a dream. Nor does the cool night air on my face when he trots off into the forest. His cream coat seems to glow beneath me, lighting up the trees and scaring the dark away.
I feel at peace, at ease. Until the horse dives headfirst into a gallop.
“Hey! Woah!” I call, but the horse doesn’t slow. I throw my arms around his neck, my thighs hugging his flank. I try every trick I know to make him stop, but he ignores me. “Stop it!” I beg. “Slow down!”
The horse just huffs, his powerful legs moving faster. The forest passes in a blur. Trees and shrubs whip past us faster than shooting stars. I squeeze my eyes shut. Wind batters my face and my hair, the air cutting at my skin. It’s almost painful to breathe.
But then something strange happens.
The horse’s body begins to vibrate. My eyes snap open to see the grass beneath us has transformed into a black, glittering mist. I lift my head. The dense forest is gone, the trees replaced by an ominous void. We’re still moving forward, but the horse’s hooves are slamming against nothing but darkness. It’s like we’re galloping through the night sky.
Until suddenly, I’m thrown from his back.
I scream. My arms thrash through the air, desperate for something to grab onto. The void opens beneath me, swallowing me up, and then I’m falling, flailing?—
Stone hits my back and I’m out like a candle flame.
“Dahlia?” a voice echoes through the void. “Princess Dahlia?”
I groan.
“Alert his Lordship. Lord Elheart’s bride has arrived.” Voices titter around me. Many, many voices.
My bones ache as my eyes ease apart. A man’s face,I think, looms over me, his hair a dark, blurry mess.
“Kasimir?” I croak. There’s a flicker of red behind him. “Ami?” My heart stammers. Thank the Stars. I’m saved! My oldest sister and her handsome assassin have come to rescue me. I let out a relieved sob.
Amaryllis told us before she left the palace that if Father ever tried to marry us off, she and Kasimir would come to rescue us. I should’ve known she was on her way. They were probably following the carriage and have been watching me this whole time! They?—
Tears wash away the blurriness, clearing my vision. My heart stops. Scrambling backwards, I scream again.
“You’re not Kasimir,” I squeak to the monster-like man standing over me. The dark hair I thought I saw is really two twisting horns. And worse, he’s not alone.
I’m completely surrounded.
There’s a female-looking monster with crimson horns and a blood-red dress. Another male, who could pass for a human were it not for his grey scales and bat-like wings.
I whip my head around, desperate for an escape, but there are monsters everywhere I look, laughing and sneering. Behind them, colossal black walls arch towards an impressive ceiling. Iron chandeliers hang from huge chains, and the floor I’m sitting on is made of brown wood. It’s like I’m in some kind of castle.
A castle full of monsters.
“Give her space,” a deep voice thunders through the hall.
The monsters around me dip their heads and step back. Chest heaving, I grip the tulle skirt of my dance gown. I want to stand up, but my legs are like jelly.
Footsteps sound from the other side of the hall. I twist myself around to see a man marching towards me, a heavy cloak dragging behind him. He’s tall, wearing dark regal clothes and a spiked crown in a fiery shade of red. His hair is short and slightly wavy, its honey-blond shade reminds me of something sweet. But his lips, and those eyes…
Memories of a birthday party one week ago slam into me, like a rush of hot fire.
“Tauren?” I mutter. It’s him. The stranger from Blossom’s party.
His jaw tenses. I almost see the recognition as his gaze drags up my shaking body and stops at my face. Then, his gaze turns molten. “What the hell are you doing here?”
6
TAUREN
This is a mistake. My enchantment must’ve backfired. I stare down at the girl on the floor – the same girl who’s been haunting my dreams every night for the past week. Even dressed in a torn red dance gown, she’s just as pretty as she was the night of the ball. Her sleek hair pours like poison down her back. Her lips look as soft as when I had her pinned against the wall, tasting the moans on her tongue, dragging my hand up her soft thigh…
