“Where is Commander Thorne?” I asked again, the back of my neck prickling as we were nearly out of sight from the tavern doors.
More silence.
“Who are you?” I asked, taking an unbalanced step back away from his grasp.
Rope emerged from the rucksack slung over the stranger’s shoulder.
“Come quietly and you won’t be harmed,” he said softly as he approached, rope in one hand, dagger in the other.
A sobering bolt of fear ripped through me and I turned to run. My limbs might be heavy with ale and my vision might be skewed, but I had to try.
My clumsy effort was short-lived. Urging my feet forward was like pulling a reluctant mule and I might as well have had cinderblocks for shoes. Breath left my body as my chest hit the dirt and my assailant laughed as he closed in on me.
Crawl. I would crawl if I had to. Small stones pressed through the thin fabric of my skirt, scraping my knees.
His hand wrapped itself around my ankle. “Let’s get away from the front door, shall we?”
Pebbles and sticks scraped at my skin. I yelled out, hoping someone, anyone, would hear.
Surely, Alba would realize I’m nowhere in sight.
And where the fuck is Dommik!?
“Quiet,” he snapped.
I let out another scream, louder this time. If my body couldn’t do anything else at my command, it could at least do this.
“QUIET!” He straddled me and the cold tip of the dagger traced my throat.
A sinister smile spread across his narrow, angular jaw.
“That’s better.” He praised my compliance in a way that made my gut swirl.
Pure, unfiltered hate radiated from me. This man had no idea what I’d been through. How close I’d come to leaving the world. If anyone was going to take me out of it, I was damn sure it wouldn’t be him.
I lifted my knee as hard as I was able. Wide eyes glared down at me before slamming shut and the man rolled off of my body, groaning in pain.
Balance was impossible as I scrambled to stand. If I could get back into the tavern, I could find help, but the assailant’s body slammed into mine, tackling me back to the ground.
“I thought this had been too easy,” he growled into my hair as I inhaled the earthy scent of the dewy forest floor. “Distracting the commander and luring you away.”
I writhed beneath him, telling myself I would at least put up a fight. But he overpowered me easily. Each arm was pulled one by one behind my back and secured within the rough confines of the man’s rope.
“There,” he said in admiration of his restraints.
“You’ll. Regret. This,” I bit out as he hoisted me to stand.
He pulled me in close, his front molding itself to my back in a way that made me want to retch. “No one. Hear me?No oneis coming for you, Lady Reyva.”
This was no accident. This was no opportunistic abduction attempt. He knew who I was and a sinking dread buried itself in my gut as my name left his lips.
“Walk.” Without warning, his blade nicked my skin and a warm trickle of freshly drawn blood dripped down my neck.
“Believe me when I say I don’t mind carrying you,” he warned as the hand not wielding a blade traced the curve of my hip.
There was no way I would let him move me to a second location. There was no way I would simply agree to be a pawn in another man’s scheme for power.
No. I would not budge.
