Betrayal
Scattered dreams merged into nightmares as I struggled to wake up. It was like my body and mind were two different entities. I could feel my body being transported, but it refused to listen any time I tried to control it.
As I fought, there would be fleeting moments where I could move an arm or a leg, but then I was smothered with a foul-smelling cloth and was once again trapped, unable to do anything.
Even though I couldn’t move or see, I was conscious, and I caught snippets of conversation between Richard and whoever he was working with.
“Remind me why we signed up to do this job, Joss?” a deep voice grumbled.
“A hundred gold coins for each of us, my friend. Think of the life we could live with that!” another voice—Joss, I assumed—answered. “With this payout, we won’t have to take another job for years.”
“I don’t like taking money from that head case who calls himself the Lost King.
He’s bad luck, you mark my words. Have you seen the way he controls people with that Birthright of his?
I’ve heard if he controls them for too long, they lose their minds and kill themselves.
I doubt we’ll see any gold at the end of this that isn’t covered in our own blood. ”
“You worry too much, old man. Have I ever led you wrong? All we have to do is get across the border to the place they plan to keep her without anyone seeing us. It’s an easy job.”
“Then tell me why there are only three of us for this part of the job? You saw the army he has. I’ll tell you why… it’s easier to get rid of witnesses when there are less of them.”
Joss didn’t answer, just grunted in response, and the men fell into silence once more.
Trapped in darkness with only three of my senses telling me what was happening around me, I had nothing else to do but think.
What possessed Richard to turn on us? Could he be working with this ‘Lost King?’ What did all this have to do with kidnapping me? How long has Richard been a spy among our people? This was too well planned for him to have decided on impulse.
Thoughts whirled around in my head as I tried to put the pieces together, but I was missing too much information. All these men were doing was giving me more questions than answers.
I must have truly fallen asleep because this time, when I felt myself waking, my body started to respond to me.
I froze, hoping no one noticed I was moving.
The wagon hit a rut in the road and slammed me hard against something, causing me to groan as my head pounded from the impact.
My mouth felt like dried leather as sensations came back to me.
I tried swallowing to wet my throat, but that just caused me to cough, making my stiff body ache even more.
Peeling my eyes open, I tried to raise a hand to rub my eyes, but it jerked to a halt before it reached my face.
Blinking furiously, I tried to get my eyes clear enough to see out of.
As I’d already guessed, I was in a wagon, surrounded by crates with my hands tied to the side railing.
I lifted my head and found my feet also bound to the wagon.
When I tried to get blood flowing back into my arms, a shooting pain ran up my arm as the circulation was restored.
I gritted my teeth and let out a grunt as the wagon jarred my sore body.
Taking deep, calming breaths, I gazed up at the stars and the full moon.
“Seems Her Majesty has finally woken from her slumber,” Joss said.
I couldn’t get a good look at his face with it cast in shadows from the full moon, but I saw enough to know he wasn’t someone I wanted to be trapped with—stringy hair, broken teeth, and eyes that flashed with the thrill of seeing me tied up.
“What do you want with me?” I croaked out, knowing it was pointless.
Joss grinned, showing off his rotting teeth. “Now you know we can’t tell you that. Besides, it would ruin the surprise, and we’re almost there.”
I let the conversation end, trying to think of another way to get him to give me the information I needed so badly.
“Where’s Richard?” I asked. Maybe I could figure out a way to get information from him.
Joss looked down at me again as if searching my face for something in the moonlight. I kept my face blank, not giving him anything to go off of. I was falling back on my mercenary training before I even realized it.
“Oh, he’s around here somewhere… Richard!” the man bellowed. “She’s awake.”
Moments later, I heard horse hooves approaching and saw Richard looking down at me.
His eyes were hard as they met mine. This was a totally different Richard than I’d ever seen before.
He had the look of a man who’d sold his soul and was happy to live in the darkness.
A shiver ran through me, making me feel like I was back home—locked away, beaten, and starved.
“We should stop here. We are close enough to the border. We don’t want to be found on the other side of the river,” the third man said.
“That wasn’t the plan, Penn. You agreed to take her to the location on Errit soil, hack off a piece of her to prove you have her, and return it to the mercenaries.
Unless you don’t value your life, then by all means, drop her off wherever.
Just know I will have to tell the Lost King of this, and he’ll hunt you down and use you for puppet shows at the next dinner party. ”
I gulped as I listened to Richard practically growling at them in irritation.
So it was true—Richard was working for this mysterious Lost King.
My mind whirled, trying to figure out how this information and them kidnapping and cutting off bits of me made any sense.
What would the Lost King get out of this?
“I’m thinking if we keep going and cross the river, it’ll be daylight by the time we get there, and the scouts on patrol will see us. We should stop and hide out for the day and cross at night,” Joss suggested.
“Idiot. Who asked you to think? Now shut up and pick up the pace if you’re so worried about getting caught,” Richard barked.
With the snap of a whip, the wagon lurched forward, slamming me against a crate, my ribs taking the brunt of the hit.
“Shit.”
“Well now, that isn’t very ladylike,” Joss scolded over his shoulder at me.
“I doubt you’ve spent any time with a lady to know that,” I taunted. Apparently, pain made me bold.
Joss laughed, tossing back his head. “Ho, ho, the little queen has some spunk to her, after all!”
“Joss, leave her the fuck alone,” Penn snapped. “You’re getting us in enough trouble as it is.”
“Lighten up. What’s the harm? Not like she is going to be around much longer,” Joss said, elbowing Penn.
“It’s bad luck to interact with the soon-to-be dead.”
Before I could share my thoughts, the wagon veered to the right and sent me crashing into the crates once more.
This time I tried to brace myself by curling my legs up as far as the slight slack would let me so they hit first. Penn hollered at the horses, cursing and trying to keep the wagon steady.
“Dammit! We’ve been pushing these horses for two days, and now he wants us to run them into the ground. We’ll be lucky if we make it through the river before he crashes and kills us all.”
I’ve been missing for two days? Vasin must be going crazy not knowing where I am. The drug must have cut me off from him if he couldn’t track me down by now. Can I harmonize with him this far away? Should I risk it?
Deciding it was a risk I was willing to take, I closed my eyes and took deep, calming breaths.
I fell into myself, reaching out to our bond’s glowing connection.
When I grasped it and felt it flicker, I knew I had Vasin’s attention.
I could feel he was reaching out to meet me halfway.
Just as I was going to fully meld with Vasin, pain bloomed across my shoulder.
“None of that dragon voodoo, you little bitch,” Joss snarled, waving his sheathed sword at me.
“Told you she was too quiet,” Penn muttered.
“I was warned to keep you awake or knocked out so you couldn’t talk to that black dragon of yours. I would recommend staying awake because you won’t like how I’m gonna put you under again,” Joss threatened.
Goddammit, Richard. He must have told them everything he knew about mercenary royalty and our dragons. When I got out of this, that fucker was going to pay.
Knowing I was being watched, I decided to try and fall into a waking trance. I’d never done it before, but Vasin had told me how useful it was to learn and gave me basic instructions on how it worked.
Looking up at the stars, I took in a deep breath, letting my mind drift as I tried to reach out to Vasin.
I cast my mind wide, letting it stretch as far as it could.
I knew the chances of reaching him this far away were slim to none, but I had to try.
Just when I was going to give up, I caught a hint of something.
It felt different than all the other times I’d reached out to Vasin, but it could be my lack of skill in this kind of meditation.
It felt like an echo was bouncing back to me.
It wasn’t clear, mostly garbled so I couldn’t pick up any words.
I did get the emotion behind it, though, and knew I was heard and someone was coming.
The echo became stronger as it got closer, but it still felt off to me.
“Hey, you awake?” Joss demanded, jabbing something into my side.
I quickly rolled away from him as far as I could and glared up at him. Satisfied that I was awake, he harrumphed, turning back to the front of the wagon. I could only hope I’d given enough information to be found.
“Shit,” Joss swore, standing up in the wagon to get a better look. “Is that a dragon?”
“Might be a scout from the border,” Penn yelled as he pushed the horses into a faster pace.
Joss turned back to me, slamming his scabbard into my collarbone. “You little cunt, what have you done?”
I cried out at the sudden pain and force of the blow.