Page 33 of Fated to the Wicked King

I needed to get away from the castle walls, away from that suffocating room, away from the sight of a body crumpled to the floor beneath his cruel hand.

The massive doors at the back of the castle stood half open, guards nowhere in sight as the late morning fog rolled in. Cold air rushed in through the gap, carrying the scent of damp grass and distant pines.

A slight chill wrapped around me as I burst outside.

Storm clouds loomed above the castle, rising tall and black against the gray sky.

My breath came ragged as I ran across the lawn, skirts tangling around my legs, boots sinking slightly into the soft ground. My eyes lit up at spotting the manicured lawn behind the castle, the clipped hedges, the long gravel paths.

The hedge maze.

I didn’t slow.

If it was still here, it was possible that the passageway out of the castle grounds still existed.

I shot past the entry to the green circuitous garden. I was sure I would be able to navigate the maze, despite there being no guiding stars or landmarks to assist. I merely needed to keep track of where I’d been and work my way through.

At a fork in the path, before I could even ponder which way to go, something gleamed in one corner by the bush. A sparkly fabric ribbon had been tied to a branch by the path to the right.

I almost blew out a breath in huge relief, immediately heading right.

Chez had already been through here. He’d been proactive enough to mark the way out for me.

Breaking into a run, I followed the trail of ribbons that Chez had left.

My lungs burned as I reached the edge of the grounds, the neat lawns giving way to the darker, uneven earth of the forest.

I had finally escaped the castle.

I didn’t want to think of what I’d left behind, what it meant to be running away, what I was going to lose with our bargain broken. How I’d need to find my own way across the river. I should have known I couldn’t rely on anyone else’s help.

Relief filled me when I couldn’t hear the king’s footsteps pursuing me or any of the guards giving chase. There were no shadows streaking out of the castle to reach out and swallow me whole. I needed only to find a rabbit hole that could take me back to my desert, to take me back home.

Branches rustled overhead as I pushed between the trees, leaves crunching beneath my boots, my breathing far too loud.

All at once, a shape detached itself from the darkness. I glimpsed a rough, bearded face, wearing a ragged tunic, similar to that of the man who had been torn to shreds right before my eyes earlier—right before a hand clamped over my mouth.

I screamed against the palm, the sound muffled as another arm locked hard around my waist, hauling me backward.

“Got you,” a rough voice muttered close to my ear.

The words barely registered before something coarse dropped over my head. Darkness swallowed everything. I tried to scream, but it came out strangled, stifled by the thick fabric.

I twisted and kicked, trying to wrench free, but the man holding me was stronger. The ground vanished beneath my feet as he hoisted me over his shoulder.

The world lurched violently as he began moving. Branches slapped against my legs as he pushed through the forest, heavy thuds pounding against the ground with determined strides, even as his grip tightened to carry me deeper into the shadows between the trees.

Eleven

THE RIVER

The scent of damp earth and grass mixed with wafting smoke tickled my nose.

My head throbbed as I blinked awake. Not that I could see anything. The sack over my head had been replaced with a makeshift blindfold. The rough, torn fabric covered nearly the entire top half of my head, but at least I could breathe.

I supposed I was still suffering from days of fatigue. I must have passed out at some point during my kidnapping, before I was then dropped on the lumpy ground, propped up against something rough, sturdy, likely the trunk of a tree.

My wrists were sore from my hands being tied behind my back. My back ached as if I’d been like this for a few hours.