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He backed up, giving her space, and Mina took a deep breath before she hoisted herself up out of the fallen carriage.
The wolf hopped to the ground, watching her closely, and she slid down beside it. Around her dark shadows whipped through the trees, swords rang out, and screams echoed as her soldiers met their death.
“Make this stop,” she demanded.
The wolf jerked its head to the side, and she followed its gaze to find a man sitting in the distance atop a black stallion. She didn’t have to ask to know who it was. She could feel it in the power of his gaze. Vladislav Dracul, King Dracula, the monster who’d chosen her to be his bride.
Marching over to him through the darkness Mina reached behind her back, as subtly as she could, and wrapped her hand around the hilt of one of her crescent blades.
The king slipped from his horse and took a few steps toward her. “Princess. You will ride with—”
Mina struck. Pulling her blade free, she swung it up across his chest, and he jerked backward with a hiss. She pulled her second blade free and repeated the swing with the opposite hand.
Her voice broke. “How could you do this? Leave my people alone!”
The king sidestepped her second strike, and then as she swung for the third time, he grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm around behind her. He pressed the hilt of her blade into her lower back and brought his lips to her ear.
“You cannot win, Princess.”
“I will never be yours,” she spat. “And my people will never stop fighting for me. So, end this before I kill you.”
He chuckled. “Ever the fighter, Starlight.”
Mina’s heart lurched. It was the nickname from her dream in the tub. Ithadbeen a dream, right?
Distracted, she nearly missed his fingers prying her weapons from her hands. He tossed them to the side, and then his free hand found her throat as he gently brushed his fingers over her pulse point.
“I can make you calm if that would be better,” he whispered in her ear. His voice sent tingles over her skin. She couldn’t help but remember how it’d felt to kiss him in her dream. Her body ached for him.
“Just stop this. Just stop this. Let them go,” she whimpered watching another soldier fall at the edge of the clearing before her.
The King released her hands and from the corner of her eye, she saw him nod to the wolf standing a few feet away. The wolf bowed and then threw back its head releasing a deafening howl into the air.
Mina winced and took an instinctive step back into the chest of the king. His hand met the small of her back and he pivoted her around to the horse. “It’s going to be a hard ride to the mountains. We’ll meet the camp at the edge of the mists, and then wait out the day before we cross to the other side.”
“The other side?” She asked, arching an eyebrow at him. The mountains were supposed to be what held back the mists. There wasn’t supposed to be another side. The mountains were the border between her normal human world and the kingdom of night. A land cast in perpetual darkness. A haven for the creatures that lived within its borders.
“It’s another day’s ride from the mountains to the palace. You will want to rest in the camp before we continue,” he said, stepping away from her to take her blades from a solider clad in black armor, their face hidden behind a black helm.
The King turned them over in his hands and then held them out to her. “These are good weapons. Hold onto them.”
“You’re giving me back my blades?” Mina shook her head in confusion. “Why?”
“Because if we run into any creatures on our way home, you may need to defend yourself,” he said. “My land is not as calm as yours. Many things lurk in our darkness.”
She frowned, taking them back. “Okay.”
“Get on the horse,” he said, gesturing to the creature waiting for them. “You will ride with me.”
Her brows drew together. He’d given her the weapons back, why not her own horse? “I can ride alone, I’m not some delicate flower.”
The king laughed. “I’d never describe you as such, Starlight. Which is why I want you on my horse. I’m not stupid. I know the moment I set you on a horse of your own, you’ll bolt. But just so you know if that happens more people will die.”
Mina glared at him, and climbed onto the horse, slipping easily into the saddle. She looked down at his amused expression and her lip curled. “You’re making it very easy for me to hate you, Vampire.”
His flashed a wicked grin, and hoisted himself up onto the horse, settling behind her, slotting her firmly between his thighs. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”
