“Let me go! Why are you doing this? Who the hell are you? You!” I demanded as I was finally able to turn my head and body far enough to see his face behind me and saw that he was one of the men from my nightmares.
“We have to keep moving, Faolán and the rest of his guard are going to be here in a moment, and he wants you dead, Princess,” The blonde Fae whispered harshly, his Irish accent stronger than I remembered. Before I could blink, we were in another setting. This time it was a sandy beach, and he was looking around, as if he feared an attack.
“Why did you take me away from the only man who can protect me then?” I growled trying to ignore the excruciating pain from my side, which was stealing the air from my lungs. I’d been wounded, and I was afraid to look at it. I had no idea why this man had taken me, or who he thought was after me. I knew him from my parents’ house though; he’d been there on that bloody day.
“Because you are in danger, and he won’t stop until you’re dead,” he replied as he narrowed his eyes and wrapped me into a more secure hold. Before I could try and slam my head against his nose or kick back at his knees, we sifted again; this time into a thick forest. “Stop! Who the hell are you? I know you; I want to know why you were at my parents’ house that day.” He let go of me, and I fell over on the thick grass on the forest floor.
“I’m the one who shielded you inside that house when you were a child, or tried to. Faolán and most of his personal guards left without me that day. I followed, as soon as I realized what he intended to do. I knew his intentions were not pure, and my king has been blinded by his love for his child. I failed your guardians, Princess. I have been part of his guard ever since, hoping to stop him if he should ever get close to you again. I will not fail you again.” His voice was full of anger and pain as he ran his hands through his hair harshly, before continuing. “Enough talking, we need to move,” he snapped as he tore off his shirt revealing a well-defined muscular body. He ripped his shirt apart and tossed a piece behind a tree, but kept the bigger part in his hand as he grabbed my hand once more, and sifted us.
We landed in a dark cave, and I looked around for an exit, or any way to escape the man who was non-stop sifting us further away from Ryder, and his men. He’d find me, I knew he would. I needed to stay put long enough that he could get to me, though, and knew I was steadily losing blood.
If I was right, Ryder would be able to follow the blood trail to wherever we ended up. Or so I had thought, until I caught the Fae in front of me moving his fingers which made the small drops on the ground disappear. He looked up and glared at me before he sifted behind me, and pulled me back hard against his naked chest.
Warning bells went off, and I moved to attack him, but he was faster than I was in this stupid dress, and before I could get away from him, he’d pressed me against the cave’s sharp wall and chanted a quick spell. Fuck!
“Nice try, but no one must know where you are, my Princess,” he gave me a sly smile. “Being able to wield a null spell is one of my few gifts. The Dark Prince and his men don’t have much longer before the one I cast earlier wears off, and they can follow. For now, that will keep you from sifting so I can get you to safety,” he said and grabbed my arm again, pulling me off the wall and up against him. I wanted to scream in frustration, but it wouldn’t do any good. I needed to save my energy to get away from him, and the only way to do so, would be to run. He said he was taking me to safety, but how the hell was I to believe him?
We sifted several more times; each place new and hauntingly beautiful. It wasn’t until we landed inside a crowded room and had several weapons drawn on us that we stopped sifting. We were inside what looked to be an enormous throne room with over a hundred Fae watching us with a mixture of alarm, suspicion, and curiosity. The room was built with white stonework, and had beautiful Celtic artwork etched in gold, detailing the arches of the high vaulted ceiling as well as in the pillars that supported the cathedral like architecture. The man I was with said something to the soldiers looking at us and his next words couldn’t have shocked me anymore if he’d tried.
“Tell the King to come at once. I’ve brought Sorcha to him,” he growled.
“Which king!?” I demanded, feeling my stomach do a somersault with his words. Here we go again!
There were only four kings, and we’d just left two of them standing in the room where he had grabbed me from. The Blood, and the Horde King were the other two, both of whom had never entered my world to the best of my knowledge. They were the deadliest of the Fae, and I’d just been dropped into one of their laps by this idiot.