Page 23 of Taken By the Barbarian King

In each room, a firepit has been set and lit, sending out enough warmth for me to take off the cloak without freezing to death. The floors are covered with rugs made of the same type of fur.

“Hailar, wait,” I call out when he turns to leave. “I need to talk to Thundar.”

He actually looks a little apologetic. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“What do you mean? Take me to him.” I use the same tone I’ve heard Alexandra use thousands of times when she’s pissed and ordering us around.

“His Brutal Highness is occupied with the royal council.”

“For how long? Will he come get me when he’s done?”

Hailar hesitates before admitting, “It may be some time.”

“What does that mean?” I press him, but it’s too late. He’s already slipped out of the room.

Fine. If he doesn’t want to take me to Thundar, then I’ll go find him myself. I grab the door handle and pull, but it doesn’t budge. No matter how hard I yank it, it doesn’t open. I stare at the door in disbelief. They’ve locked me in here. Like I’m a prisoner.

Like I’m an abducted princess.

Hysterical laughter bubbles up in me and I clamp a hand over my mouth to stop it from spilling out. I can’t afford to fall to pieces now. I need to keep my shit together.

Someone will have to come at some point. They’ll feed me, at least, won’t they? I’ll just bide my time.

Minutes tick by. Then hours. I pace through the rooms, from one end to the other. I riffle through all the shelves of books in a language I can’t read, dig through the mostly empty drawers on the desks and dressers. The bathing chamber is massive, an entire spa with multiple pools, lounge areas, and even more rooms branching off everywhere.

I explore it all. I sit by the fire. And still, no one comes.

Has Thundar forgotten me? Is he so angry that he’ll leave me here to rot? Did the time we spent together mean nothing to him?

I fall asleep at some point, only to wake up to someone shaking my shoulder. I jolt upright to find Fiotrix standing above me. I jump to my feet.

“Princess, I’ve brought food.” She gestures to the tray set on a nearby table. I recognize some of the items from the ship.

My stomach grumbles, but I have more important things to do than eat.

I grab Fiotrix’s arms, and she lets out a startled yelp. “Fiotrix, please, you have to get me out of here. You have to help me find Thundar.”

eight

. . .

Thundar

She lied to me. She drakking lied to me. I liberated her and she lied to me.

I don't know what to do, what to say, how to look at her. All I know is I need to be away from her orbit. Because when I'm with her I can't think or act straight. And in this situation, I need my wits about me. Especially if I'm going to figure out what I'm going to do with her.

"Your brutal—" Hailar starts when he sees me storm out of my quarters on the ship.

"You! How could you steal the wrong woman? It's your drakking fault," I shout in his face.

If he'd grabbed the right woman, we wouldn't be in this mess now, would we? I wouldn't have met Lottie or kissed her or drakked her and everything would be right with the world.

"Your—"

"Not another word out of you unless you want to be thrown in the pits of Lorex."

It doesn't take him long to figure out what I'm talking about and to realize his mistake. And to make up for his drak-up, I tell him to escort Lottie out and into a room far, far away from me while I think and decide, both her fate and mine.

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