Page 9 of The Bodyguard

I act purely on instinct. I sprint away. The heels I’m wearing drag me down; that’s because they’re not mine. Keira brought them with her; they were brand new, in my size, and way outside my requisite heel height.

I maintain my balance as I’m sprinting right into the thick darkness of the woods.

For a split second, I mess up my momentum and turn around. To my amazement, I catch a glimpse of Kayne. He looks calm and unconcerned by my escape as he opens the cabin door and carries my luggage inside.

I’m not out of breath yet. I’m fit, but I’m also realistic. I have to conserve energy. Hurriedly, I hide behind a tree, peeking around it every few moments to scan the cabin’s door.

He’s not coming after me. Not yet, I caution myself. I can’t be complacent. Not when it comes to him.

I’m startled when the seemingly innocuous clouds above my head open up, and within a minute I’m drenched with icy-cold rain.

I can’t see the door anymore, not through the sheets of rain blurring my vision.

Flip.

I do know I need to leave, and this time I won’t have the luxury of stopping to rest.

My heart thuds so hard, I can feel it shake in my chest.

Where is he?

But the rain falls heavier now, and the clouds are as dark as night.

I can barely see what’s in front of me. I stall, then stop. I just need my internal compass to kick in, but I can’t even see the mountains, and I end up going around in circles.

Every tree looks identical. I’m so cold, I can’t stop my teeth from clattering together.

I refuse to give up, but deep down I know I won’t find the point of escape out in the wilderness around me. Not with the canopy of dark clouds engulfing the mountains.

I’m too panicked to get my bearings right. I’m sure I can hear the growling of bears and the howling of wolves as they surround me.

I am officially lost in my own country. Tears start to mingle with the rain flooding down my face.

Was he just going to leave me out here to die? To be eaten by wild animals?

The buildup of all my frustrations spill over. I sink to my knees in the soggy earth, uncaring.

How on earth am I going to solve my biggest crisis yet? I cannot marry Roger Thompson. He is a stranger. How can he rule Strohamden when Strohamden's blood runs through my veins and not his?

I had trained hard, had studied hard, had been gracious and exemplary in everything I did because my mother told me, secretly, I would rule Strohamden one day, and that I should never accept defeat. That there would be forces against me, but I needed to rise above those forces.

My mother, Queen Anna, had known my father would choose tradition over me, but I had to fight for my right to the throne.

And yet I failed at my first attempt.

I don’t know how long I sat there and cried, but it was long enough that the rain stopped as abruptly as it started.

Adrenaline surges through me. Maybe there is hope for my escape. I rise on wobbly feet and spin around, gathering my bearings as I do so, keeping my eye on the heart-shaped part of the Strohamden mountain range. And then I slam into a human mountain, a chest made of boulders, and I’m certain a heart made of similar material.

My mind goes blank as my senses scramble all around me. His hand instinctively goes to my lower back, if for nothing else than to steady me, to keep me imprisoned.

I take in his scent, his heat, the sight of him, and before I get back to normal functioning ability, I know my chance of escape has reached zero percent now.

“Have you had enough, Princess?”

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