Page 7 of The Lost Princess

So much for being carefulorclever.

My chin tilted up, observing the night sky. My eyes zeroed in on the constellation of the drinking cup Jarrett had pointed out, along with the two brightest stars in the handle. Those pointed north, toward his home.

So I would go the opposite way.

I turned my back to those stars, and started in the other direction. It was dark and impossible to see the farther I drifted from the campfires. My steps were unsure and tremulous. What if I pitched myself into a giant ditch, trapped until I died? What if I wandered right into a ferocious animal, or off a cliff?

I would simply have to be careful if I couldn’t manage clever.

I took it a few inches at the time, crawling when I felt like it was warranted. I needed to travel back toward the woods, and away from these grassy plains. The woods were home.

I thought of the castle. I thought of cook’s rabbit soup. I thought of the scent of the newest bath oil Selena had fetched for me from the market, rumored to have come from Cantrada. Not many goods made it over the mountains these days. It smelled of sunshine and flowers, of happiness and—

“Gotcha!”

I screamed and blindly lunged, catching Jarrett off guard as his own knife nicked his cheek. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the red line that appeared in his skin, or that blood that flowed freely from it.

Unfortunately, my shock allowed him to take back his knife and knock me off-balance.

“Good to see you’ve taken my lessons to heart. Should have left the knife though. When I came back for it and saw it gone, I knew you were nearby. Naughty, princess.”

His tone was annoyed but not angry. I wasn’t sure how to take that. He stood over me, a look of deep disapproval and resignation on his brow.

“Well, get up.”

It seemed foolish not to, so I obeyed. Then he bent down and grabbed the edge of his black cloak, still wrapped around my shoulders. He tore off a long strip from the bottom.

Before I could protest about defacing such a fine cloak, he seized my hands and bound them tightly behind my back.

“Jarrett! I—”

“Sorry princess,” he interjected, not sounding remorseful at all, “but I’ve tried to be a gentleman. You’ve proved yourself to have more fight in you than I originally thought. I suppose that’s good because you’ll need it.”

He pushed down on my shoulders, forcing me to the ground. To my embarrassment, he tore another strip and bound my ankles. How was I to walk?

He leaned back on his knees, wiping the blood from his face. He chuckled. “I’m pleased, actually. It means you may survive what’s coming.”

I tried to free myself, but the knots were too tight.

“What?” I demanded instead.

Jarrett sighed and shook his head. I was so tired of his stupid, insincere pity and fake sadness. If he truly regretted my circumstances, he’d help me out of them!

“Don’t worry,” he said instead. “It will all be made clear soon.”

I opened my mouth to retort angrily, but he grabbed my head and smashed it against the ground. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and then nothing.

ChapterThree

KAIDA

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the massive headache. It wrapped around my temples and cradled the base of my skull, radiating pain. I groaned and opened my eyes.

Bright sunlight assaulted me, forcing my gaze into narrow slits. I took a few deep breaths, then forced them open again.

I was greeted by the backside of a horse moving up and down as it trotted on. Twisting to the side, I gasped at the mountains on the horizon. Accompanying it was a desert landscape, stretching either direction as far as the eye could see, red sand interspersed with brown and dead bits of vegetation. It was hot and dusty. I coughed and glanced at the mountains again in awe.

I hadn’t realized something could be so large! The peaks stretched toward the heavens, on and on! I knew logically that on the other side lay distant lands, including Dorea and the kingdoms of Aldur and Cantrada. Now I understood why trade was limited. The mountains were high and steep; devoid of vegetation or life, and as dusty and dry as the sand in front of me.

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