Page 1 of Chained

Chapter1

Zephy

Maywin shivered as the transport car teetered its way through the blackened roads, closer to our destination. She was outwardly exhibiting my inner emotions perfectly, but doing a much worse job of hiding them. Maywin liked to think herself a picture of stoicism, but in truth, my maid and closest confidant wore her expressions on her sleeve as nakedly as a newborn puppy. It wasn’t hard to know what she was thinking.

In the blanketing darkness, I could barely make out Maywin’s face. The accent lights on the windows were our only illumination. But I did nothing to rectify this.

I could have asked Maywin to turn on her cell phone flashlight, the device a point of envy for me. Hers was an old model, lest I try to sneak a peek of the world beyond the forbidden concept known as “the internet.” My parents had kept me sheltered from the outside world, so my experience with life had been learned at home through private tutors and thick encyclopedias.

These back routes were darker, bleaker, and scarier than the highway we had taken from Carrottrove, this part of the kingdom foreign to me. The drive from Carrottrove to the capital city of Ironhelm took eight hours with no traffic, and I was sick of being in the armored SUV.

We’d passed the bustling downtown area of Ironhelm City thirty minutes ago, and the farther we traveled toward the palace, the signs of civilization became sparser. Except for the odd house or random business that flew by under Rufus’ heavy foot, I could make out little in the night.

Still, it would have been nice to have more light, so I had something to look at.

Instead of asking Maywin to use her phone’s flashlight, I could have opted for something even more dramatic to change the grim atmosphere inside the car.

What if I brought the sun out right now?I mused, with a hint of mischievousness.Pulled it out over the entire blasted kingdom and confused everyone so badly that they didn’t notice if I escaped?

It was a tempting thought, but one I wasn’t sure I could manage, even if I dared go through with it, which there was no way I would. As delicious as the thought was, I wasn’t nearly that impulsive—no matter what my father, Nikkoli, claimed about me to any potential suitors.

And there had been a flock of them over the years. Fated to the Alpha King of Ironhelm or not, my parents couldn’t hide the fact that they had borne a pretty kid, no matter how much they tried to keep me hidden from the world beyond. Word of my existence was bound to catch wind in a town as small as Carrottrove, despite their best efforts.

All my parents could do was scare off my suitors when they came knocking and remind me of my duty to our kingdom, Ironhelm.

Father only warned potential suitors about my impulsiveness to keep them from showing any interest in me,I reminded myself.We couldn’t have any males looking in my direction when my fate is with the King, could we?

And the truth was, I wasn’t sure I wanted to run off—not yet, anyway. My curiosity about the Alpha King of Ironhelm had been years in the making. Scurrying off before I met him face to face would be a waste.

“Are you cold?” Maywin asked, sitting forward against the beige leather to study my face more closely.

I smirked lightly, glad for the encompassing blackness around us, despite the irritating stage lighting around the wide windows of the traveling car. I was able to hide my sour expression well this way. Not that I was upset with her, but she was the only one in sight, and therefore apt to get the brunt of my annoyance.

“I’m not the one shuddering,” I reminded her bluntly.

Maywin withdrew, blinking in embarrassment, and I was instantly contrite. She wasn’t shivering from the cold.

“Are you mad at me?” Maywin asked, and I blushed, suddenly mortified by my behavior, hearing the nasty cut of my tone.

“No, Maywin,” I mumbled, realizing how horribly I was acting. “Of course not. You’re my only friend now. Thank you for coming with me from Carrottrove. I know that couldn’t have been an easy decision for you.”

“That’s not true, miss. I didn’t think twice when your mother suggested it.”

I offered her a warm smile, believing her words, and my head turned toward the window again. I peered out at the odd shapes on the landscape, none of them familiar now in the sporadic spacing of the streetlights. Not that I would have recognized them in the more consistent city lights, either. The entire terrain was strange and unfamiliar. It didn’t even feel like we were still on the continent of Mystara, much less in the country of Ironhelm.

How much longer until we reached the castle? I was restless from the lack of movement, and I needed to stand up to get my blood circulating again.

“You’ll make lots of new friends at the palace,” Maywin reassured me with her usual optimism.

Sometimes I wasn’t sure if she said these things because she was paid to keep up the charade or because she was born so naturally perky. Both thoughts irked me equally at that minute. Again, my petulance had nothing to do with Maywin—or with anger. It was a defense mechanism to keep me from fully breaking down.

None of this is Maywin’s fault. You’re lucky she’s here with you,I snapped at myself.If you keep barking at her like you are, you’ll end up without anyone at all.

And that was true. I was so fortunate that Maywin had chosen to come when she could have stayed in Carrottrove where the weather would be a lot more stable without me around.

She had been given the option of remaining in my mother’s employ, but I didn’t blame Maywin for agreeing to be my escort. My mother, Sabine, could be a royal bitch.

But Maywin had to be second-guessing her decision now as the magic-protected and heavily armored SUV rolled over a bridge covering a gassy swamp and into a bleak, flat land. Where was Rufus driving us? I hadn’t heard the GPS squawk in a while. I wondered if he was lost, but I didn’t ask.

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