Page 5 of Mated to the Alien Warlord

I was sure Helmut had used the old mountain roads yesterday on his way to Gryck's camp. Instead of keeping to them, I rode diagonally through the forest and toward the fire indicating his encampment.

My thoughts were with the unknown kallini—my mate! A title I still needed to get used to. Part of me was furious that I already had to fight for what was mine without having even met her, and another part felt sorry for her. Kallinies were fragile, and human kallinies even more so. I was certain she must be scared out of her mind by now.

My anger rose with every passing mile, and I swore I would make Fionbyr's males pay for taking her, even more so if they dared lay a hand on her.

Finally, I started to smell the smoke and slowed Ramsy as I closed in on the encampment. Soon, other smells added to the smoke, and I flared my nostrils. It was the smell of every battlefield I had ever been on.

The first bodies I encountered were humans, probably sentries who had patrolled the camp's outer parameter and been the first to fall victim to Fionbyr's warriors.

The fire had already spread to the surrounding trees, but thankfully heavy rainfall during the last days prevented the flames from spreading too much further or, gods forbid, from engulfing the entire forest.

Ramsy was well trained, but even he became apprehensive the closer we drew to the blaze. Soon, the heat was becoming too oppressive to get any nearer, so I led Ramsy around the outer edges of the clearing Helmut had picked for his camp.

I tied my horse to a tree and moved closer to the flames, but realized it was of no use. Whoever had survived the attack and fire was long gone and would have fled deeper into the forest.

I was an excellent tracker, and the tracks left by the army were easy to find. So were the ones from a group of about ten riders who had broken off from the main group. There was no way for me to know this, but I was willing to bet my left arm that the group of ten was the one holding my mate prisoner.

The main army would probably take Gryck's warriors on a chase, while the ten riders took the kallini to Fionbyr's stronghold. I needed to stop them before they reached it. Slotenburg was like all the other strongholds, nearly impossible to penetrate. Once Fionbyr had her inside his walls, I would never get her back out. Not unless Fionbyr let her go.

I needed to catch those males now. With fury rising in my stomach, I walked back to Ramsy and noted that the few minutes of break had done him good. He easily fell into a gallop once I was back in the saddle. Still, we moved slower this time; I needed to keep an eye out for tracks left by the ten riders.

Thankfully,atsomepointwe stopped, and the man heaved me up, so I sat in front of him instead of lying sideways over his horse's neck.

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded.

Ignoring me, he yelled at the other rider, "Hurry up."

I counted ten horses including ours, all riderless at the moment as five of the men headed into the bushes to most likely relieve themselves while the others held the horse's reins.

"Kay, take the reins," my captor commanded one of the younger men and swung himself off his horse.

"You better stay put." He wiggled his finger warningly in front of my face.

I wasn't sure if these men were stupid or just careless, but I didn't take the time to debate my good fortune. I quickly slid back in the saddle and leaned forward to grab the horse's mane while I simultaneously kicked my heels into its soft flank.

With a loud whinny, the horse reared up, and I clung to it as if my life depended on it, which I suppose it did. I pressed my legs into the mare's sides for balance and clung to the mane, while the animal returned to its four legs and took off in a wild gallop, effectively ripping the reins from the surprised Kay.

The horse tore through the underbrush, and I heard the Thyres' curses behind me. It wouldn't take them long to saddle up and chase me down, but I intended to have a good head start on them.

I leaned over the sides and managed to snag the trailing reins one after the other. That done, I fell back into the saddle, rising and falling with the up and down of the horse.

Steppenfort was one of the biggest horse breeding outposts on Thyre, so I had nearly been born in a saddle. Riding, for me, was as second nature as walking. I preferred to ride horses I knew, but when it came right down to it, it didn't matter. This mare would take me where I wanted to go just as well as any other.

I felt the horse's hesitation when we were closing in on a felled tree and encouraged it to keep going and to jump over it, praying it wouldn't spook and come to a sudden halt that would make me go flying straight over its head.

It didn't though. It took the felled tree like a champion, and I cheered it on to keep going. We rode back the same way we came, thinking this was my best chance to run into a potential rescue party coming after me.

If anybody survived the attack on the camp, a voice inside me whispered, but I refused to think Fionbyr's warriors had killed all five hundred of my father's troops. That just seemed unfathomable. If anybody had survived, they would come after me. I was sure of it.

I just can't give up hope, I reassured myself, somewhat soothed by the thought that my father hadn't been present. He had been safe at the khazar's camp. And if his crazy plan of marrying me off to one of the warlords had paid off, the Thyre's might even send a rescue party after me. After all, I was the Princess of Steppenfort and married to a warlord. Somebody had to come after me, right?

"Stop right now!" A voice bellowed too close for comfort behind me. How had he managed to get this close to me?

I cried out and pulled the horse's reins sharply to the left, forcing my pursuer to overshoot me; he was too close though. With my heart in my throat, I kicked the mare even harder and nearly missed one of the chasms I had read about, spreading through the forests of Thyre. The horse didn't though and flew over it before I was ready for the jump.

Thankfully, I kept my balance when we landed on the other side, and I managed a quick glimpse down the about-thirty-foot-wide chasm and shuddered. It was deeper than the eye could see with ragged edges that would impale anybody before they ever hit the bottom—if there even was a bottom.

As far as I knew, nobody had ever explored these canyons. There was simply no reason for it other than curiosity and Thyres' generally didn't have much of a curious nature. They would risk their lives for any damn challenge, but climbing down a chasm didn't seem to be one of them.

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