Chapter Four
“What do you mean he knows?” Allyssa asked with disbelief. She squeezed her hand from Odar’s grasp and clutched onto the fabric of her pants, trying not to lose her temper.
“Before the ball, I had a long conversation with your father. I told him that I wasn’t a squire but Prince Odar. I also explained the reason for the false identity. That is why your father entrusted you to my care.”
“He wasn’t furious with you?” She thought her father would chop off Odar’s head for his deception.
“Once I explained it to him, Darmik told me he suspected as much. The Prince Odar he’d met didn’t coincide with his reports; however, the squire Jarvik did. He said it wasn’t hard to figure it out after that. He thought it best to continue the ruse until you and I made it to Fren.”
She sat there, stunned. Her father knew?
She whacked his arm. “Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through? I have been going out of my mind thinking I had to marry someone I only cared for as a friend. That I would have to share a bed with him. Do you have any idea what that’s like?” She shook her head, hitting his arm again. “You drive me insane. At first, you were so degrading and condescending. I hated you. Then you helped me with Grevik, and I realized I was wrong. You’re intelligent, cunning, and everything I want in a husband. But you were only a squire, and we couldn’t marry because I had to save my kingdom from a bloody war with Russek.” He blinked several times but didn’t interrupt. “But you’re not a squire. You’re a prince. Your name is Odar, which doesn’t feel right to me. Gah, you’re infuriating.”
“I love you.”
She froze. “What?”
“I love you. I love your temper, your devotion, your friendship, and your loyalty. I love everything about you, and I’m sorry for lying and deceiving you. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I’m so confused right now,” she muttered, burying her face in her hands.
“I’m not,” he said, twisting onto his knees and facing her. “I love you.”
She peered at him between her fingers. “You love me?” He nodded. “Not the crown, my army, or my kingdom, but me?”
“I don’t care about any of those things,” he answered. “I only want you.”
Could this really be happening? “I want to wallop you for everything you’ve put me through.”
He smiled that devilish grin of his. “But do you want to kiss me?”
“Maybe,” she answered, hiding her smile behind her hands. Was it even possible this was the man she’d wished for upon the stars all those weeks ago? Could he be everything she wanted and dreamed of—a love like her parents shared? Happiness and hope swelled inside of her.
He pulled her hands away from her face. “I love you.” He kissed her slowly and gently, his hands cupping her cheeks. Warmth spread throughout her body as he deepened the kiss. Allyssa wrapped her arms around him, pulling him even closer. If only they could stay this way forever. She shifted slightly, and a small rock dug into her thigh, bringing her back to the reality of her situation. She abruptly shoved him away.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. It’s just that we need to reach my soldiers before the assassin’s paralyzing solution wears off. We will have to continue this later.”
He stood and pulled her to her feet, smiling. “We’re going to continue this?” She nodded. “I suddenly have more than enough energy to hike the remaining distance to the cave.” He ducked out of the alcove, whistling.
***
They continued the trek up the mountain, trying to remain alongside the waterfall. Allyssa had to use her hands to climb most of the boulders. When they were a little over halfway to the top, Odar—it still felt strange to call him that—spotted a narrow dirt trail not far away. They followed the worn path as it wound its way up the rocky incline.
Finally, they reached the top of the waterfall. The trail continued away from the water. They followed it until they came to a dead end, which was surrounded on three sides by a rocky wall fifteen-feet high. Frustration boiled inside of Allyssa. Where was the cave? Since the sun was fully visible in the blue sky, she guessed five hours had already passed. They needed to hurry so they would make it back down before the assassin regained use of his limbs. Clouds passed by, hiding the sun and revealing an opening between the rocks up ahead. It had to be the entrance to the cave.
She stepped around Odar, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her. “I thought your men would have someone standing guard.”
“Maybe this isn’t the right entrance. Or perhaps my men have already left?” If that were the case, she had no idea what to do with the assassin.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “Stay behind me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Really? I need the protection of a man because I can’t fend for myself?”
“I just assumed that if there was danger—a sudden drop or someone shooting an arrow—that I’d be the one to die while you ran to safety. That is all.”
“Oh, so you get to be the brave one while I run away?”
He shook his head with exasperation. “Fine,” he said, letting go and waving her forward. “If it means that much to you, go first.” The lines around his eyes tightened, a sure sign he was annoyed.
She patted his shoulder, his muscles tense. “If my men are in there, it’s best I go first so they see me. They know who I am. You, on the other hand, they might shoot.” She reached down to her boot for a dagger. Only, it wasn’t there. The assassin had removed her weapons when he first took her.
“Here.” Odar handed her one of the knives he stole from the assassin. She clutched the weapon in her hand as she slowly made her way toward the entrance.
At the opening, there were three dark tunnels to choose from. Allyssa paused to listen. Voices came from the left, so she headed down that tunnel, eager to find her men. Odar tapped her shoulder. When she glanced back at him, he put a finger to his lips. She nodded and made her way along the dark tunnel, trying to be as quiet as possible.
After thirty feet or so, a faint light shown from ahead. The tunnel gradually curved to the right where it abruptly ended, opening to a large cavern. Allyssa jolted to a halt, Odar bumping into her. Spread throughout the cavern were several small fires, which illuminated a dozen men dressed in solid black with the crest of Russek embroidered on their tunics. She took a step back.
“Not so fast,” a gruff voice said from behind her.
She spun around and came face to face with a Russek soldier. He held a small knife against Odar’s throat and pointed a long sword at her stomach. She was about to attack him when he whistled, alerting the other soldiers to their presence. Outnumbered, she slid the knife up her sleeve, hoping no one would find it.
“Don’t do anything,” Odar mumbled as several men from the cavern approached with their weapons drawn.
“What do we have here?” one of the men asked, looking them over. Neither Allyssa nor Odar answered. He waved his hand, and the soldier holding the knife and sword aimed at them lowered his weapons, no longer threatening them. The man looked at her expectantly, awaiting an answer.
These men were going to kill them unless they knew their true identities. “This is Prince Odar of Fren. I am Princess Allyssa of Emperion, and you have no authority in my kingdom.”
“It won’t be your kingdom much longer,” he said snidely. “Bring them inside.”
Someone roughly yanked her arms back and confiscated the knife in her sleeve. A solider punched Odar in the stomach. He hunched forward, gasping in pain. The soldiers shoved them into the cavern, many making rude remarks about having a prince and princess on their hands. She ignored their brusque comments and observed the area, looking for weapons and possible escape routes. One section had hundreds of swords, bows, arrows, and spears. Cartons of food were piled high in another area. Along the right side were at least twenty wooden boats. There were no signs of her soldiers anywhere.
In the middle of the cavern, the Russek men formed a loose circle around her and Odar. Most of the men were twice as wide and at least two heads taller than her. “A squad of my best men are on their way,” she said, trying to sound commanding instead of like a frightened child. “Unhand me. If you let us go, my men won’t kill you.”
The man who appeared to be in charge crooned, “By a squad of your best men, do you mean the six soldiers who showed up here a couple of days ago?”
Dread coursed through her. Russek soldiers were brutal, vicious men. She recalled three of Neco’s best spies returning to court bloodied and bruised. They told how their squad had been ambushed, twenty-one of the twenty-four captured, mutilated, and eventually killed. Bile rose in the back of her throat. “Where are my men?”
Odar’s eyes darkened with barely suppressed fury. He wanted to fight back. However, he knew as well as she did that their best chance of surviving was to rely on their names and positions. They were worth more to Russek alive.
“Put them in the back with her men,” the leader instructed.
Allyssa almost sagged to the ground with relief. Her men were here! With the eight of them working together, they could take on these Russek soldiers. They just needed a solid plan—and those she had in abundance.
One man took hold of her and another grabbed Odar, dragging them to the back where a dark tunnel jutted off the cavern.
“This one’s mighty pretty,” the soldier holding her said. “Maybe we can play with her a bit. I’ve never tasted a princess before.”
Odar growled and threw his head back, smashing the face of the man who held him. Allyssa didn’t hesitate. She stomped on her guard’s foot. His grip loosened, and she kneed him in the groin. When she turned to run, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist. Kicking and punching, she tried to break his hold; however, his arm was solid muscle and he squeezed her so tightly she could barely breathe.
“Feisty little thing, aren’t ya?” He took her farther into the tunnel, away from Odar. She screamed as a new terror sank in.
“What’s going on?” a Russek soldier asked, coming into the tunnel with two additional men behind him. When he saw Odar grappling with one of his men, he ordered the two soldiers to assist in the fight. He approached Allyssa and her guard. “Is she too much for you to handle?” he asked in amusement.
“No, I’ve got her.” He grunted.
“Hurry up and put her in the back cave, untouched, and rejoin me. There’s been a new development.” The guard holding her hauled her away. They came to a small cave lit only by a few torches. He roughly shoved her inside and left.
The eerie lighting illuminated a horrific scene. Dark red blood was splattered through the cave. It coated the floor, walls, and ceiling. In the center of the room, bodies lay piled on top of one another. Allyssa took a step forward and kicked a severed arm. Tattooed on the wrist was the mark many of the older Emperion soldiers bore—the mark of Emperion. These dead men were her soldiers.
She fell to her knees and gagged, her body shaking with horror. If she hadn’t sent her men here, they wouldn’t have met this gruesome fate. One’s eyes had been gouged out, another’s hands chopped off, and one had been beheaded. How could anyone do this? It was inhumane—even during a time of war.
Three men shoved Odar into the room, blood on his lips and a welt forming on his left cheek. “If you step one foot out of this cave, the princess pays the price for your mistake.”
Odar cursed at the men as they left. He dropped to his knees beside her. “Are you hurt?”
She knew he meant physically, not emotionally. “I’m fine.”
He scanned the room, his face turning white. “I’m so sorry. These are your men?” She nodded, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely against his chest.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to block out the rancid smell of the room, the oppressive heat, and the incessant buzzing in her ears. Russek would pay for this. Her fingers clasped Odar’s tunic, holding on for strength, support, and to prevent herself from tearing out of this cave and confronting the Russek monsters. If her most-skilled men were no match for these barbaric beasts, then Odar and Allyssa didn’t stand a chance.
“We’ll figure something out,” he whispered in her ear. “I promise.”