Selene Lykos is a disgraced princess. She's the last survivor of a murdered dynasty and the rightful Queen, but she lives among her enemies, trapped and with no choice but to smile and obey. Every night, she dreams of freedom, of a life away from th...
The road went on forever, miles and miles of white that stretched into the distance. Selene tried to look ahead, hoping to find a shape in the horizon that gave any indication that they were approaching a city or a town, but all that she could see were frozen fields. The landscape hadn't changed in days. It was unnerving and the only assurance she had that they weren't lost was Kaspian's word.
His commanding side had come out in full force since leaving Edessa. Selene knew all along that he was the Alpha but now she understood why. He moved with determination, giving orders and leaving no room for questions. They were traveling through deserted and wild lands but he seemed to know what to do at every turn and his confidence provided a sense of control over the situation that made everything easier on everyone.
Selene respected his leadership and had come to trust his skills, but that didn't change the fact that she was struggling to keep up with them. Sleeping on the ground by a fire under an open sky wasn't something she had ever done before, and it wasn't enough to let her body recover from the hours of riding and the constant tension that the lonely roads created.
Every muscle in her body ached, her temples throbbed with a constant pain, and she was beginning to have trouble breathing. Staying upright was a battle, one that she was starting to lose. She suspected that the only reason she had not fallen of the horse was Kaspian's strong arm around her waist.
"I cannot..." she murmured, but the loud trotting of the horses silenced her words.
Her eyelids felt heavy and her vision began to blur. She tried to find the strength within her but it all felt like too much. She brought her hand up and placed it on his forearm and squeezed. "Stop," she said a little more loudly and the pace began to slow down.
"What is it?" he said before the animal had come to a complete halt.
"I..." she began to say, but the effort to turn to look at him was too much.
The dizziness increased and her sight blurred completely. She fainted.
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Selene woke up to the sound of loud snores and a strange smell hanging in the air. She was disoriented and tired, the last thing she remembered was traveling through the frozen wasteland and now she was laying on a featherbed inside a warm room. It took a couple of minutes for her head to clear and when she tried to get up and figure out where she was her body protested, her legs were weak and sore and there was a throbbing pain in the base of her spine, but she pushed through the pain, anxious to know what had happened.
The room was a narrow dormitory that housed six small beds and a small fireplace. It had a small opaque window and old wooden floors. It was bare and simple but it felt almost luxurious compared to the accommodations of the last few days. The place seemed safe and Selene was tempted to put her head back on the pillow and rest for a few more hours, but Erik's loud snores coming from the bed next to hers were going to make that difficult.
