Chapter 12

DIANA

The further we traveled from Volkar, the less brutal the cold became.

Inside the carriage, Sarah had fallen asleep with her head resting on Mina's shoulder.

Mina herself looked like she was struggling to stay awake, blinking slowly as she stared out the window.

I couldn't sleep. I sat by the window, watching endless forests pass by. The bracelet Aeris had given me rested warmly around my wrist and without realizing it, I kept touching it.

I'd been feeling a strange uneasiness sometime after noon and I couldn't explain it.

Vladimir and the escort rode ahead and behind us.

Everything was peaceful, then a scream shattered the peace. Then the carriage jerked.

Sarah woke up with a terrified gasp. "What was that?"

Before anyone could answer, an arrow buried itself through the carriage wall just inches from Mina's face.

She screamed immediately, throwing herself on the floorboards.

"AMBUSH!" Vladimir roared from outside.

The horses shrieked in panic as arrows continued to slam into the carriage walls from every direction.

Chaos soon erupted and steel rang against steel. The carriage swerved to the side. I quickly grabbed the seat to stop myself from falling.

"Stay down Princess!" one of the warriors bellowed from outside.

The carriage suddenly lurched to a stop and a second later, the door was yanked open.

One of Vladimir's men appeared with half his face covered with blood.

"Your Highness!" he barked. "Out! Now!"

The moment I stepped into the snow, my stomach dropped. Bodies already littered the ground.

Groups of attackers rushed out from the trees. They wore black masks and armor with no identifying marks.

Assassins.

Vladimir stood at the center of the battlefield with dead bodies around him and his sword dripping blood.

Three attackers charged towards him simultaneously. He killed all three in seconds, but more kept coming.

"Protect the Princess!" someone shouted.

A ring of warriors immediately formed around me and the girls as we clung to one another. Before I could think further, another wave of assassins burst from the forest.

The warriors around me charged to intercept them.

For the first time since the attack began, I was exposed.

Then I saw movement deep within the trees. An archer was hiding, sitting on the top of a tree with his bow already drawn and aimed directly at me.

My heart stopped.

The arrow flew so fast towards my throat. I raised my hands a little, but it stopped, completely frozen in the air.

A figure stood between me and death with a familiar voice dripping with irritation. "Oh."

Aeris sighed dramatically. "You seem to have a talent for finding trouble, Diana."

The frozen arrow shattered and turned to dust.

My eyes widened. "Aeris?"

He glanced at me over his shoulder. "Hello, Princess."

Relief hit me so hard my knees nearly gave out. "Aeris!"

"You sound surprised." He said, looking offended.

His gaze dropped to the bracelet on my wrist. "I did tell you I would come."

Around us, the battle continued, and one by one, the attackers fell. Some tried to run but the warriors chased them into the trees.

Vladimir wiped his sword clean, then turned to us. His grey eyes locked on Aeris and something I couldn't read passed between them.

Then he looked at me. "Are you injured, Princess?"

I managed to shake my head even though my hands were still shaking.

Sarah was crying and Mina looked seconds away from fainting. Yet, somehow, everyone else was acting as though this was just another day.

The warriors moved around, checking the dead and finishing off any assassin foolish enough to still be breathing.

I stared at the bloodstained snow in disbelief.

"Princess." Vladimir called from behind.

I turned to face him.

"We must continue the journey." He said.

For a moment, I genuinely thought I had misheard him. "We must what?"

"We must continue the journey, Your Highness." He repeated.

I blinked. Has the man lost his mind?

My heart was still trying to claw its way out of my chest. There were literally corpses everywhere. I had nearly been killed. An arrow had almost gone through my throat, and this man was calmly telling me we needed to continue?

My disbelief quickly turned into anger. "Continue?" I repeated.

Vladimir didn't move. "Yes."

I threw both hands in the air. "Are you insane?"

Sarah jumped, even Mina looked alarmed.

I pointed furiously toward the bodies littering the road. "We were just attacked!"

My voice echoed through the trees. "I almost lost my life!"

Vladimir remained expressionless. "We must continue."

The sheer stubbornness of it made my eye twitch. "What part of 'I almost died' are you struggling to understand?"

He didn't react, not even a blink.

I was beginning to understand why the Skyblade warriors terrified everyone.

A dramatic sigh sounded beside me.

Aeris.

The fae pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he lifted his hand and a pulse of silver light spread from his fingers.

A transparent dome formed around us and immediately, the sounds of the environment vanished. No wind. No horses.

Nothing.

I looked around in shock. "What was that?"

"A privacy barrier." Aeris answered, glancing at the royal guards waiting near the carriage. "So they won't hear us."

My confusion deepened. "Why shouldn't they hear us?"

He looked at me for a long heartbeat, then sighed again. "What Vladimir is trying to say, Your Highness, is that if you refuse to continue this journey..." His silver eyes hardened. "...the Queen will take it as a direct insult."

I frowned. "What?"

"Not attending after receiving a personal summon from Her Majesty would be considered rejecting the Queen's invitation and disobeying her order."

I stared at him. "Surely she would understand."

Aeris laughed, and I could tell it wasn't because anything was funny. The sound was devoid of humor. "Understand?"

"Yes." I gestured wildly around us. "I was almost murdered!"

He rubbed his eyes, then lowered his hand. "Diana, who do you think sent them?"

I froze. "What?"

Aeris and Vladimir stared at me. Neither looked amused.

My pulse slowed.

A horrible feeling crept into my chest.

"Look around." He said, spreading his hands.

I did.

My eyes widened as they landed on the royal guards and the messenger from the central palace.

None of them were injured.

Not one.