The King's Cursed Bride

To the Capital: Part 2

Mera's smile faded as she jogged toward Carissa. "Carissa? What's the matter? Yare wolves?"

Carissa gripped Mera's arm. "You are not to go into that tent with them."

Mera blinked. "The... tent?"

"Yes. I know it's better sheltered than ours, but sleeping within the same vicinity as a lot of unknown men—"

Mera flushed. "Lands, Carissa. You make it sound as if I were going to be their nightwoman."

But it obviously wouldn't have been the first time Mera had so freely given herself to a man. Carissa's gaze roamed to Mera's currently flat belly, but she bit back her words.

Mera followed Carissa's gaze, her breath catching, and slid a protective hand over her belly. "You needn't make such assumptions, Carissa. And I know I'm not the only one with a past. At least I gave myself to only one man out of desire—not an entire slew of men for their coin."

Shame scorched Carissa's cheeks. Where had Mera heard that? Though the words stung, they were... true. Carissa's past was worse than Mera's. Much worse.

"And now I must bid you a goodnight, Your Highness." Mera jerked into a curtsey before pivoting and striding into the tent without a backward glance.

Carissa stood there, so tense she was shaking. Had any of the men heard what Mera had called her? If so, surely they assumed Mera simply mocked her. Would the men abuse Mera if Carissa didn't go in and drag her out? Or would Mera give herself freely to them?

Perhaps Carissa should go after her...

But Mera had to make her own decisions. However, if Carissa heard signs of struggle or shouting, she'd dash into that tent and dice those men into bloody pieces.

Carissa slipped beneath the flap of her own tent before unrolling her sleeping pad. She closed her eyes, but kept her ears open, lest one of the men should think to sneak up on her.

***

Footsteps. Soft breathing. The crackle of damp leaves.

Someone approached.

Carissa rolled to her feet and drew her dagger in the blink of an eye. As soon as the tent flap was shifted aside, a dark figure entering, Carissa lunged forward, whipping her dagger up to the man's throat.

"Don't move," she growled.

"Carissa!"

Mera? Carissa released her. "What are you doing? What's happened? Are you all right?"

Mera nodded. "You frightened me."

"What happened? Are the men pursuing you?"

Mera shook her head. "Carissa... I should've told you earlier, but they'd just invited me over for dinner. I just finished bidding them goodnight."

"And they... let you leave?"

"Of course, Carissa." She frowned. "Do you usually expect the worst of people?"

"No."

"Then it's just men."

Carissa stiffened. "That's not true either. Their behavior has just been suspicious."

Mera shrugged and sank to the ground. "Have you ever trusted a man besides your husband, Carissa?"

"Once I did. His name was Viltus."

Mera propped her chin on her fist. "Tell me about him."

Carissa shook her head. "That was a mistake. And aside from my husband, I've found none worthy of trust."

"Do you hear yourself? Don't you think you've become slightly paranoid about men?" Mera sighed. "Not that I blame you. After all that you've been through..."

Was her past making her paranoid? Carissa shook her head and resumed her position on her sleeping mat. These men were trouble and she knew it. Carissa lifted her ring so it was before her face, though it was so dark that she couldn't see it.

"Am I right not to trust them, Elon?" she whispered.

The ring remained still and cool. What was the point of having such a ring if it malfunctioned more often than not? Or perhaps it wasn't malfunctioning. Perhaps Elon was keeping silent. Carissa swallowed back the bitter thought.

She didn't know the reason for Elon's silence, but she knew that he loved her, and that was what was important.

***

One Day Later

"There it is, m'lady. The Esmerian Capital in all its glory." The man, Ryther, pointed at the horizon. Though he'd spent a night camping, his dark hair was still neatly combed and washed. He must have rinsed it last night.

Carissa's steps nearly stuttered when he called her "m'lady." No one had called her that since... Her heart pulsed painfully, and she focused on taking deep breaths.

It took her a few moments to take her mind off of her pain long enough to remember what Ryther was referring to. She glanced where he'd pointed. Most of it was obscured by treetops, but she caught sight of something black shifting on the horizon.

The men had continued their sedate pace beside herself and Mera the entire day. Occassionally, one of them walked when Mera asked to ride a horse to rest her feet.

Thus far, they'd behaved perfectly civilly. But that didn't mean they would continue to do so. Perhaps they were slavers or nighthouse owners in the Capital, and they'd been well-mannered thus far because they wanted Carissa and Mera to travel to the Capital willingly.

Which meant it would be best for them not to enter the Capital together. Just in case the men should lead them astray.

Carissa shifted her gaze to the horizon once more. She was about the enter the Capital. Without Elon. What was she supposed to do from there? Go to the Reaper King alone and confront him? Plan to assassinate him so she wouldn't have to fight him? Get the Esmerians to rebel?

She would get to that soon enough. For now, she just needed the courage to take another step. Carissa drew a deep, fortifying breath. Only to catch a whiff of a putrid smell.

She slowed and sniffed again.

Mera was on one of the horses again and reined it to a stop beside Carissa. "Carissa? What is it?"

Carissa exhaled slowly then drew another deep breath. It was the smell of rotting flesh. It brought a memory to the forefront of her mind: finding Kybelle with Algernon.

"Yare wolves. Yare wolves are nearby. Or at least one of their killings." Only after speaking did she realize the folly of doing so. If it was Yare wolves, the fear in their group would now bring the pack running toward them.

***

Author's Note: Shout out to my boyfriend for proofreading the chapter. After last time, he insisted that I tell him if I need proofreading again. And the sneak peek is up; you'll find it in my profile bio. I'll leave his name down below in case you want to check out his profile:

Charlie_Clouds