by Lily Thomas
Jasmine placed one of her hands against the trunk of a tree and pulled herself into a standing position. Her head swam, and she swayed as the trees dancing around, but she stayed on her feet, and her vision slowly cleared.
Tucking the fur cloak firmly around her body, she hobbled over to the stallion. She paused a few times when she felt the dizziness come back, but she made it to the stallion without falling face first into the snow, which she considered an encouraging sign.
Jasmine wrapped her hand in the horse’s mane to steady herself as she took another deep breath and tried to clear her head fully. The dizziness wouldn’t go away, and she worried about what damage the branch may have caused her head.
Putting a hand to her head again, she brushed her fingers gently around the bump. As she drew her hand down to eye level, her mouth dropped open at the sight of blood covering her fingertips.
There was nothing she could do at the moment to help herself. What she needed to do was get going again. Dryden was sure to be hot on her tracks by this point in the day.
A few shivers coursed through her. She had to get back to her sister. She just had to.
Jasmine began the painful process of trying to get back on the horse. After several minutes of quiet cursing and a moment where she almost blacked out and fell back into the snow, Jasmine succeeded in mounting the black stallion by using his mane as her anchor. The sudden change in height caused her head to swim, the trees swirling before her eyes in swatches of green and white. Jasmine leaned over the horse’s neck, trying not to pass out. The stallion looked back at her and whickered.
“Don’t worry about me,” Jasmine tried to say in a reassuring tone of voice. She kicked gently to spur him into a walk, and he huffed but began moving forward.
Jasmine laid herself down across his neck. She was so cold and so tired. It had taken the last of her determination to just get back on the stallion’s back. She welcomed the warmth as she leaned against him, and within moments she lost consciousness.
Dryden and his men had been out for hours following Jasmine’s tracks. The constant snow and blowing wind had eventually erased her trail, leaving them in the middle of the woods with nothing to follow. A sudden gust of wind blew directly into Dryden’s face, and he squinted against it. He felt like the mountains were taunting him. Rubbing in the fact he had falsely trusted a human female.
He cursed the weather. He cursed the human female who was turning out to be way more than just a handful.
Sending his men out in a search pattern, he hoped they would spot some indication of Jasmine’s path, anything to help them locate her.
Jasmine didn't realize how dangerous these mountains could be. One wrong step and she could break her ankle or the horse's ankle, or she could run into mountain cats and kill them both. After seeing those cats in person and up close, one would think she would’ve been more cautious.
Shaking his head with frustration, he looked over at Mathar.
“When we find her, I’m going to wring her neck,” Dryden ground out.
Mathar gave him an appraising look. “When? You’re so confident that we will find her?”
“I like to believe we will find her.” He shuddered. “I would hate to live with the uncertainty of what might have happened to her if we don't.”
“Then at least you could imagine she lived,” Mathar suggested, gazing out into the seemingly empty forest around them. The giants were spread out far enough searching for Jasmine’s tracks that Dryden and Mathar were alone at the moment.
Dryden glared at his friend. Mathar would be pleased if they never found Jasmine, and he wasn’t even pretending otherwise.
“I would just like to find her alive.”
Mathar wrinkled his nose and snorted. “Just so you can wring her neck? Then what is the point in finding her alive?”
Dryden smiled to himself at Mathar’s wry observation. Mathar was angry at his recent behavior with Jasmine, but he could tell by his comment that his good friend was still in there. Dryden hoped that Mathar would come around to Jasmine eventually, too.
Dryden shook his head and pushed his horse forward through the snow. Wherever Jasmine was, he would find her, and when he did, she would wish she’d never betrayed his trust.
When more time passed, and they had yet to find any tracks, his worry grew. Maybe they wouldn’t find her. Then he would just have to hope she made it back to her people and didn’t say anything about the ice giants. But could he trust her to do that? A story like hers would be unique, and telling it would get some jaws to drop.
How could she resist?
“Dryden, the men have found something,” Mathar's stern voice penetrated Dryden's troubled thoughts.
His heart sped up. He was anxious to find Jasmine, to embrace her in his arms and yell at her for being completely stupid for running off. But then he wanted to kiss those luscious lips of hers and bring her to climax underneath him again. Dryden tried to settle his twisted emotions as he turned his horse toward Mathar.
“They’ve found her?” Dryden followed Mathar over to one of his other men.
The ice giant warrior led the way, while Dryden wondered what he would find. Probably just some more tracks. He hoped so. Just let there be no body, that was something he wouldn’t be able to handle.
Dryden’s heart clenched at the thought. His rage at her death would be unimaginable. If she did die, it would be all his fault, and he would take his guilt out on every tree, stone, and animal in this forest.
They stopped in a small clearing. Dryden looked around, but he didn't spot anything.
He threw an arched eyebrow in the direction of Mathar and the other ice giant warrior.
Mathar pointed an armored finger at the ground under one of the trees in the clearing, one with particularly low branches. Dryden looked more closely and spotted a print in the snow.
He took a double take. Was that the imprint of someone's body, of Jasmine's body? He dismounted to see better.
“What was she doing on the ground?” he demanded.
“There is some blood over there,” the other ice giant warrior called out, as he pointed at a spot a few feet from the imprint.
Dryden's heart stopped as he walked over to the spot and his eyes landed on the crimson dots in the virgin snow.
“Anything else?” Dryden demanded, his mouth gone dry. “Can we tell which direction she left in?” His mind raced. What happened to her to cause blood?
“Yes,” the warrior confirmed. “There are horse tracks leading away, and we can see her footprints in the snow as well. It appears she got back on the horse and they headed off again.”
“Good, then she’s alive at least.” Dryden let out a shaky breath. This stupid human was going to get herself killed. “We must find her before it’s too late.”
With that, he rushed back to his horse and mounted up.
With her trail rediscovered, they moved more quickly. Dryden was thankful there hadn’t been time for the snow to cover her tracks. The visibility of her prints meant that she hadn't passed through here too long ago. Hope soared through him.
Soon he would find her. He only hoped she would be all right when he did.
Jasmine woke slowly as she felt the horse's mane tickling her nose with each breath. Her head felt much clearer. The ache was almost completely gone now. Pushing up off of the stallion’s neck, she looked around. Once again she found herself wondering how long she’d been out.
Thankfully, the horse had kept on moving through the mountains, but was he still going in the right direction? Assuming she’d properly oriented them in the first place.
There was no way she could tell, though. Each mountain and valley looked the same to her.
The black stallion slowed and then stopped. Jasmine looked over his huge head to see a steep cliff in their way.
“Well then. What should we do? Try to go down?” It was covered in snow, so the horse might have some trouble making his way down without slipping.
/> “How about this,” she offered the horse, “I will lightly tap you into a walk, and if you believe you can do it, then so be it. But if you don't think you can make it down, then you just stop, and I’ll find another way for us to go.”
Knowing the giant stallion didn't understand her, Jasmine only hoped he would know the difference between something he couldn't do and something he could do, especially if she didn't push him into going down the mountainside.
Slowly and lightly, she tapped his sides with the heels of her feet.
The black stallion stepped hesitantly forward, one step at a time. He slid a little until he caught himself. He then pushed his way down the mountainside sideways, sliding a little every once and a while. The horse managed to keep himself stable, to her absolute amazement.
Jasmine kept her hands tight around the reins in her hands, trusting the sturdy stallion would make it down the steep mountainside safely.
The snow fell even more thickly, swirling around the both of them until they couldn't see far. It almost gave a magical touch to the area around them. Jasmine shuddered as a sharp wind blew across them, and the stallion slid in the snow. If only it weren’t so dangerous.
Her skin crawled as goose bumps raced up and down her arms. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end. Perhaps it was the snow that had surrounded her in a white sheet, but she felt like something or someone was watching her through all this thick snowfall.
Peering into the white abyss, all she saw was fluffy white flakes falling around her, nothing else, except for a few close trees.
She had to be imagining it because nothing would be able to see her in this snow either. Returning her attention to the stallion, she tried to keep her balance as he continued to make his way down. Snow built up against his hooves as he slid most of the way.
She and the stallion would probably be the only foolhardy ones to try to travel down this mountainside in such extreme weather.
The snow stopped long enough for them to get back on Jasmine’s trail, but the relief from the snow was short-lived as it picked up again, this time with more force. The weather seemed to be on Jasmine’s side, helping her escape from the giants. They spent another few precious minutes trying to find her tracks in the snow again, eventually picking them up and following them to a steep mountainside.
Pausing at the top, Dryden looked around, not for one second believing Jasmine would have gone down the steep slope.
As he turned his horse around, Mathar called out. “I can see her!”
Dryden turned in his saddle to see Mathar pointing his finger down the mountainside. Down that precipice?
Moving his horse abreast of Mathar's, he looked down, and the sight that greeted his eyes made him curse out loud.
“What is she thinking?” Dryden demanded of no one in particular.
“That she is desperate,” Mathar commented. “She does have some unexpected courage,” he admitted grudgingly. “I will give her that.”
Dryden glanced at Mathar. “Did you just pay her a compliment?”
Mathar snorted. “A grudging respect, nothing more.”
“You’re correct, of course. Jasmine is probably taking greater risks because she’s desperate.” Desperate to get away from him.
He watched as she looked around, not spotting him and his men at the top of the ravine. She could probably feel the heat of his stare as he watched her and his fine black stallion make their way further down the mountainside.
Motioning his men, he commanded, “Follow down around the slope to cut her off once she reaches the valley, while Mathar and I follow her down the mountainside directly.” Both of them confident they were skilled enough riders and skilled enough with the terrain they would make it down safely.
“We know these mountains like the back of our hands. She doesn’t.” Dryden grumped.
“You sure you want her? She might be dimwitted.”
Dryden glared over at him. “I’m sure I want her.”
Hopefully, she would get to the bottom successfully, instead of tumbling down the slope to land in a heap at the bottom. Just the idea of her lying in a jumbled mess in the snow, limbs broken, made him shudder.
“I’m going to wring her neck,” he repeated to Mathar.
His heart pounded forcefully, leaping into his throat every time the stallion below them slid unexpectedly down the treacherous incline. Just the thought of her dying when he was so close made his blood boil. He was furious that she was risking her life so recklessly, and for what? To escape from him?
His fury built, and he wanted to race down the mountainside and shake some sense into her. Barely keeping his anger in check, Dryden carefully guided his horse over the slippery terrain. They would both make it safely to the bottom, and when he caught up with her, he would make her regret her silly escape attempt.
The stallion slipped on the snow, and Jasmine’s heart stopped in her chest as she felt his hooves give way. She feared it might be the end of her journey, but the skilled horse recovered quickly and continued his trek down the snow-laden mountain.
The sense that she was being watched only increased as they made their way farther down the mountainside. She cast quick glances around, but all that greeted her eyes were snow-covered trees, boulders, and a few small plants that were able to brave the fearsome weather.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, but she couldn’t shake the thought of those vicious mountain cats stalking her. It could be possible that a predator was tracking her, waiting for her to slip or make the wrong move so it could make an easy meal out of her and the horse. By what she’d seen so far, prey seemed to be scarce, and she wouldn’t be able to defend herself.
She had no illusions that the stallion would stick around if she ever were attacked, no matter how well-trained he seemed to be.
Before she knew it, the stallion skipped off the mountainside and onto the valley floor. He seemed proud of himself as he pranced a bit. Jasmine couldn’t begrudge him a moment of happiness. He’d made it down without killing either of them.
She reached down and gave him a loving caress across his thick neck, then looked across the valley.
“Should we follow the valley or go up the other mountainside? And if we choose to stay, in the valley, which direction should we go?”
The snow fell so thickly, and she found herself unable to see too far in any direction. It made her decision even harder.
Jasmine bit her lip. Staying here wasn’t an option. They had to keep moving. Just as she was about to spur the black stallion down through the valley, a crunch of snow to her right made her pause. Turning to see behind her, the blood drained from her face.
Chapter 13
Dryden.
He sat proudly on a horse at the bottom of the slope, the wind whipping his pale hair around his head. He looked like an evil spirit from the stories the servants used to tell, the ones that roamed the mountains looking for human souls.
Mathar rode close behind Dryden, and he looked at her sullenly. While Mathar didn’t look happy to have found her, Dryden looked almost murderous. His forbidding gaze drilled into her, and she swallowed nervously.
He’d found her. Did she really have any doubts he would? Probably not, but she still felt so deflated. Sitting straight in the saddle, she tried to project a feeling of confidence.
“How long have you been following me?” she accused, getting only a scowl in return.
She frowned deeply. There was a thundercloud looming over his expressive eyes, and there was no doubt in her mind that he was furious with her for running off.
She twisted her fingers in the reins that lay across her lap as her mind raced.
“You needn’t have bothered coming after me,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone about your people. I just…I have to get back. I can’t stay with you.” She met his cold eyes beseechingly, willing him to understand. “After what we shared the night before, can’t you tell I don’t want to leave you, but that I have no o
ther choice?”
Dryden smiled in response, and she shivered. She could see that the smile wasn’t one of kindness, but of a predator who’d finally caught his prey. Jasmine almost felt like bursting into tears. She’d failed her sister.
Her shoulders drooped as she realized her journey would end here. With a sigh, she faced away from Dryden to see his men coming out of the snow flurries like ghosts. They’d found and surrounded her.
Frustration and anger built within her. He’d obviously been following her for some time now. He’d had the time to organize his men to surround her once she reached the bottom of the mountainside. Her escape attempt had been a mere annoyance, something that took them out of their way, but clearly, she’d been easy to follow.
She felt anger towards herself for not getting farther away from them, for not getting back to her sister. She felt like such a failure, a complete and utter failure. And now Adorra was going to die because of it.
Dryden led his horse toward her slowly, seeming to enjoy dragging out the misery of being caught. A weird tingle shot through her, almost a feeling of…relief.
Was she happy that she’d been caught?
Jasmine’s stomach churned. A part of her wanted to save her sister while another part wanted to stay in Dryden's strong arms, but she couldn’t do the latter until she finished her first task.
Dryden’s fingers curled around her upper arm in a tight vice-like grip.
Before she could blink, Dryden pulled her from the back of the black stallion to sit before him on his horse. His other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, squeezing her against his chest.
“Thought you could escape me, did you?” he growled into her ear.
Shivers sprang up all over her body as his voice rushed over her. She should be scared and defeated, not… turned on. What was wrong with her?!
