The King's Abducted Queen

Chapter 2

Though Nadine stared blankly at her, she nodded in reluctant agreement. Alira grabbed her hand from her lap and pulled her behind her as she descended the steps.

Her slipper squelched in a pool of blood, and bile rose in her throat as the stench of death filled her nostrils. Nadine began to sob behind her as they made their way cautiously around the lifeless bodies of the soldiers they had traveled with for days.

Tears welled in Alira's eyes for them and their families, but her body surged forward on pure adrenaline. There would be time for mourning later.

As she scanned the area, Alira realized they had a clear path into the woods, assuming nobody noticed them. The cries of dying men and the clash of steel were behind them, urging her not to look back.

So many guards assigned to protect her journey were already gone, and Xena was unaccounted for.

While they navigated around the bodies, Alira stifled a scream as a bloodied hand clawed out and grasped her ankle. She looked down, horrified to discover it was Xena, nearly unrecognizable and drenched in gore.

Blood dripped from her parted lips as she lifted her gaze from the soaked ground to Alira. Her eyes were vacant, and Alira doubted Xena would truly recognize her until she whispered her final words.

"Hide, princess. The hunt has begun." Then, the light in Xena's eyes faded, and her feeble grip on Alira's ankle slipped away.

"Oh, gods save us!" Nadine cried at Alira's side. Alira had never witnessed someone die before and wondered if this was Nadine's first encounter with death as well.

Xena's last words clung to Alira like an icy shroud, and the chill of the night air only intensified the shivers that ran through her body.

"We have to run, Nadine. Let's go!" Alira tightened her grip on Nadine's hand and quickened her pace along the dirt road until they reached the trampled grass leading into the shelter of the woods. She could hear Nadine's labored breaths behind her as she pulled her through the trees and into the darkness.

The sounds of fighting faded, and Alira lost track of how long or how far they had run before silence enveloped them completely.

By then, her legs ached from the exertion, and her lungs burned from gasping in the cool night air.

They paused to catch their breath, believing they were at a safe distance from the fighting. Nadine hunched over, her palms resting on her knees as she drew in deep breaths.

Xena looked up at the trees, where only patches of starlight pierced the darkness. At this stage of their journey, she had no idea how far they were from Alden's fortress or any nearby village, especially without the guidance of the carriage driver.

A sudden thud echoed in her ears, followed immediately by faint sounds of strangled breathing. She turned abruptly to Xena, horror rising in her throat as she saw the black arrow lodged in her chest, staining her white dress with vivid red.

"Xena!" she cried out, lunging forward to catch her. She hardly registered the hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

Xena felt heavy in her arms, and she nearly collapsed under the weight as she sank to her knees, cradling her friend as the last rattling breaths escaped her.

By the time she laid Xena on the soft grass, her body lay still.

"Oh gods, no, please no," she whispered desperately, sensing that the deities had abandoned her in this moment. She realized she was utterly alone, and death was closing in.

In the distance, voices reached her ears, and she knew that whoever had shot the arrow at Xena couldn't be far behind—ready to unleash another. The longer she remained here, the more exposed she became as a target.

Clenching her teeth and balling her fists, Alira rose from Xena's lifeless form and sprinted through the underbrush of the forest. The thin fabric of her dress tangled around her legs, forcing her to lift her skirts to run faster.

Then, something whizzed past her ear, and she whimpered as the arrow narrowly missed her head. She was uncertain of how far away the bandits were or how skilled they were at shooting, but adrenaline surged through her, propelling her to run faster than she ever had before.

But it wasn't enough. Growing up in the kingdom of light, she wasn't accustomed to navigating darkness. This wasn't her home, and the terrain was unfamiliar. Suddenly, her foot caught on something.

In the blink of an eye, she crashed painfully onto the hard forest floor. Pain shot through her nose from the impact, and her wrists throbbed as she tried to break her fall.

A groan escaped her lips as she rolled onto the cold grass, struggling to clear the stars dancing in her vision.

As heavy footsteps approached, she held her breath, her heart pounding loud enough to drown out the sound of someone nearing. Some starlight found its way through a break in the trees, revealing her assailant.

He was a figure shrouded in darkness.

Shadows seemed to cling to him, reaching out as if yearning to merge with his form. The shades stretched closer with every step he took.

All the air escaped Alira's lungs when he stepped into the beam of light cast by the stars above. Her heart raced, and she felt an overwhelming urge to flee.

A mountain of a man clad in shimmering black armor loomed over her motionless form on the ground. Sharp spikes jutting from his shoulders and a dark crown resembling tall spears fused into his helmet added to his menacing presence. The visage of the helmet evoked the unmistakable dread of being hunted by a faceless demon.

Yet, it was the fierce amber eyes glaring from the dark slits that sent a chill of fear coursing through her. His black armor unmistakably marked him as their enemy—the shadow gnomes had indeed found her.

However, it was the grotesque crown atop his helmet that revealed his true identity, and Alira needed no more than the tales of his bloody legacy to understand her perilous situation.

Hovering above her was the ruler of the dark gnomes, the King of the Thunder, Lord Calixto Dunmer, brandishing a blood-soaked sword.

Her family's sworn enemy stood ready to end her life.

"What's this I see?" a deep, sensual voice questioned from beneath the dark helmet. He stepped forward, and Alira instinctively scuttled back on her elbows, as if she had any chance of escaping. "Have I caught a little light gnome royal?"