MARIENNE
For the rest of the journey to Damon’s castle, we traveled under armed guard.
Or, as I tried to think of it, a royal escort.
I held my head high, pretending for all the world that we’d been expecting this. If my years as Magnik’s queen had taught me one thing, it was never to show fear in front of your enemy.
My response didn’t seem to matter either way. Our captors barely glanced at me. They surrounded us on all sides, stone-faced, their focus purely on Erik. They were covered in thick furs, and their massive, hulking frames made it difficult for me to see the castle up ahead as we approached it.
By my side, Erik’s profile was firm, unmoving, but his jaw was clenched tight. I could tell that it was taking every ounce of his concentration not to shift and fly us both out of t
