CHAPTER ELEVEN

I stood frozen in place, unsure of my next move. I stared at the deep scar that lined Horus’s face as I considered the likelihood of being able to outrun him.

“Don’t bother running,” he said as if reading my thoughts.

“How did you find me?”

“I have been tracking you for the last week. It was wise of you not to take the common roads. Not so wise of you to head into another kingdom, though. Chatus is riddled with Rimorian soldiers now, I’m sure. Your father sent a whole battalion here the day you went missing.”

I stood in silence, both astonished and vexed by Horus’s tracking skills.

“These woods aren’t easy to navigate,” he continued. “But you’ve done well to hide your tracks, otherwise I would have found you much sooner. I noticed another set of tracks as well.”

I didn’t dare say a word.

“Who is your accomplice?”

Not a word.

“Certainly a male by the size of the prints I found.”

Fuck.

“I’ll find him sooner or later, you know.”

“No one,” I spat out. “No one is helping me.”

“I am no fool, Princess Aurelia. Who are you protecting?”

I wanted to flee. Wanted to run as fast and as far as I could, but I knew he would catch me. He always caught me. Every time I escaped my guards in Rimor, it was almost always Horus who ended up finding me. Running would be futile. And even if I did decide to run deep into the woods, how would Elias find me? I cursed under my breath. Could I reason with Horus?

“Please,” I began. “Don’t take me back. Not yet.”

He looked me up and down with his good eye. “Your father thinks you were taken,” he said, falling for my change of subject. “I tried to tell him that you likely left on your own accord, but he refuses to believe me.” He took a step closer. “I must return you to him immediately. He is not coping well.”

I shook my head. I knew my father wasn’t going to handle my disappearance lightly, but hearing it from someone who knew firsthand how he was reacting hit me hard. “You can tell him you were right, that I left on my own. And that someday I will return.” I said to Horus. “Please. I can’t go back. Not before I have answers.”

Horus took another step closer. “If he didn’t believe me then, he will not believe me now,” he countered.

“Give him proof! I’ll give you my cloak, or something from my pack.”

“Enough,” he boomed. He was only a few feet away now. “You and I both know he will not rest until you are safe within the confines of the castle. You are coming with me. Now.”

He began reaching for my arm, but I backed away. I stepped through the stream then planted my feet in the dry dirt on the other side, getting into a fighting stance. “I don’t want to fight you,” I warned.

Horus laughed deeply. “Don’t be ridiculous, Princess Aurelia,” he said condescendingly. He stepped forward, his heavy boots splashing in the stream. He reached for me again and grabbed my arm. I twisted my wrist towards his thumb, a maneuver my uncle taught me, and forced myself out of his grasp. Without a second thought, I kicked him square in the stomach, forcing him backward. His steel armor absorbed most of the blow, but the kick was strong enough to make him stumble back a few steps.

He scowled at me. “I see you haven’t forgotten some of your uncle’s training over the years.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I retained enough,” I replied, not wanting to give away that the training continued until only just recently.

Horus rushed forward more quickly than I was anticipating. He grabbed my shoulders with his hands and pushed me down to the ground with sheer force. He was strong. Much stronger than my uncle acted during our brawls. I flew towards the dirt, face-first, but stopped myself with my hands, wrists stinging from the impact. I looked up at Horus standing over me, a regretful look on his face.

“Give up now. I do not wish to hurt you, Princess Aurelia.”

Horus was a very strong, very large man. I could use this to my advantage. The bigger they are, the harder they fall , my uncle used to say. I pushed myself up then quickly brought my leg around, swiping at Horus’s ankles.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough strength or momentum for the move to make my large opponent fall, but he did stumble sideways a few steps. I used that time to get back up on my feet. As quick as I could, I went for another kick, this time towards the throat. With reflexes somehow like a cat, Horus caught my foot in midair, then twisted so hard that my body twisted with it. I fell face first into the cold stream.

With my back now to Horus, I heard his heavy feet stepping towards me, and I rolled to the side before he could place a foot on my back. His boot hit the water instead, creating a splash. I shot up again and noted his footing looked off balance, so I quickly landed a punch to his temple.

The impact apparently barely made an impression, as Horus did not falter. He looked at me enraged. I went for another blow, but with those feline reflexes, he grabbed my wrist. My twist trick did not work this time, as I was sure he was now expecting it. His grip was so tight, pain shot up my already bruised arm.

“The last thing I want is to hurt you, but you’re giving me no choice. I will knock you unconscious if I have to,” he barked. “Your father would understand. But I would rather not have to take that measure. Stop. Fighting. Me.”

“Let go of me,” I said through gritted teeth. I then kneed him in the groin as hard as I could. Even with his armor, I was sure that hurt. But apparently not as much as it hurt my knee. He made an expression of discomfort, but his grip on my wrist only tightened.

Suddenly, I found myself being forced backwards. Horus was pushing me towards a tree, which I hit my back on hard. I let out a grunt as the wind was knocked out of me and the stiff bark of the tree dug into my back.

“This is your last chance, Princess,” he hissed. “Give up now or I will be forced to drag you back unconscious.” He pushed on me harder as I squirmed, and my back ached from the force.

“Fuck you,” I spat, trying and failing to wriggle from his grasp.

Horus let out a sigh of annoyance, then lifted his free arm like he was about to strike me. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for the hard hit that would probably knock me out cold.

I heard a loud grunt, and the next thing I felt was myself falling to the ground. But I hadn’t been hit. I opened my eyes to see Horus on his hands and knees, a dark-haired figure standing over him.

Elias .

Horus forced himself to stand, then turned around to face his new foe. Blood began dripping from his nose, and he wiped it with the back of his scarred hand. “Where the fuck did you come from?” he croaked.

Elias did not respond. He turned towards me and put out his hand which I took as he helped me up. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” I rasped.

Horus let out a low laugh, and Elias and I both turned to him. “So this is your accomplice.” He looked Elias up and down then did the same to me. “Did you do that to her?” he bellowed, referring to my bruised and scraped-up arms.

Elias’s eyes darkened. “The only one here who has put a hand on her is you,” he growled. “And I will gut you for it.”

My body stiffened. But before I could examine the words further, Horus stepped towards us, unsheathing his sword that lay at his side. Elias moved forward to shield me from my large assailant.

“Horus,” I demanded. “Just let us be. We don’t have to fight.”

I was completely ignored, as Horus dove straight for Elias. Elias pulled to the side, guiding Horus away from my direction. Horus missed, but immediately tried again. This time, Elias ducked down, causing Horus to jam his sword into a tree. While the Rimorian soldier stood trying to yank the sword back out, Elias swooped around and kicked him in the back of the knee, making him fall to the ground. Horus let out a loud yell as he violently tore his sword from the tree and swung it at Elias. Elias was able to back away just in time, narrowly missing the weapon.

“Stop!” I begged. I didn’t want either of them to get hurt. Horus may be an ass, but he was only doing his job as my father’s most trusted soldier. And even in all his ruthlessness, he had always protected me. He was a good man, despite his ferocity.

Neither of the two men listened to my pleas. I watched in horror as they continued to battle in front of me. Even with Horus’s brute strength and speed, Elias was able to avoid every strike. He didn’t bother unsheathing the dagger at his side, maybe because it would not do much against a sword, or maybe because he didn’t even need it. Or maybe he was hearing my pleas after all, and not using his weapon on purpose. It was impossible to tell.

After another missed blow from Horus, Elias was able to trip the soldier, causing him to fall to the ground. His sword flung wildly and landed a few feet away. Horus was quick to get back on his feet, and I watched as the battle turned to hand-to-hand combat. Every punch thrown towards Elias was countered with threefold brutality. The ruthless guard was losing, and I could barely believe it.

The fighting continued for another few minutes before another punch from Elias sent Horus hurling to the ground once more. Elias closed in on the guard, preparing for a final blow. What Elias couldn’t see from his angle, however, was that Horus was slowly inching backwards, reaching for the hilt of his fallen sword.

“No!” I screamed as I ran towards them. With the force of my entire body, I shoved Elias out of the way just as Horus launched his sword. We both fell to the ground, and a burning pain erupted from my left forearm. A scream escaped my lips and I grabbed at my arm, only to feel the warm blood pouring from the wound.

“Aura!”

“Princess Aurelia!”

The two men shouted in unison .

Elias immediately rushed to my side and noted the deep wound in my arm. He began tearing the sleeve off his own tunic and tightly wrapping it around my injury to stop the bleeding. I winced.

“Are you alright?” he asked, now holding firm pressure on the wound.

“I’m okay,” I assured him. “I don’t think it’s that deep.”

Elias looked up from the wound and into my eyes, nothing but worry shown in his gaze. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“I…I think so,” I said, unable to tear my eyes from his.

Finally, I looked down at the makeshift bandage, already coated red in my blood. But I could already feel the blood subsiding while Elias maintained pressure.

Heavy armor clanked as Horus stood. “Princess, I…I didn’t mean…”

“I know, Horus. It’s alright,” I interrupted. Elias shot him a glare so deadly it could have stopped a man’s heart, clearly thinking otherwise. I touched the back of Elias’s now sleeveless arm with my uninjured hand, the strange but familiar energy emanating from the touch. He looked back at me and I looked into his eyes, silently letting him know I was okay and not to unleash himself on Horus. As if he could understand, he slowly let go of my arm, then helped me stand.

Horus watched us in awe before burying his face in his hands. I had never seen him like that before in my life. He looked defeated, like hurting me was the worst thing he had ever done and he would never forgive himself. I started walking over to him, but Elias gently grabbed my arm to stop me.

“It’s okay,” I said, giving him a reassuring look. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds more before reluctantly letting me go.

I stepped over to Horus and placed my uninjured hand on the large man’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, my Princess,” he said. “You could have been killed because of me.” He shook his head.

“You were only trying to do what you thought was best,” I assured him. “But you have to understand, Horus. What’s best for me is letting me go. Please,” I begged one last time. “Don’t tell my father where I am.”

Horus looked down at my bloodied arm, the blood no longer dripping to the ground. I waited patiently for him to say something. I just wanted this to be over.

“I will give you two days,” he said finally, his voice raspy. “Two days before I send word to the King that you were spotted outside of Chatus.” He looked over at Elias. “With an unknown male,” he finished.

Was it necessary to even mention Elias? I didn’t argue, knowing I should take what I could get. “You would do that for me?” I asked him.

Horus let out a sigh. “Callum is my king, but you are my princess,” he noted. “I don’t know what you’re chasing after, Aurelia. And I don’t know if it’s worth what you’re putting your father through. But…whatever the reason, it must be damned good if you’ve gone through all this trouble.”

I smiled, but his scarred face did not return the expression. “It is,” I said. I turned to walk back to Elias, but Horus grabbed my hand, gently this time.

His unscarred eye darted between me and Elias. “He cares for you,” Horus whispered. “And you for him. I can tell.”

My cheeks filled with heat. “I don’t know what you mean,” I replied quietly.

Horus shook his head. “Maybe you cannot see it yet, but I can.” He looked between us again before changing the subject. “You have two days, Princess Aurelia,” he reminded me loudly. I nodded and walked towards Elias, who watched us intently.

“I guess we better get going,” I said to Elias as I approached him. He only nodded .

“I don’t know who the fuck you are,” Horus shouted to Elias, who peered over at him. “But you take care of her. Protect her with your life.”

I was shocked at Horus’s statement, but even more shocked at Elias’s response.

“Always,” he said.