The Horse in the Prince's Stables

Chp. 28

for the wonderful cover art on the side! :D

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                                                                                        =28=

=Kaelyn=

        After a few minutes, Drake finally broke his concentration, and returned his full attention back to me. I squirmed even more under his dark gaze, not enjoying the evil smile that spread even wider across his face. He dismounted from his horse gracefully, and walked over to me with smooth strides. Kneeling beside my head, he stared directly into my eyes.

        "Ha, I always thought you were a little different," he grinned maliciously, taking one finger and stroking my cheek. I trembled beneath his touch. "And now I know why. Kaelyn, what a lovely name," he purred, his voice becoming smooth as silk. My name sounded awful and yet wonderful at the same time coming from his mouth. 

        "That's quite a nasty curse you got there," he continued, still touching me, advancing down to my neck. No matter how much I squirmed, there was no escape from Drake. "But rest assured, I managed to cut some ties between you and the witch who cast it." Chuckling darkly, his eyes shifted back to the castle. "And I bet it hurt like hell to feel them being severed. The best part is, she'll have no idea who did it."

        He hurt Gabriella?!?

        Maybe she wasn't the nicest or most wonderful person to be around, but at least I knew she was on my side! I tried to bite him, twisting and jerking around violently. My teeth managed to catch the edge of his shirt sleeve, tearing with a loud and satisfying rip. Drake yanked his arm away, his wickedly gleeful expression melting away into one filled with rage.

        With a flick of his wrist, a new invisible weight pressed against my head. Ever so slowly the pressure intensified, crushing my face into the ground. I could only let out a tiny snort of fear. Helplessly I could only wish for a quick death.

        The moment I felt like my head would explode, the force lessened slightly, light enough so I didn't feel like I would die, but also remaining heavy enough to give me a headache. Drake's cold, merciless eyes drilled holes into my skull. I discovered that I couldn't look away, despite that I desperately wanted to. After a moment, he trailed his hand down my neck again, bringing back the shivers and chills of disgust. Sensing my displeasure, his evil smile returned.

        "Hmm, you know, while I was in the process of destroying ties between you and your precious witch and rebuilding some to me, I managed to look into her mind and see what you actually look like as a human." Leaning closer to me, I could smell his foul breath, but stifled the urge to cough. "You're pretty." 

        I froze. He laughed.

        "And because I like to impress a pretty face, I'll give you the heads up on what I'm planning for tomorrow." His hand now brushed against my shoulder. I could barely keep the waves of terror and disgust at bay.

        Tomorrow?!

        "Image a surprise attack on that lovely castle over there. Blood spilling out from the smaller guard left to defend the castle. Picture me pinning your precious prince Philip to the ground while I slowly cut open his throat. Ha! With a few lies spread around by my employer, the king foolishly sent most of his soldiers to go and hunt me down. Fortunately this gives me the perfect opening to strike with my men." His eyes flashed blood red. "I shall be paid handsomely for killing the boy. And I'm sure my employer wouldn't be opposed to granting me a single black mare to take as well..." Drake's voice lowered to almost a whisper as he finished boasting about his plan.