Serpent in Shackles

Chapter Fifteen

During breakfast that morning, we discussed our plan for getting the soldier out of the Queen's palace. Before we could start that, the Shadow Knight said it was crucial that we locate and retrieve a thing first. I didn't know what the thing was, but I honestly couldn't have cared less. My focus was solely on finding a way to rescue the soldier and prevent a war.

Since my horse spooked and ran off, I had to ride with the Shadow Knight.

I tried my best to not think of how intimate and odd it was to sit so close to him. To have my chest resting against his back. To feel my thighs resting against the back of his. It was the first time I had felt a monster, but his body felt purely human against mine.

"You'll want to hold on," he advised.

I snaked my arms around his waist, holding them tight against his body as we took off.

The green grass reached the knees of our horse as we galloped through the open meadow, toward a forest. Purple and white flowers decorated the bright green grass. The green of the trees sparkled even brighter in the sunlight. Far off in the distance, I could see houses built along the edge of the meadow, bordering a wide river.

I lived at the palace for my entire life. I left plenty of times and travelled throughout our Kingdom, but I never truly saw the world for what it was. Never saw how beautiful it could be.

But this Kingdom was still more beautiful than my own.

Instead of heading in the direction of the houses, we headed into the forest on the opposite side of the meadow.

My attention was pulled away from the view when the Shadow Knight coughed, low and... stifling a moan. I hadn't realized that in the midst of taking in the scenery, my grip had loosened and my hands slipped down, a little too far down.

"Watch where you put your hands, Princess," he purred.

I lifted my hands back up, tightening my grip on his waist again. "You mean to tell me that the big bad beast can't control himself around a measly human?"

"I may be a beast but the human parts are still intact. And sometimes they have a mind of their own."

I blushed and immediately felt relieved knowing that he couldn't see my face.

...

Our horses slowed to a stop at the edge of the overgrown forest. The trees had grown uncontrollably for so long that the branches tangled together, casting nothing but darkness over the area.

"We have to walk the rest of the way," the Shadow Knight said.

I released my hands from his waist and waited as he lifted his leg over the neck of the horse, and slid down. He stood beside the horse, holding his hand out for me. I scowled at the gesture. I didn't need anyone to help me down. I could do it myself.

I twisted to the side and kicked my leg over behind me as I slid down, correctly dismounting from the horse. What happened next was shocking. The Shadow Knight knelt down, plucked a thick flower out of the ground and fed it to his horse.

While we continued on foot through the forest, I kept my eyes peeled on the ground as I tried to maintain my footing with all the hidden tripping hazards. Tree roots grew over most of the path and some areas were even covered with colourful flowers. I had no idea how flowers would even grow there. Since the trees were big enough to block the flowers from seeing any sunlight, the only answer I could come up with was magic.

Thick bark scraped my palm as I pushed my hands into the base of the tree beside me, trying to catch my balance. "What are we doing here?"

"We're meeting with a witch who can locate the object I'm looking for." He pushed branches out of the way and stepped carefully making a path for the rest of us to follow.