The Lost Queen (Book 1 of The Lost Queen Series)

Chapter Eighteen

The steady clip-clop of the horse's hooves stopped abruptly, along with the gentle swaying. They must have arrived at their destination wherever that was. Sterling didn't dare open her eyes to find out and let them know she was awake. Instead, she strained her ears, listening for any sign of movement—anything that would give a clue as to their location.

Leather creaked, followed by the thud of boots on the ground.

At any moment, they were sure to check on her. She tried to keep her breathing slow and even in hopes they wouldn't notice she was awake.

The few times she had been conscious, they would immediately dose her again before she could figure out where she was—but the last time, they hadn't been quite fast enough, and she had seen they'd left the forest.

It was warmer wherever they had taken her.

She'd already been awake for a few minutes now, her brain slowly coming out of the fog. So far, she'd been able to figure out very little, but she had noticed there still seemed to be only two horses. No one else had joined their little party.

They'd draped her over one of the animals, like a sack of flour, so she was facing downward, with her hands bound behind her back and her feet tied at the ankles. They hadn't bothered to gag her, presuming she would stay unconscious.

She might be able to get away with taking a peek around if she was careful.

Sterling cracked her eyes just a slit, giving herself a view of the horse's hooves and the hard, rocky ground beneath them.

No sign of green, but no sign of snow either. Nothing she recognized.

Sterling strained her ears again, trying to tell if anyone was coming to check on her, but if her captors were nearby, they were silent. Cautiously, she wiggled her fingers, trying to get a feel for the tightness of the bonds. She had to bite her lip to keep in the hiss of pain as her raw skin pulled against the rope.

It was too tight. There would be no slipping out of this.

The pounding in her head was getting to her as whatever they had been using to keep her unconscious worked its way out of her system. Had they been feeding her? She tried to think, but her memories were a fog. Who knows how many days had passed since they had taken her from the market?

The market.

Papa.

Seraiah.

A wave of panic washed over her. She knew they must be worried about her. Especially Seraiah. Her older sister had been out of sorts the last time Sterling had seen her, having had one of her nightmares again.

Seraiah had broken down once and confessed the nightmares were always about her. Her sister had refused to go into too much detail, but from what little she had said, it sounded like Seraiah was dreaming about her death. There was something about someone else looking out from her eyes. It was nonsense, of course, but it always left Seraiah a mess for a day or two after it happened.

Sterling hoped her sister wouldn't do anything stupid like try to come after her. As much as she wanted to be rescued, she didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her. It had been her own choice to go off alone in the market, and no one else should have to pay for it but her.

The crunch of boots on the dirt snapped her back to reality.

It sounded like they were moving closer.

She froze, hoping they wouldn't figure out she was awake. Better to let them think she was still unconscious. Sterling hated the way the drug made her feel. If she could stay awake long enough, maybe they would speak in front of her, and she could get an idea of what they planned for her.