Page 12 of Savage Throne
“Much better.”
But it was a lie because in the end, the chill in the air was nothing compared to the cold grip of fear that tightened around my chest as he watched me.
“Good.” Leo nodded at his men. “Let’s proceed.”
Song took the lead.
The men formed around us like a cloak, each leaving a respectable distance between us. They moved with the fluid grace of wolves. Their eyes were watchful. Their boots crunched on the gravel paths.
We walked past an apple tree beside a bench.
Leo remained next to me like he was more my bodyguard than my kidnapper.
DJ Hendrix’s music became muffled but I could still make out the thrum of the bass and the beat pulsing through the night like a heartbeat.
Somewhere, someone laughed—a high-pitched, carefree sound that seemed so out of place in the suffocating tension that wrapped around me.
Was that Chloe? I hope so. I want them to still have a good night.
I glanced back over my shoulder, just for a second, scanning the grounds half-expecting to see Lei’s figure emerge from the shadows, storming toward me with that look of rage and fear in his eyes.
But there was nothing.
Only the dark shapes of the trees, the flicker of distant blue lanterns, and the faint glow of the fairy lights.
Leo caught my glance. “Thinking about running?”
“Of course not.”
He chuckled, low and dark. “Good girl.”
The words grated against my skin but I ignored them focusing instead on the Palace that loomed ahead. The towering structure glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Thunder rumbled up above.
We all glanced up.
Next, lightning streaked the sky.
Song gazed over his shoulder. “We should hurry.”
I picked up my pace and Leo matched it.
Up ahead, a small wooden bridge appeared out of the darkness, spanning over a calm pond covered with lotus blossoms.
Moonlight reflected off the still water.
The air smelled sweet.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flicker of movement in the shadows—a shape darting between the trees, there one moment, gone the next.
Is that Lei? Or. . .Duck maybe? Someone to stop this?
I tried to convince myself it was just a trick of the light but a part of me knew better. Lei wouldn’t let me go that easily.
Or maybe that was just my hopeful imagination.
As we crossed the bridge, the party noise faded completely replaced by quieter sounds—rippling water, crickets chirping, and leaves rustling under the wind.
