Chapter 13: 13_Criminal's princess partner

Amethyst was running for the hundredth time tonight, racing away from the castle with a legion of guards after her.

If she hadn’t been a Vamp, she would’ve been captured long ago, but her merciful forefathers had been wise enough to copulate with Vamps so she could escape tonight and not be pathetically captured after allowing that Barbarian to…

No. It wasn’t yet time to think about that, she had to escape, she had to survive.

Teleporting out of the room where she’d been cornered had seriously drained her strength. Even now, she felt a tremble in her knees with each step she took.

“Stop right there!” the guards behind her were shouting.

Glancing back, Amethyst was shocked to see that the number of guards had tripled! What on earth? All this for her?! With a wobbly cry of alarm, she increased her speed.

By a wonderful stroke of luck, she happened to notice a carriage driving away from the castle. Hurrah! She was saved!

She would hitch a ride with whoever that was and take the chance to leave with them. Heaven knew she couldn’t run much longer.

Running off the grass and onto the vast driveway, she chased after the carriage and, finally, managed to grab the back.

Hoisting herself off the ground, she clung to the moving vehicle with every ounce of strength remaining in her. Harsh breaths blew big, vapour clouds out of her mouth, her limbs shaking from all the running she’d done. Oh, she’d nearly died. What a nightmare!

This was all that Barbarian's fault! Meeting him had been a cursed destiny, she never wanted to lay eyes on him again!Amethyst swallowed hard as she caught her breath, feeling how dry her throat was. Oh, thank goodness for the carriage. She would’ve collapsed and gotten captured had this guest not been leaving at that exact moment.

Suddenly, she heard additional horses and looked back in horror. They were chasing after her! There were several carriages a *good* distance behind them, but behind them, nevertheless. What on earth was it with these people? They kept calling her a thief and running after her, to the point of sending carriages to capture her, when all she’d taken was that guard’s tag!

Cursing her fate, she clenched her teeth as the vehicle she clung to sped up.

Yes, faster!

If this person was in a hurry to reach their destination, Amie would truly accept that the universe was on her side. Why, their urgency would help her escape without having to lift a finger. Strengthening her fingers would be beneficial, however, considering how wildly the carriage was lurching.

Wind smacked at her face, her hair blowing back in the night as she gratefully clung to the racing carriage. The guards were growing smaller in the distance and, reaching the inner village, her carriage swerved around a corner and vanished down a dark road. Soon, she couldn’t even hear the guards anymore, the night growing darker and quieter around her.

Amie realized with a start that they had left Turncrest. The surrounding area quickly turned woody and frightening, but she still hung onto the vehicle with everything in her. It was either that or fall to the ground where she would surely break a bone. Being a Vamp and having her healing gem did mean Amethyst healed faster than others, but it didn’t mean she was willing to get injured.

So, clenching her jaw and praying for the night to quickly be over, she held on. Her body was getting cold in the icy wind and the tips of her nose and ears were turning red. This was a nightmare.

She would accept it. She’d felt humiliated by that Barbarian and had wanted to somehow soothe her pride, to prove to herself and the world that she wasn’t weak or pathetic.

At the end of it all, she’d only managed to get herself into heaps of trouble and even had an atrociously humiliating experience in that bed chamber back at Lady Hadgar’s.

Perhaps it was the piles of silly romance novels she’d read during all the years she’d spent bedridden or perhaps it was something else, but whatever it was, it had certainly led Amie to total insanity. Nothing else could explain her feeling flutters at the touch of a *criminal!* A criminal who planned to target her beloved kingdom, no less.

She’d failed to protect them. She’d planned to demand, as her victory prize after their battle, that he and his men would stay away from her kingdom. She hadn’t even managed to do that.

There was nothing left to do. Swallowing hard, she felt failure streak shame all over her remaining self-esteem. She’d go home. The Barbarian was too strong for someone as weak as her. Not to mention she wouldn’t be able to look him in the face after the humiliating moment when she’d closed her eyes like she’d expected him to kiss her. Her ears grew even more red and the icy wind wasn’t to blame.

She would go home and warn her parents about the attack the Barbarians were planning against Gadon. What Thoran Steel didn’t know was that Gadon had been allied with Zaire ever since Natalia and Raiden got married. If he planned to attack her kingdom, he wouldn’t just be going up against a bunch of war-loving vampire Vikings, he’d be facing some ruthless werewolves too.

Good. They’d rip him to shreds! It wouldn’t be her doing it personally, but it would still bring some form of satisfaction to see the obnoxiously proud criminal get humbled.

The thought gave her comfort and Amethyst ignored the lingering disappointment over her failure. It was her own fault for thinking she could go up against a hardened criminal. She may be from one of the strongest species to exist, but she was the weakest member of said species.

She was better trained in wielding a crotchet needle than a sword and she could better weave a tale from her imagination alone than weave daggers through the air. She wasn’t Natalia, she was Amethyst. And although she and her sister were alike in personality, their abilities were worlds apart. Amie needed to accept that once and for all and stop running about like she was the quirky lead character of an adventure novel. Reality was merciless.

A long sigh deflated her chest, blowing a ghostly trail of vapour out her mouth. Tiredly, she watched the helpless vapour get snagged away by the vicious wind. Just like how her hope was instantly dashed by the Barbarian’s overwhelming strength.

Darn it all to hell. What a horrible night it had been…

***********

The compass’s last indication was this village. Cyrus and Milana finally arrived in Turncrest several minutes after midnight, riding slowly into the quiet village.

“I don’t see a soul,” she said, peering out of the carriage window. “What if she isn’t here anymore?”

“We’ll find her,” Cyrus replied, searching behind his seat for their cloaks. “Before we move on, however, we’ll need to make sure she isn’t here.”

Sighing, Milana glanced at the heavy compass in her hand, seeing the needle tremble as it swung in different directions. “She isn’t, I can already tell.”

He picked up on her disappointment and raised his head, looking across the space at her. Worry creased her brow, her eyes focused on the compass.

“Don’t be too worried,” he told her. “We’ll find Amie. Besides, if she’s as similar to Natalia as you guys say, then she’ll be perfectly fine.”

Milana scoffed, smiling despite herself. “She’s only like Talia in the sense of craving adventure. Where Natalia is crafty and street-smart, Amie is as naïve as a dove. She’ll get scammed by the first person who gives her his best imitation of a kind smile.”

Their carriage came to a stop and the footman ran back to open the door.

“Well.” Cyrus stepped down and helped Milana put on her cloak when she followed him out into the cold night. “We’d better find her before any scammers do.”

Sighing, she nodded.

“Prince Cyrus,” the footman said with a deep bow. “These parts are frequented by many criminals. Shifters, in particular, are known to roam the area at night. Please allow a guard to accompany you and the princess.”

Cyrus looked irately at the footman. “Is that an order from my brother?”

The servant bowed lower, intimidated by the icy cold tone the prince always used. “No, Sir. I’m merely concerned for your safety—”

“Because I’m a Beta, is that it?”

The servant blanched, his eyes widening at his shiny shoes. “No, Prince Cyrus! That isn’t what I—”

“Your concern is unwarranted, Casper. I am perfectly capable of protecting both myself and the Princess in the case of any danger. I’m not an infant, bloody hell. You tell that to my brother, word for word, when you report to him.”

Watching them walk away, Casper was left to process the dizzying order of repeating such words to the King. Weakened, he leaned a shoulder against the carriage. Some days, being Prince Cyrus’s footman was more challenging than waking up before dawn on a winter morning.

Further along the road, Cyrus and Milana searched for anyone they could question.

“How can there be not a soul on the streets?” she complained, hugging herself as they walked.

“Wait.” Cyrus took several steps backwards, looking through a narrow street at the main road on the other side. “Come. I see an open bar.”

Quickly, they made their way to the other road, hopeful to find someone who could’ve spotted Amethyst if she’d come this way.

Pushing the door open, they stepped into the warmth of the lively place.

Behind the bar, a bearded man was wiping glasses when he raised his bored gaze to them. “Can I help yous?”