Chapter 174

**LUCINDA POV**

I clutch the letter tightly in my hand, tears sliding down my cheeks as I drop to my knees, a pained wail escaping my parted jaw. I cannot believe this is happening. The army didn’t make it on time. My daughter is lost. She had been taken by the enemy, and enemy that doesn’t even leave small children alive.

I turn to dieter, handing him the letter, “what are we going to do?” I ask him.

He places the note back onto his desk. His eyes glossed over with unspilt tears, “there is nothing we can do, my love, Cay is lost.”

“It only says that she has been taken, it doesn’t say that she is dead.” I argue, rising back to my feet. “We cannot just leave her to the mercy of our enemy.”

“We don’t have a choice!” Dieter shouts, slamming his hands against the desk, “she made her choice when she left, there is nothing we can do to help her now, we have the entire kingdom to think about.”

“Dieter.” I say, as softly as I can without losing my temper, “she is your daughter.”

He nods, but his eyes darken, “and that is why I wanted her to remain here where it is safe, but you allowed her to leave! She tricked you, and you fell for it.” He stands, talking over to his bar and pouring a drink, “she made her choice, she knew exactly what she was going up against.”

“How do you know that?” I ask, shaking with anger. “How do you know she chose to die?”

“Because she was wanted in countless war meetings what these criminals were like and she went anyway!” He shouts, throwing the empty glass against the wall. “She knew exactly what she was doing.”

A sob bubbles out of me, “you’re wrong, she wouldn’t just give her life away.”

“How can you be so sure?” he asks, backing me against the wall, “you barley even knew her, you spent more time with your sons than you did our daughter.”

“And you spent all your time trying to turn her into something she didn’t want to be!” I shout back, shoving him hard in the chest, “you pushed her away and now she is lost to us forever.”

I storm out of the room, still shaking with rage, the army will return within the week and once they do, I am leaving this place with them. I am going to find her, even if it’s the last thing I do.

**CAY POV**

I wake slowly, my head throbbing and my body shivering from the cold. When I open my eyes I realise two things, one, night has fallen, and two, I am upside down. And I’m moving.

I look around and notice that I have been taken by the same army that attacked the village, the same purple and green colours flying on the flag one of the soldiers is carrying.

I’m on the horse with the general, the same one who laughed as he killed innocent children. He’s the true meaning of the world monster, and now I am trapped with him. I don’t even know what happened to my men. Are they dead? Did they try to rescue me? They were right, we shouldn’t have come.

“Finally awake I see.” Says the general as he slows the horse down until it stops, turning to his men. “We will camp here for the night.”

There is a chorus of yes sirs running through the crowd as the entire army stops all at once, immediately obeying their commander. My father's army isn’t as disciplined as that. In fact, some aren’t disciplined at all.

The general climbs off the horse and pulls me down to the ground, slamming my already sore body into the dirt. I groan, rolling onto my back and looking up at the stars, wondering if this will be the last time that I gaze upon the moon.

“Where’s your fire gone, princess?” He asks, kneeling down beside me, “aren’t you going to curse my name and wish me dead?”

“I can do those things without speaking to you.” I growl, spitting in his face.

He wipes my spit from his cheek and smiles cruelly, “I’m going to enjoy breaking you down until there is nothing left of you.”

“You can try.” I say coldly, “I’m sure you’ll be the one to succeed where others haven’t.”

He laughs, wrapping his hand tightly around my throat. “you don’t even know the meaning of a hard days work, princess, don’t pretend that you know the first thing about torture.” He leans closer, his breath fanning my ear, “but I am going to show you and when I’m done, you’ll be nothing but a pool of blood.”

“You can do what you want to me.” I say, trying to sound braver than I feel, “but it won’t give you what you want, you’ll never take this kingdom.”

“Who says I want to take it?” He snaps, fighting his hand around my throat, “I don’t want to rule this kingdom, princess, I want to destroy it.”

My eyes widen, fear spiking in my chest, he’s going to destroy every Village and city until there is nothing left.

“Don’t worry.” He says softly, “I will take you with me every step of the way, and you can watch as everything you care about burns to ash.”

I choke, gasping for air as he once again tightens his hand around my neck, my eyes widening in fear as I claw at his hand, desperate to breathe.

My lungs burn, and my eyes are stinging, but he doesn’t let go, he only tightens his grasp on me.

“Goodnight, princess.” He smirks, my eyes growing heavier by the second.

He’s going to make me pass out, and there is nothing I can do, his grip is too strong, I can’t breathe.

I’m lost, and I’m broken, but this isn’t the end of my story, it’s just the beginning.