Chapter 2 The Black Car

VESPERA

"Get in." The guard shoved me toward the black SUV.

I caught the door and turned to glare at him. "Do you always treat women like this, or am I getting special treatment?"

He didn't reply, instead he seized my arm and pushed me into the back seat, slamming the door shut after me.

I was trapped between two armed men, with another sitting beside the driver. The windows were tinted, the doors reinforced and a discreet camera blinked above the dashboard.

Wonderful, this was definitely a kidnapping with a luxury package. "Where are we going?" I asked, nobody answered. "Is conversation forbidden? Or are you all naturally unpleasant?"

The youngest guard glanced at me. "Keep quiet."

"That's unfortunate, silence makes me nervous." I almost smiled.

"Then be nervous quietly."

The SUV pulled away from the curb. Through a narrow gap in the curtains, I watched the city disappear behind us. Mira's face flashed through my mind and my fingers instinctively tightened on my dress.

I shouldn't think about her, I had to focus on studying the guards.

The youngest was inexperienced while the man beside me was alert. His right hand rested close to his weapon.

I shifted my wrists behind my back, testing the restraint the guards had fastened around them, the man beside me noticed.

"Stop moving."

"My hands are uncomfortable." I frowned at him.

He caught my shoulder and shoved me against the seat, but I had already wriggled my hands free and I used the opportunity to drive my elbow into his throat.

He choked, but before the others could react, I twisted his wrist, pulled the pistol from his waistband, and pointed it at the passenger seat.

"Everyone remain calm!" I shouted.

The driver swerved. "Put the gun down!" The driver shouted.

The man beside me grabbed my hair, I slammed my head backward into his nose and he released me with a curse. I lunged for the door handle but the SUV suddenly braked, my shoulder struck the window and the gun slipped from my hand.

The guard caught my wrist and twisted it behind my back. He pressed my face against the seat, I kicked backward, catching his shin, but the other guard seized my ankles. Within seconds, I was pinned.

The older guard leaned close to my ear. "Try that again, and I'll break something you need."

I spat blood onto his sleeve. "Start with your personality."

Then the SUV slowed. Outside, a man was waving frantically beside a dark vehicle with its bonnet raised, another figure sat slumped in the passenger seat.

"Help!" the man shouted. "Please! My wife is hurt!"

The guard released me and reached for his weapon. "Stay here," he ordered and he climbed out.

The guard beside me followed, leaving the youngest to watch me from the front.

I leaned toward the window, the stranded man was pacing beside his vehicle, repeatedly looking toward the woman inside.

"She's bleeding!" the man shouted. "Please, I need a doctor!"

The youngest guard hesitated. "Should we help him?"

The driver shook his head. "Orders are orders."

I looked at him. "Your employer would rather let a woman die on the road?"

"Not your concern." He turned toward the stranded vehicle and that was his mistake.

I kicked the door open and threw myself out. My feet hit the wet asphalt, I stumbled, caught the side of the SUV, and sprinted toward the trees.

"She's running!" I heard one of the men shout.

A gunshot cracked through the rain and the bullet struck the road ahead of me. I stopped so abruptly that my shoes slid across the asphalt.

The driver stood behind the SUV, his pistol aimed directly at my chest. "Take another step," he shouted, "and the next bullet won't miss, you were warned."

I slowly raised my hands. "You're going to shoot a bride?"

"I've been ordered to shoot you if you run." He replied coldly.

The stranded driver had stopped shouting and the woman in the vehicle was no longer moving. The guard approached me without lowering his gun. "Get back in the vehicle."

I walked toward the SUV. As I passed him, he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. "Next time, remember the bullet."

I smiled despite the pain. "Next time, remember to aim higher, you nearly ruined my shoes."

He shoved me into the back seat. This time, he fastened a restraint around my wrist and secured it to a metal fitting beneath the seat.

The SUV pulled away, leaving the stranded vehicle behind. Suddenly I understood, the roadside emergency had been staged. They wanted to see if I would steal a window of escape, and I proved them right.

The city vanished completely, replaced by winding roads, thick trees, and towering stone walls. Security cameras appeared at regular intervals with their lenses following the SUV as it passed.

I counted every turn till we got to a narrow road that sloped toward a set of lion gates. Beyond the gates stood an enormous estate, armed guards patrolled the entrance, and several black vehicles were parked beside the main building.

The gates opened, and the SUV rolled inside then stopped beneath a covered entrance. One guard opened my door. "Out."

I climbed down carefully, a woman stood at the top of the steps in a black silk dress. Lady Isolde Bryt. Her gaze moved over me and paused at my scraped hands and muddy clothes.

"You attempted to escape."

"I needed fresh air." I scoffed.

Before I could blink, she slapped me squarely across my face. The guards looked away and I slowly turned back to her.

"Is that how you welcome all your guests?"

"You are not a guest." She narrowed her eyes. "Remember why you are here, Vespera. Your family remains alive because I permit it."

My chest heaved in anger. "Then I suggest you continue permitting it."

She stepped closer towards me and whispered to me dismissing my words as nothing. "You will become Seraphine Bryt. You will marry Kael Draven and you will obey every instruction given to you."

"And if I don't?"

Her smile was thin. "Your sister will suffer first."

At that moment I wanted to hit her so hard that her cold expression would disappear. Instead, I lowered my gaze and Lady Isolde nodded to the guards.

"Take her upstairs, the wedding is tomorrow morning."

In less than twenty-four hours I would stand beside a man whose bloodline was feared across the country, pretending to be a woman I had never met.

The guards led me through the entrance and into a corridor lined with portraits. I kept my head lowered whilst I memorized doors, cameras, and exits.

Then a man stepped into our path. He wore a dark uniform and carried a tablet beneath one arm. His gaze moved over my face before dropping to the torn neckline of my dress.

"Is this the bride?" he asked.

"Yes," the guard replied. "Seraphine Bryt."

The man looked at me again. "She's supposed to be delicate." He raised an eyebrow.

I raised my eyes. "Excuse me, I'm standing right here."

He ignored me and continued. "The medical report said she was frail, sheltered and prone to fainting."

"People exaggerate," One guard replied.

Now both brows were furrowed. "Apparently."

He stepped closer, studying my face as though he was comparing it with an image stored in his mind. I resisted the urge to move away.

Then his eyes dropped to my shoulder. The torn fabric had slipped farther than I realized, exposing a thin, pale scar just below my collarbone.

"What happened there?" He asked.

My heart gave one hard thud and I quickly pulled the fabric into place.

"It was an accident." I mumbled in the most quiet voice.

"What kind of accident? Seraphine was never supposed to have a scar like that."

I stared at him, forcing my face to remain blank. He didn't recognize me, he had simply noticed that the woman standing before him did not match the fragile heiress he had been told to expect.

"Bring her to the examination room," he ordered.

The guard hesitated. "Why?"

The man never took his eyes off me. "Because I want to know what else the bride's medical records failed to mention."

This was the first time in a long while my heart has thundered so loudly within my chest. Fuck you, Lady Isolde.