Hearts Under Ice - CS Patra Page 0,91
followed. “Faster, guys! Faster! They’re gaining on us!”
The horses began to run, and she could barely hold on. The crunching noise was getting louder, and the snow was falling again. The last thing she wanted to face was another storm. “Seriously? Now? Come on, I just want to get out of here! Go faster, guys! Get me to those castles and out of this place!”
The horses were running now, but it was hard for them to maneuver through the thick snowdrifts. She could barely hold on as they ran and jumped, trying to get out of the woods. The lantern that she had with her had gone out, so now they were going blindly down the path. Suddenly, something was attacking her. Some unknown force was trying to knock her off of the sleigh, but she stayed still. She had to make it to the other side.
“Whoa, boys! Whoa! Hold yourselves!” Olivia tried to pull back on the reins but lost control. Instead, she ended up flying off of the sleigh and landed in a pile of snow. The horses and sleigh went running off in the other direction, and she found herself alone again. Now she had nothing with her and no way to defend herself. There was talking all around her, but she did not recognize the voices. All she knew was that she was in trouble.
“Give her some room. That fall might have hurt her,” a man said.
“I don’t see any blood, so she should be fine,” a woman replied. “What do you want us to do with her? We can’t just leave her here.”
“Hold on! She’s coming to!”
Olivia groaned and shook the snow out of her hair. The fall had been terrible, but she secretly wished it had been worse. She wanted to be unconscious. At least if she was, then she would not have to face this group. She tried to stand up, but found herself surrounded by four people. The leader of the group was a tall, bald man with furrowed brows and his lips curled up in a sneer. Standing next to him was a tall, dark-haired woman, a shorter woman with red hair, and a man with long hair and a beard that stopped at his waist. They didn’t look threatening, but their leader meant business. She could barely breathe as they towered over her. She had no idea why, but she realized that this was the Brotherhood of Iced Blood.
“Well, well, well. Look what the horses dragged in and pissed all over.” The red headed woman said crudely. “She almost got away, too.”
Olivia tried to speak, but couldn’t. Her horses had been spooked and ran off without her. She was pretty sure that her supplies were damaged, and she had no way of contacting anyone unless she sent them a mental message. Her heart and mind were racing, and she couldn’t focus enough to do that. Her thoughts were all jumbled, and she knew she was in trouble.
“Should we do what we always do?” the other woman asked, moving closer. Olivia sank down in the snow and clenched her fists. She knew that she couldn’t take them all down, but she wouldn’t go without a fight. “She doesn’t look like much.”
“Stop! She just needs to listen to us,” the leader said. “We’re not here to harm her.”
“We aren’t?” the other man asked. “Do you still want us to restrain her?”
“Only for a few minutes. I just need to tell her something.” He leaned over and looked down at Olivia. She tried hard not to look back at him as his friends tied her up. She was terrified, but stayed strong. She had to brave and think of a plan. “You must be the one with the special power. I’ve heard all the rumors about you. They say that you are brave, but foolish because you want to save your lover. Then again, people do all kinds of things out of love.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she snapped. “I don’t have any powers. All I want is for you to release my boy—my friend, and we’ll be on our way! If you want the Queen and that gem, you can get it yourselves!”
“She’s got a sharp tongue.” The redheaded women said, leaning closer. Olivia could smell her breath, and it was rancid. She was starting to regret speaking up. “Maybe we should just cut it out.”
“No, remember what I said, Sara! We don’t bring any harm on her now.” The