not more mercs trying to steal me for the bounty?”
“Are you alone?”
“I have no idea. My abductor dropped me here. I think he broke my arm. I cannot see anything.”
A light clicked on in the distance, as bright as a dying star. I could see the door to the room outlined against the light, as well as make out the dark, bulky shapes surrounding me. My mental map had failed after Loch’s dash through the cargo bays, but this looked like a storage room.
The light drew closer. I curled up and cradled my left arm. I let the tears fall down my cheeks. It wasn’t really acting because my arm hurt like the devil. I didn’t think it was broken, but I had no doubt that the bruising would be epic.
The light bobbed into the room. They’d sent a video drone—I could hear the low whir of its motor. I shielded my eyes as they adjusted. The blocky shapes in the room resolved themselves into storage containers. Loch had dumped me on top of a waist-high container, and I’d landed on the latch bar with my arm.
I pushed myself up with a groan. This was not how I’d planned for today to go.
The drone floated around the room. The soldiers must’ve been satisfied with whatever they saw on the video because a few seconds later, two big men in combat armor entered, guns first. They swept the room before coming over to me. One kept lookout while the other attempted to pick me up.
I slapped away his hands. “I have had enough of being carted around like so much baggage,” I said in my iciest voice. “My legs are perfectly functional.”
He backed up with a murmured “Yes, my lady.”
I slid off the container and almost made a liar of myself when my left knee buckled. I fell into the soldier I’d just yelled at. Fantastic. My high-and-mighty, untouchable lady routine was certainly off to a good start. He held my arm until I’d regained my balance then let go without a word.
“I need a light stick,” I said. “I cannot see anything.”
“My lady,” he started. I hit him with my mother’s favorite expression. He reluctantly pulled a short light stick out of a cargo pocket and handed it to me.
I clicked it on and the room became clearer. “Thank you,” I said.
With only one soldier between him and freedom, I assumed Loch was already on his way to the escape ship while I served as a distraction for these two. I had a knife, but the odds were better that I’d stab myself than do any damage to two trained—and armored—soldiers. I was a decent shot because shooting guns was fun; knife lessons were grueling, dangerous, and best avoided whenever possible.
“This is Bravo Team Lead. We have secured Lady von Hasenberg,” the soldier next to me said into his mike. “We are in cargo bay six. At least one active threat. Please advise.”
I couldn’t hear the response through their helmets, but both soldiers nodded. “We’re evacuating you to the transport shuttle, my lady. Please stay close,” the team lead said.
The two soldiers shepherded me out of the room, one in front, one behind. We moved slowly as they scanned for threats. I thought up and discarded plans with blazing speed. While I would love to defeat two soldiers, who each weighed twice as much as me, in unarmed combat, I didn’t think it was entirely feasible. Thanks, brain, for imagining some alternate reality where I was infinitely more capable.
But if I stepped foot on that transport shuttle, I became—at best—a political hostage. At worst, my abduction would set off the long-simmering animosity between our Houses and plunge us into war. And somewhere between the two was the possibility that Richard would insist on going through with the marriage I’d been avoiding.
No matter what happened, I became a liability, at least in the eyes of my father.
So I did the only thing I could: I ran. Thanks to the team leader I knew where we were, and the map in my head snapped back into place. The next time we came to a cross hall, I waited until the lead soldier had cleared it, then I bolted.
“Stop!” the second soldier shouted.
I ignored him. I doubted Richard had given them permission to kill me, and while I’d seen a stunstick, I hadn’t seen a stun pistol, so they’d have to catch me the old-fashioned way. With them weighed down by their armor,