His plans to escape at night proved futile, as a dozen Li’Ador surrounded him and the sorceress used her power of commanding him to sleep where they camped in the open. He couldn’t resist her power and woke to her standing over him the next morning. With the Li’Ador alert around him, he ate quickly.
Afterwards, they prodded him to enter the carriage. Je’Rol growled and extended his claws for the next man who dared come too close. Amid the soldiers half a head shorter, he caught a glimpse of the black-bearded Lord Cair Bannon in his finery among a group of armored soldiers.
A woman with long golden hair stood back from them, her amber gown fitting her tall, slim figure with an elegance not possessed of any human he had ever seen. She said nothing but glanced at Je’Rol, her face pinched in a dark scowl.
He froze at the steps of the carriage, struggling against the beast demanding release to defend itself, but not from the Li’Ador. The golden lady set off a warning within him by her presence. Instinct said she was more than a normal woman.
She watched him, a hint of menace on her face.
“Inside.”
Je’Rol snarled and all voices quieted. The woman approached, a motion to the guards all she needed for them to move aside.
His heart raced with each step she took. The dignity and poise with which she carried herself multiplied the imminent threat of her presence, but he refused to back down. No human would hold him prisoner for long, not even one as terrible and beautiful as her.
“Do as you’re told, half-blood.” Her voice snapped the order as if trained in the art of command, something he fully expected from a lady of nobility.
He served no one and let her know in a growl.
Her eyes narrowed. Silence hung over the land as if no one dared breathe. From his position among the soldiers, Lord Bannon watched, the exposed areas of his face paling in sharp contrast to his black hair and beard.
“Be grateful for the mercy shown you,” the golden lady said in a threatening voice.
