First message
The carriage tears down the forest road, its wheels hammering over roots and stones as the princess grips the seat to keep from being thrown sideways. She barely recognizes the road anymore. All she knows is that she cannot go back.
Behind her, the thunder of horses grows louder.
Her father’s guards.
The king has decided her future without asking her, binding her to a wealthy diplomat nearly three times her age whose polished smile makes her stomach turn. Marriage is supposed to secure the kingdom, her father insists. She knows better. She would rather disappear into the wilderness than become someone’s political prize.
Faster! she snaps at the driver.
The horses strain harder.
Ahead, the road narrows between towering trees. The princess catches a glimpse of movement among the branches but has no time to question it.
A rope snaps tight across the road.
The carriage jolts violently. Horses rear with terrified screams, and she is thrown against the door as the vehicle lurches. Before she can recover, armed figures emerge from the trees, surrounding the carriage.
Pirates.
Her heart drops.
At the front of the ambush stands a man who looks entirely too amused by the chaos. Tall, dark-haired, impeccably dressed despite the wilderness, he rests one hand casually on the hilt of his sword.
The pirate king, Captain Ryker Salvatore.
He glances from the carriage to the approaching royal guards, then back again.
Well, he says with a lazy grin, I was expecting gold.