Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
“Stop squirming,” Adrian commanded, his voice firm. In one fluid motion, he swung himself up behind me, his chest pressing against my back as his arms came around me to take the reins.
“I want to get down,” I insisted, my voice trembling with fear and hysteria. “Now.”
His laugh was warm against my ear, sending a tingle down my spine.
Before I could protest further, he nudged the horse forward. We moved out of the stable into the bright sunlight. I blinked, suddenly feeling disoriented from being up high on the horse and the sun momentarily blinding me.
“Adrian, please,” I tried again, hating the pleading note in my voice. God, why was he doing this to me? “I’ve never done this before. I don’t know how to ride. I can’t—”
His lips brushed against my ear as he leaned forward. “Relax and feel,” he whispered, his voice dropping to a hypnotic murmur. “Feel the horse. Feel the wind. Stop thinking so hard and just feel, Serafina.”
With a gentle nudge, Azrael began to trot, then canter. The rhythm was jarring, terrifying.
“You’re insane. You’re absolutely insane,” I rambled, clutching at the saddle, my knuckles white with fear. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”
We picked up speed across the lawn, moving faster toward the woods that surrounded the estate.
“I’m going to fall!” I gasped, my entire body rigid with fear.
“You won’t.” Adrian’s voice was steady, certain. “Trust your body.”
I closed my eyes tight, not believing his words because I was absolutely certain I would fall.
“Open your eyes,” Adrian commanded, his arm tightening around me. “Trust the horse.”
No. NO! What the hell was he talking about? How was I supposed to trust an animal I didn’t even know?
Adrian fucking Salvatore was going kill me.
Maybe that was his plan all along.
He was a goddamn psychopath.
“Serafina.” My name rolled off his tongue like sweet molasses. “Trust me. Open your eyes and look. Feel. Breathe.”
There was something in his voice that made me obey, an undeniable authority that seemed to dominate my common sense. I forced my eyes open just as we reached the edge of the woods. Azrael’s stride lengthened, and suddenly we were flying, racing between the trees.
Terror gripped me. My stomach lurched.
The wind rushed past, cool against my heated skin, whipping my hair back from my face.
The horse’s powerful muscles moved beneath me, each stride eating up the ground. Adrian guided us into the woods and the world blurred around me. Dappled sunlight, flashes of green, the earthy scent of moss and leaves.
Behind me, Adrian was steady and sure, confident. He was in total control of Azrael and us. His heat emanating from his body spread through mine and there was something comforting about it, almost like it was reminding me that I was alive and not on the cusp of death.
Something shifted inside.
The initial panic began to ebb as we galloped deeper into the forest. The rhythmic movement of the horse beneath me no longer felt jarring but instead became almost… hypnotic.
My white-knuckled grip on the saddle loosened slightly.
“That’s it,” Adrian murmured, his warm lips brushing against my ear. “Let go.”
I couldn’t tell if he meant my rigid, frightened posture or something else, something deeper. The meaning of his words hung between us as I remained speechless.
My shoulders dropped.
My breathing steadied.
My spine loosened.
My heart slowed.
The wispy breeze caressed my face, cooling the heat of fear that had flushed my cheeks just moments before.
I’m not going to die. Not today.
As we curved around a massive oak tree, I found myself instinctively leaning into the turn, my body beginning to move in harmony with Azrael’s powerful stride.
My stomach fluttered with what felt dangerously close to excitement.
“Look ahead,” Adrian commanded.
We burst into another clearing, this one carpeted with wildflowers. Holy shit.
For a moment, everything was just golden light and green-scented air and the powerful animal beneath us. My eyes tried to take everything in, but I couldn’t. It was all so fast, so beautiful. It felt majestic.
Freeing.
A laugh—startled and genuine—escaped my lips before I could stop it.
“Do you feel it, Princess?” Adrian rasped, his breath feathering against my temple. “Freedom.”
He was so close, his body enveloping mine. And for the first time, I found myself leaning into it. Into him.
I wasn’t scared.
I wasn’t angry.
I was… curious. I wanted more of this feeling.
It was exhilarating and blissful serenity.
So this was what freedom felt like.
Freedom from expectations, the facades, the lies, the weight of everything that had been forced onto me.
Here, racing through the woods on the back of this magnificent creature, I tasted true freedom for the first time in my life.
I didn’t know how long we rode. Time seemed to lose meaning as we traversed the woods, occasionally breaking into clearings or following alongside bubbling streams.
The fear had completely dissipated, replaced by an intoxicating sense of release that made my blood sing. My heart thudded, adrenaline coursing through my body, filling my veins with warmth or haziness. It was intoxicating.