Sorrows of Adoration Read Online Free

floor. I
fought against the fatigue, desperately afraid I would be left
behind to die, but I could no longer tell what direction I was
facing, let alone where the door might be.
    I felt myself
being lifted from the floor and managed to open my eyes enough to
see the Prince himself lifting me. My mind cried, No, there is no
time, and I tried to
tell him to hurry up and leave, to go to a safe town, that I was
just a silly barmaid and not worth wasting the time over. I wasn’t
sure if I spoke aloud or not and worried greatly that, because of
my weakness, he might remain too long out of chivalry and be killed
for it. But I could fight the fatigue no more, and a sea of
greyness clouded over my eyes as he carried me.
    * * *
    When I awoke, I was
cold despite being under two heavy blankets. I found myself on a
thin pile of straw in a cart that was not moving. The other man who
had been with the Prince was gently shaking my shoulder to rouse
me. He softly said, “Wake, good lady. Please wake up.” When I
looked at him, he said, “Sorry, I don’t know your name.”
    “Aenna,” I said
hoarsely, my throat still dry from the run and now numbed from
sleep.
    “Aenna, the men you saw
have reached the outpost. We can see it burning from here.”
    I sat up and looked
where he pointed. We had travelled downhill to the south, and
indeed I could see the outpost at the top of the path, glowing
brightly against the night sky.
    “We have only two
horses, so we started off with you and Gilaela in the cart, but by
now the assassins know we have fled and will surely follow the
tracks of the cart. It is too slow to pull it behind us, so you,
Gilaela, and the Prince must share the two horses between you and
flee faster. I shall go on foot—I know the way, and I can go
through the woods without a horse. They won’t think to do the same,
so I shall be safe and you three can move faster,” he said.
    I saw that the Prince
was seated on a horse already, wearing a great flowing cape
embroidered with his crest. The old woman sat uneasily on the other
horse.
    “I’ll slow them down,”
I said. I didn’t know where I would go otherwise, but I was
determined not to allow my weakness to cause the Prince’s death. “I
can go off another direction on my own. You shouldn’t be pausing to
worry about me.”
    “No, I won’t hear of
it,” said the man who had woken me. “You saved our lives, and I
don’t think any of us wish to see you crawl off alone to die in
these woods. You’re in no condition to flee alone.”
    “Come, ride with
Gilaela,” said the Prince. “The horse is used to carrying Jarik
here, and can manage your weight with hers. We will be able to ride
fast enough.”
    “No,” I said, shamed at
my defiance but intent on allowing the Prince to escape without my
encumbrance. “They are on our heels, and I won’t be responsible for
slowing you down. You’ll barely make it as it is. I can go off
another direction, and perhaps slowly enough to lure them away.” I
realized what I was offering as the words came from my mouth, and
my heart thumped in my chest. I was offering to be killed, and the
idea was unsettling, to say the least.
    I was, I admit,
relieved when the man the Prince called Jarik wouldn’t hear of
it.
    “Certainly not! Men of
honour do not use defenceless girls as decoys!” he said.
    “Indeed,” said the
Prince. “But your bravery is appreciated.”
    “Go with Jarik, dear,”
said the old woman. “You’ll be safer with him than on your
own.”
    “Only if you’re sure
you won’t come with us,” Prince Kurit said.
    “No, I’ll be fine.
Forgive my boldness but go, Highness. They could come down the path
any moment, and I could not bear to be the reason you slowed your
flight.” I worked my way out of the cart and stood with the
blankets clutched around me, watching my breath turn to fog in the
cold night air.
    “Yes, go,” said Jarik.
“We’ll find shelter for the night off in the woods and start