The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia was unable to see King Darius properly since her head was on his back with the way he was carrying her over his shoulder. But she could only assume that he had shifted into his wolf-man form, seeing as there were only two hairy legs running beneath her.

Craning her neck, she looked from right to left, stopping as soon as she saw the rogue werewolves following them.

“Your Majesty, they’ll catch up with us soon,” Xenia warned.

She shook her head. If only she had an arrow with her at that specific moment, then she could’ve probably at least managed to help Darius out in bringing down those rogue werewolves that were after them.

Meanwhile, Darius inwardly cursed as he ran. Helion was known for using black magic, and the majority of his army were composed of all manners of undead creatures, including werewolves.

With how the enemy was chasing them, they probably managed to trap one of the wolves he was communicating with, and they managed to learn that he was inside the forest after they were done with the poor thing.

Looking behind them, Xenia kept her eyes peeled for any sort of attack. She kept herself alert, and the next thing that happened made Xenia’s eyes widen in shock.

“They’re firing arrows at us!” she yelled in horror.

As they were completely defenseless, the best thing they could do was to run and hopefully lose the trail of their enemies.

Already, Xenia felt so dizzy with how much Darius was varying up their movements in an effort to dodge all the arrows coming their way. Looking at it now, she honestly felt bad at how she was adding another burden to him by making him carry her weight like this.

As they ran, another arrow came their way, but Darius quickly sensed it coming so he moved to prevent the projectile from hitting their position. He didn’t mind how another arrow was about to hit his body from another direction, and Xenia felt helpless that she couldn’t do anything to at least try and help.

“Can you swim?” Darius suddenly asked her.

“Yes,” she firmly answered. “Why?

“It’s a dead-end, and we need to jump to lose them,” King Darius weakly informed.

“Just make sure you cling onto me tightly, Xen. Ahhh… I think the arrow’s been laced with poison. I’m feeling weird…”

“No matter what happens Xen, please don’t lose me…”

Having a proper look at Darius’s wolf-man form, Xenia’s eyes widened as he suddenly changed the way he was carrying her, securing her in his arms before jumping off a high cliff down to the raging water.

Xenia’s eyes widened at the unexpected danger. She couldn’t even imagine what was worse; dying from drowning, or being captured by the ones currently chasing them.

“Think fast, Xenia…”

With a harsh whisper, the princess collected herself and began to fix the situation.

Wracking her brain, she eventually remembered and managed to utter a spell that she learned from her Mage friend, Jayra. Creating a magical thread, she bound herself with Darius in order for her to not lose him in the raging waters that carried them away.

It was effective. The thread kept them from being separated even after she accidentally lost her grip on his arm due to the harsh currents.

Thrashing against the water, Xenia managed to take a look at Darius, who was now back to his human form, under the water. She inwardly cursed at seeing how his eyes were closed. He was about to lose his consciousness, and she wasn’t going to let him die.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

Cupping his face, she pressed her lips against his to give him some air, all while letting the water wash them away from the enemies.

A few minutes later, the river calmed, and Xenia managed to steady themselves enough to let her fully raise hers and Darius’s heads out of the water.

“Ahhhh!” she gasped for air as she kept Darius’s face out of the water.

Keeping her cool, she let the water carry them far enough for them to lose their enemies.

Looking back, the cliff from where Darius jumped, had been really high, and a human like her would’ve probably not survived the impact if not for Darius’s protection.

‘I guess I can thank my lucky stars for that then…’

Xenia didn’t know how long they had been drifting in the water, but she knew that it had been far longer than it should be. She should try and find their way back to land soon.

The princess craned her neck back and forth, looking for some sort of exit strategy from the predicament they found themselves in. Seeing a tree branch hanging near the water, she immediately made herself drift towards it, grabbing onto it as soon as her hand could reach it.

Gasping for air, she then gave it her all as she pulled herself and Darius back onto the land. She was panting hard as she pulled on the king’s naked body, the man having shifted back to his human form the moment he lost consciousness.

“Thank the heavens…”

The princess thanked her lucky stars once more, seeing how Darius’s other clothes were still securely tied to her person. Immediately untying them, she quickly fashioned a makeshift blanket for her to secure Darius’s unmoving body, enabling her to pull his considerable weight with her as she walked forward.

“You’re heavy,” she groaned.

“Ah, I did a good job, right? I didn’t lose you ‘My King;” Xenia uttered, cheering herself as she kept her spirit high in pulling the King’s heavy body.

‘No matter what happens Xen, please don’t lose me…’ Darius’s words kept replaying inside her head, and she could not help smiling.

Xenia panted hard and paused to turn and look at the unconscious king.

Somehow, it felt great hearing words like that… like someone depended on her.

But then…

This could be her opportunity to also escape from the king’s grasp.