Panic dropped her stomach, but it was momentary. The tower must be watching the Wilderwood— there was nothing else to see in this direction. Which meant they’d seen her, which made it pointless to hide.
Instead Red stood at the turn of the road, chin tilted upward, scarlet cloak on her shoulders. She didn’t cringe away when the band of riders reached her, out of breath, swords drawn.
One of them pointed his blade in her direction, over bright in daylight she wasn’t used to.
Red raised her hands in a posture of surrender. “I understand your alarm, but—”
“Don’t come any closer.” The blade shivered, broadcasting his shudder.
“Hold.” Another guard, with the silver stripe of a commander across his shoulder, held up his hand. He leaned forward, frowning at Red’s face. “I know you.”
“You should.”
His gaze followed the folds of her cloak, then widened. “Second Daughter.”
She wasn’t in a position to be particular. Still, Red’s lips lifted, teeth glinting in unfamiliar sunlight.
“Lady Wolf,” she corrected.
Chapter Twenty-Six
S he didn’t protest when they tightened cuffs around her wrists. Red schooled her face into calm as the guards clustered, murmuring, casting worried glances her way.
“It looks human.”
“Of course it does. If you think that thing is the Second Daughter, or whatever it called itself, you’re a fool. The Second Daughter is long dead. The Wilderwood holds nothing but monsters.”
A scoff. “You believe those stories?”
The first guard jerked a thumb at Red. “I do now.”
“Calm yourself, Coleman. You sound like a maid at a Harvest campfire.” The commander was roughly handsome, with broad cheekbones and a coppery beard. He stood between Red and the rest of the soldiers, eyeing her contemplatively. “The Queen did warn us to watch for her.”
“The Queen, Noruscan? She’s half mad—”
The leader— Noruscan— caught the speaker across the mouth with the back of his hand, the movement nearly nonchalant. “That’s quite enough.”
The other man made a surprised noise as blood trickled from his lip. He shot a venomous glance at Red, as if it was her fault.
Noruscan looked her curiously up and down, like she was a statue. A relic. Red’s stomach sank at that look, the sting of it doubled after so long without.
The commander’s gaze turned to the Wilderwood behind them, tall and dark, and the sight of it seemed to settle some internal debate. “We’ll take her to the High Priestess.”
Red’s brows pulled together. The Neve she knew— the one she’d seen in the mirror, desperate for her return— would want her sister sent straight to her. “Are those your orders, Noruscan?”
The use of his name made the commander recoil, stepping closer to the clustered soldiers.
“Don’t talk to it, man,” the guard with the still-bleeding lip and shaky sword-arm cautioned.
The captain peered at her, assessing her threat, then grabbed her arm. Shackles pinched into her skin, but Red didn’t fight. The last thing she needed was to inspire that shaky guard to a moment of bravery.
“You’ll ride with me.” Noruscan pulled her over to his horse. Before boosting her into the saddle, he reached for the ties of her cloak.
Red twisted from his grip, instinct moving her more than thought. “No.”
“How do you think the capital will react, if you are who you claim?” His face was stern lines, his eyes dark with something that wasn’t quite fear, but skirted close to it. “They sent you to a monster, and the monster gave you back. How will that look, Second Daughter?”
Her pulse thrummed steady against her shackles. As much as it set her teeth on edge, he was right. She couldn’t afford to broadcast her presence to the whole kingdom, and the scarlet bridal cloak would draw undue attention. “Will you return it?”
A moment of hesitation, his ruddy brows low. But he nodded.
Red slipped the heavy fabric from her shoulders, swallowing hard. When Noruscan settled behind her in the saddle, he placed the cloak almost gently in her lap. She twisted her fingers in it as they galloped away.
Two hours’ hard riding, and the gates of the capital shone on the horizon.
“Hide that,” Noruscan said as he sawed on the reins, turning the horse toward the gates. He tapped a fist on her bridal cloak.
His tone held warning. Hide it or we’ll take it from you. Red balled the cloak in her hands as well as she could, tucking the embroidery on the underside.