Chapter 144: The New Plan
Evanna slowed the horse down after riding for an hour; her heart was pounding to the sound of hooves galloping on the ground, her anticipation for an attack never faltering. But Conrad and his men never pursued them, which made her highly suspicious of him. The Prince did see her; whether he believed her to be the princess or just some thief, either way, he would never let someone take his horse.
Something wasn’t right, but her senses weren’t alerting her to an ambush of any kind, and where they were now, it seemed okay to dismount. Ronan was the first to jump off and extended his hand out for her to take; Evanna slid off easily and patted the horse’s neck. "Thank you, Shardeigh," She whispered for the horse to snort and flip its head back. But as soon as Ronan came closer, Shardeigh tapped its hoof in a warning.
Ronan backed away at a reasonable distance until the horse seemed to calm down. Evanna patted Shardeigh again and spoke soothing words into its ear before letting go of the reins and turning to talk to Ronan. "Raven.." Ronan wrapped his arms around her, pulling the princess into a hug, almost making her fall backwards from how he clung to her. "I’m so glad to see you are alive."
Evanna’s shock was replaced with a chuckle. "Oh, Roach, did you really think I’d be dead?" She patted his back like she was consoling a young child.
Ronan pulled back and stared at her masked face, shaking his head in disbelief. "You were caught by the Flori. What else was I meant to believe? Unless they found out who you are..?"
Evanna grinned and relaxed her hands to her sides. "They did not figure my identity out, but they also couldn’t kill me. I had information about the gem.." Her smile faltered as she was reminded that the gemstone was no longer in their possession but with the Lyvarians. Her heart wanted to burst in despair at the loss and hopelessness she was starting to feel. Evanna knew until she heard from her mother and Killian, she would not rest well, and even then, would it be the news she is so desperately seeking?
"Still.. that white-haired elf.." Ronan shivered and stared at her in concern, "Did they.. do anything to you?" Evanna blinked momentarily from her daze and was brought back to the conversation with Ronan.
The white-haired elf, do anything..
Evanna tilted her head to the side in confusion as Ronan rambled on. "Did they.. you’re a woman .. a gorgeous woman at that-"