Chapter 52

Daphne tried to pull away from the man, but his grip was unyielding. He was using just enough strength to hold her captive and jerking her along as he evaded Arthur’s attacks. She struggled, fearing the moment he would throw her in the way of Arthur’s claws, but it never came.

He pulled her behind him and shoved her back into the arms of another man who took hold of her quickly and lifted her from the ground.

“Let me go!” Daphne cried, kicking and wiggling, aiming for the man’s face or anywhere else she could manage.

He dodged her attacks with easy movements of his head before throwing her over his shoulder.

“Release me!” She shrieked and the man froze for a moment. It was long enough to knee him in the face and tumble off his shoulder. She scrambled back and onto her feet, running away from him towards Arthur as he pulled free of the man he’d been fighting.

Arthur roared, shaking the air with its intensity as she leaped towards him when she felt something snag her bag.

She slipped free of her bag and leaped onto Arthur’s back just as he started running towards the waterfall. Arthur darted and jumped out of the way of their attacks as the sound of thundering footsteps grew louder.

Were there more of them?

“What’s that sound?”

Arthur turned sharply and leaped down an incline, sliding through the dirt and muck to reach the bottom before darting off.

A wolf howled in the distance and Daphne looked back. The human figures that darted through the trees were closing in on them. Growing closer were brilliant points of violent red light.

“Rogues,” she whispered in horror.

Arthur reached the riverbank and scanned the climb below. The figures emerged from the trees with slow, silent footsteps. Arthur growled and roared again, shaking the air. The pale creatures bared their fanged teeth and drew tense, snarling at Arthur.

One of them walked forward. Her bag was slung over his shoulder and his eyes were clear.

“Give her to us, wolf.”

Daphne’s heart lurched. She hadn’t expected them to be able to speak.

“Not even if you kill me,” Arthur growled as the sound of pounding footsteps grew closer.

A vicious snarl filled the air as a werewolf leaped through the trees, tackling one of the people with a violent crunch. The rest of the group turned back as werewolves with glowing red eyes came barreling out of the trees.

Arthur shifted into his human form and lifted Daphne onto his back before grabbing the vine they used to scale the waterfall and running over the edge.

Daphne screamed as they free-fell through the air and shut her eyes hearing nothing but the roaring falls. Their descent stopped short and she felt them swinging through the air until they came to an abrupt stop. Daphne tightened her grip as he grunted. Daphne looked up to see how far they’d fallen and gasped.

Arthur cursed as human figures began to descend the slippery slope.

“What the hell are they?” Arthur asked, releasing the vine to take hold of the rock and start their descent.

They were gaining quickly and Daphne’s heart hammered in her chest.

The one who had been carrying her bag wasn’t among them, but she didn’t want to see him.

“D-Do you trust me, Arthur?”

“Always.” He chuckled, “You’re not about to suggest something dangerous, are you?”

“How deep do you think the river is?”

He huffed, “Deep enough that we’d have to swim.”

He leaped out of the way of a creature as it swiped at them and barely lost its footing, plummeting to the base of the fall. Daphne turned away as he landed with a soft, wet crunching sound.

“The river’s current is p-probably faster than them, right? The pool is big enough.”

“Maybe,” Arthur said, his voice tense as he let them fall. He cursed as his hand slipped off an edge.

“We have to jump, Arthur,” Daphne said. “It worked before and we’re not as high up.”

Arthur grunted. He didn’t want to chance it, but whatever these people were meant trouble if they had already dealt with the rogues that had come to his aid and still had strength enough to follow.

“Fine,” Arthur said, “But, we have to change positions. I’m not leaving to chance that you can hold on to me.”

They fell to a ledge, just large enough for them to stand on together. She slipped from his back and he pulled her up against his chest. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him.

“Do you trust me?” Arthur asked into her hair.

“With my life.”

Arthur tightened his grip on her and caught one of the creatures by the hair, throwing them down to the base of the waterfall before jumping forward, aiming for the center of the plunge pool. As the air rushed past them and the water came closer, Arthur curled around her, pressing her into his chest and braced for impact.

Daphne took a deep, choking breath as they resurfaced. Arthur was breathing, holding her close and twisting them in the water to withstand the worst of the current. He grunted as they bumped into a rock formation and were sent further into the river.

“Daphne?” Arthur asked, treading water as the most violent current released them. “Are you alright?”

She spat out water nodding shakily, “I-I’m alright. What were those people?”

“I don’t know.” Arthur said.

“W-Why did they want me?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur said, squeezing her closer. “You’re safe. I promise. I won’t let anyone take you from me.”

Daphne nodded, believing him and relaxing in his hold. The current grew gentler and Arthur kept scanning the area for signs of them. Daphne looked back hoping to get a sense of where they had ended up, but she couldn’t see much of anything but the dense forest behind them.

“If they were tracking our scent, they’ve lost it by now,” Arthur said. “They might follow the river, but we’re so far ahead of them it would take them a long time to find us.”

Daphne nodded, “We should get out and head back to the castle without leaving much of a trace.”

Arthur nodded and winced, “I’m… sorry about the portrait of your mother…”

Daphne’s eyes widened. She hadn’t even thought about it in between being almost kidnapped and making another escape for their lives using the waterfall. A pang of regret went through her, but she shook it off. While she had been overjoyed at the prospect of having a portrait of her mother, there was no price for her and Arthur’s safety.

“I’ll be okay,” Daphne said and smiled at him. “Let’s get back to the castle.”

Arthur nodded. They remained in the river for a bit longer before he found a rocky bank where they could get out without leaving much of a trace. They rested on the banks before starting to walk through the forest.

After an hour or so, Arthur transformed to carry Daphne the rest of the way to the castle. He never considered that one day he would see the castle and be filled with happiness and relief.

The servants greeted them at the front gates and scrambled about to run a bath for them. Daphne had wished she’d had the wherewithal to ask for separate baths to be drawn, but she didn’t complain as Arthur guided her into the tub with him and pulled her close.

“I’ve never seen a creature like them,” Arthur said, his voice concerned and distant. “They were… more difficult to deal with than rogues.”

She shuddered, “How many do you think there are?”

Arthur shook his head, “I don’t know.”

However, he wasn’t willing to take the chance that there were enough to be a threat to Daphne. Did they want her specifically or was it because she was human? What were they planning to do to her? He didn’t want to think about it, so he tried not to think about anything but getting cleaned up and sitting down for a meal with Daphne. They sat in their private lounge after dinner watching the fire and cuddling on the couch.

“Daphne?”

Daphne looked up at him, curious about his tone. His expression was pensive and serious. He turned his gaze from the fire to meet her gaze. There was something in his eyes that made her breath stutter in her chest with anticipation.

“I said I wanted to be with you,” Arthur said. “That we’d build a life together.”

“Yes.” She smiled. “I want that too.”

“Will you marry me?”

Daphne’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open in a little gasp. Arthur braced himself for rejection when the rush of joy through their bond knocked him breathless as she jumped up, throwing her arms around him and kissing him soundly.

“Yes!”