We were coursing through the forest, Jion and me on his white horse.

The moment the horse leaped out from where we were from, I realized I was not dreaming.

Yes. It was all freaking real.

All the events that took place from the time I woke up, the castle, my dream husband, the knights, the carriage, and the harpies were all real.

I was certain of it. Why? Because I could feel the horse’s power pounding beneath me. I could feel Jion’s powerful arm clamped around my waist. The heat and solidness of his body. I could even feel the branches whipping at my face, my hair, my body.

If this was all a dream, I shouldn’t feel anything, right?

So I was convinced that this was all real.

And none of this was good.

And all of it was lasting a long, long time.

I didn’t recognize where I was. No idea how I’d gotten here. I just knew I was… there.

This was not a dream.

This was real.

And it was a nightmare.

Last, I was freaking scared.

“Duck!” Jion barked in my ear, but he didn’t give me the chance to carry it out. He pushed his chest into my back, pressing me down, and I heard a branch whip over our heads.

He hoisted me up, taking me with him, but I squeezed my eyes shut.

And then I saw it… deformed pointed ears, wrinkled face, bald head, and bulging eyes.

I immediately opened my eyes and bit my lip hard in an attempt not to break down.

One of those things almost killed me. If Jion hadn’t sliced it in two in thin air, I would most likely become a fertilizer on the soil.

But I couldn’t think of that. It was too awful.

What I had to do was to concentrate, not break down and figure out how one night I went to bed in my apartment after a day of my normal and boring life only to wake up in another world.

I mean, I was an administrative assistant! How did I end up on a horse, in a forest, with a man wearing breeches, for chrissake?

As I dealt with these thoughts, the horse bolted forward and we rode silently through the forest as the rain started to drizzle down our necks.

Lightning flashed in the distance, followed by a long roll of thunder and the trickling rain turned into a downpour. The forest seemed to vibrate with every thunderous groan the sky gave and as the seconds passed by, the rain gained in intensity.

Another boom of thunder crashed so loud that I let out a short scream and promptly planted my hands on my ears.

Jion cursed as he shifted his horse on the left, and it sprang forward as he dug into its flanks with his heels. Soon we were climbing a terrain. We climbed and climbed. The horse labored with the effort of our weight, but it seemed to know where it was going.

Then suddenly, we were in a cave.

A big cave.

Then, just as suddenly, Jion jumped down on his horse and a pair of hands were at my waist, tugging me down.

Well, not really tugged, but yanked me down.

It wasn’t gentle, nor did he have a care at all.

I yelped in surprise and pain as the cold stiffness of my body uncoiled and my bare feet touched the shard of stone that was on the cave floor.

I hadn’t recovered yet when he gripped my upper arms and shook me.

Yes. The brute shook me like a rag doll, my head jerking back and forth and every inch of my battered body. It was so intense I could even feel my brain rattling.

“What the hell are you doing?” I cried out, grabbing into his biceps to try to get him to stop and try to hold myself steady.

He stopped shaking me and leaned down towards me, his face very close, his lips just centimeters from mine. “I bloody told you to stay in the carriage. Not only you didn’t listen to me, but what the hell are you thinking standing in the middle of the onslaught?” he barked.

Seeing the fury on his face and in his voice, I took a step back. “I wanted to help the hors—”

“Don’t you even think what will happen if you die?” he clipped, interrupting me. His strong fingers were still gripping me hard.

“No, but when I saw the—”

“What?” he spat and began to shake me again.

“Stop shaking me!” I yelled, and he did, only to get in my face again.

“You know what your death will bring to Asgorath,” he growled. “You knew, but you still defied my ord—”

“I didn’t know!” His scowl grew more noticeable after I cut him off. “I didn’t!” I repeated. “I just wanted to hel—”

He interrupted me. “You bloody hell knew, Dharani, you knew.” He frowned, knitting his brows together. A muscle ticked along his jaw as his rage surfaced.

What the hell was wrong with him? I couldn’t even finish a goddamn sentence.

Exasperated from trying to give an explanation, I just said, “I swear I didn’t. I don’t even know what the hell am I doing in this place. I don’t even know you.”

He glared at me for a moment before pushing me away, releasing his hold. I stumbled back and hit his horse that moved slightly into me like it wanted to break my fall. Since I’d experienced and seen a lot of things here like the castle, harpies, men wearing breeches and swinging scabbards, and a carriage, I wouldn’t be surprised if the horse actually protected me from falling. It was great to know there was a living entity in this world that wasn’t angry at me.

“What’s the matter with you? Have you gone mad?”

I shrugged. “I don’t think so,” I responded, because I wasn’t sure. Everything around me felt crazy, but I didn’t feel crazy. Though I’d never been crazy, so how would I know? “Can I ask you a question?”

He narrowed his eyes, studying my face. “What?” he gritted out.

“Are you really my husband?”

Something about him changed, and I watched it with fascination. He wasn’t any less scary. He was only a… different kind.

“Okay, if this is the way you’re going, I will indulge you. Yes, I’m your husband.”

Though baffled at his first statement, I kept on. I wanted information.

“When?” When he cocked his brow in question, I added, “When did we get married?”

He watched me closely, but his face was blank so I couldn’t read a single emotion from him. “Three years ago.”

My jaw dropped, and it felt like my eyes popped out of my skull as utter shock ripped through me.

“Three years?” I parroted.

His wife was married to this brute that long? She must have the patience of the saint.

“Do you have any more questions?” he asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I ignored the sarcasm and nodded, not wanting to waste this chance to question him. “Where are we going? I mean, before we got attacked by legions of harpies.”

One of his brows rose. “Harpies?”

“Yes. The birds with a man’s face.”

“You mean the Aellos?” I nodded. “We’re goin