Apprentice of Death
Chapter 18

Cinder lay across her horse, half dead, wondering how she was even alive. She opened her eyes and saw the forest floor flying under her horses’ hooves. A glow around her neck caught her attention, even from where she was slumped against the horse and saddle. The Moonstone was shimmering in her sight, and it was the last thing her eyes took in before they closed again as she blacked out.

Her horse ran all the way up to the main gate of the palace before slowing. The attendants rushing up spooked him, and he reared, dumping Cinder’s body to the cobblestones, her black hair and arms sprawled out to the side, her neck still bleeding.

Tristan had been alerted that a riderless horse had been approaching the gate, and he came to check it out when he saw Cinder dumped onto the cobblestones. He started shouting for the guards to alert Jenny, the King, and Sebastian that Cinder had been fed on again as he ran over to her quickly. Tristan turned her over, desperate to see if she was still breathing. She was, but it was shallow, and she was paler than he had ever seen her before. He sucked in his breath at the sight of the glowing Moonstone around her neck. He picked her up and carried her limp body down the hall to her room. Jenny ran up beside him, looking at Cinder again.

“Send for Celeste!” she screamed at the guards. A couple of them ran off to do as she had commanded.

They reached Cinder’s room and ran inside. Tristan gently laid Cinder on the bed and moved out of the way so Jenny could check Cinder’s vitals.

“She’s fading, Tristan! The Moonstone is the only thing keeping her alive at this point. If Celeste doesn’t get here fast, she will die. Where is the King!?” Jenny was almost crying about the state her friend was in. Sebastian burst into the room, followed by the King, both wearing expressions of worry, even horror.

“What happened?!” demanded Sebastian, rushing to Cinder’s side.

“He fed on her again and took too much, again. She’s dying. The Moonstone is sustaining her, but its magic is depleting quickly,” Jenny looked at him with tearing eyes and grief contorting her voice. She looked back down at Cinder, almost sobbing for her friend.

“What can be done? Please! Anything, think Jenny!” Sebastian pleaded.

She looked up at him again, saying, “We could do a blood transfusion, but the infection would be too much. It would take more than one donor with this amount of blood loss. It would change her, Sebastian. She would become a werewolf!”

“Cinder is safe from my infection; start with me!” Sebastian told Jenny urgently.

“Get on the bed next to her!” Jenny instructed, reaching into her bag for what she needed.

Sebastian crawled onto the middle of the bed, next to Cinder, not taking his eyes off Cinder. Sebastian was so focused on Cinder he didn’t notice Adrian’s look, which reflected the fear that this was it for Cinder, the look of a man who was likely watching his love die before his eyes.

Jenny wasted no time and began a transfusion from Sebastian to Cinder.

Once it was started, Jenny looked at Sebastian and asked, “But what about the next one? Who could provide that here? Are we going to wait for Celeste? I’m not sure there’s time!”

Sebastian was thinking quickly and looked up at Jenny, instructing her, “Go to the vanity, top right drawer. You’ll replace two clear vials and a syringe. Have Adrian put some of his venom in one of the vials and mix it up. Then inject it into Cinder as quickly as you can. It will need time to spread before she could receive the transfusion from him.”

Adrian met Sebastian’s eyes, and something profound and accepting passed between the two men at that moment; Sebastian was acknowledging and accepting Adrian’s relationship with Cinder to the point of deciding to use one of the vaccines on him. It spoke volumes about how Sebastian was comfortable with having Adrian in Cinder’s life long-term.

Jenny did as he said, collecting a sample from the King, and gave Cinder the injection. Cinder sucked in a massive gasp and arched her back like she had the first time, though this time, her eyes glowed an electric blue, just like Adrian’s. Jenny gasped and started figuring out what to do while Adrian stepped forward, scowling in concern.

“It’s normal for this, Jenny; it’s happened before. Calm down,” Sebastian soothed her. Sebastian turned to Adrian and gave him a reassuring nod as well, and Adrian calmed.

Once the first transfusion was complete and they were confident the serum had spread enough, they hooked Adrian up to Cinder to donate. He lay down where Sebastian had been, next to Cinder, looking at her. She at least had more color after the first transfusion, and Jenny looked confident, which soothed Adrian’s worry that Cinder would die at that moment. He gazed down at her, thinking heavy thoughts but also of how much he loved her.

Jenny stayed close for a few moments until she was sure the transfusion was going well, and then she moved back to the sitting area where Tristan stood, almost at attention, both of them giving the trio some space.

Sebastian moved in to sit on the edge of the bed, near Cinder’s head, taking her hand in his, and he reached down with his other hand to caress her face and hair. The three lay still, other than Sebastian’s light caresses; the wolves all listening to her stuttering heart beating stronger and stronger with each passing moment of the transfusion. Their eyes could detect the slightest change of color coming to her complexion and how her breathing was settling down now that her heart wasn’t having to work so hard. She was still unconscious and hadn’t moved the entire time.

Jenny would glance over now and then to check on Cinder but did her best to give the trio some space; the moment felt quietly intimate while the three rested on the bed together.

When they were almost finished with the second transfusion, Celeste came rushing into the room. The door was closed behind her, and she walked up to the bed.

When her eyes landed on the transfusion, she shouted, “What are you doing! You’ll infect her!” Sebastian stood up from the bed and walked over to Celeste, pulling her aside as Jenny came over to end the transfusion. Sebastian explained the injection process and how it protected Cinder from that specific werewolf’s venom, that she had been vaccinated against him years earlier, and how it kept her safe. He explained that they had just administered the vaccine for Adrian to her and that she was now safe against his infection as well, that the transfusion was entirely safe for Cinder.

His explanation of the vaccine amazed and calmed Celeste as she listened to Sebastian explain everything. Once calm, Celeste walked back over and examined Cinder with her magic. Cinder was alive, which was the most important, and would recover fully, but her magic would be weak for a day or so as it spread through the donated blood in her system. They finished the second transfusion and unhooked the King.

“What are we to do? She was slotted to return to work for him in a few days. What if he feeds on her again?” asked Sebastian.

“She will be safe from that,” said Celeste, “Dominique will smell the werewolf blood in her system and wouldn’t dare bite or feed from her. She will be safe with your blood in her system for some time, which is a relief. It will cause some confusion on his end, how she is still a witch, though. It could lead to some difficult questions.”

Celeste took her leave, and the room cleared, except for Sebastian, who could never be convinced to leave her. He stayed with her as she slept off the vaccine, settling down to get some sleep as evening came on and night took hold. Cinder woke in the night, drawing in a sharp breath, and looked around her. Her last memory was of the glowing Moonstone around her neck, so she was momentarily confused about where she was. She looked around, recognizing her room, and her eyes wandered to her bed, seeing Sebastian sleeping there, near her on the bed.

She felt different and could again see in the dark clearly, the night vision enabling her to see every facet of Sebastian’s handsome face as he lay near her. The last time she had felt this way was when she received her inoculation against Sebastian’s venom.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, gently padding over to look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were an illuminated electric blue, and she knew a serum vial would be gone even before she checked the drawer. She examined her electric blue eyes in the mirror, the exact shade of Adrian’s. Thinking of him had her eyes glowing brighter, that strange heat building within her like the last time.

She turned and crept silently across her room to the back wall. She reached out her hand and opened the hidden door to Adrian’s room, slipping through it and shutting it behind her. She almost floated across the great room, feeling drawn to him. Searching with her night vision, she quickly found him with her eyes in the dark; he was sleeping in his great white bed.

She walked over to the side of the bed and stood over him, looking at him with her night vision, taking in his beauty while he slept peacefully. Was this how they could see all the time? What an advantage.

The King felt a presence in his room and sat up, alarmed, his body shuddering with a controlled wave of change as he prepared to defend himself. He breathed a sigh of relief, realizing it was just Cinder, but when he saw her eyes, he sucked in a breath of surprise.

“Cinder, your eyes. Are you alright?” He was both fascinated and concerned over what he saw.

She smiled at him and answered, “Yes. This happened the last time I got the vaccine too. I’m sorry I woke you.” He stood and came to her, examining her eyes up close, seeing his own reflected back at him.

He gently reached out to her face and caressed her as he examined them, thinking, “You’re beautiful.” Seeing a part of himself in her moved him and stirred the love he held for her already, awakening it to new depths as he embraced being a part of her in a way.

She smiled at him and gently caressed his brow with her fingers, thinking, “It’s what I think when I see you like this, too, you know. I love this side of you too, Adrian.” He smiled and kissed her lovingly, still holding her face with his hand.

She sighed and slid her hands up his chest to encircle his neck, holding him to her as she opened for him, flicking her tongue out to tease him. His arms surrounded her and drew her against him, his need for her flaring up like a match being struck. His fear earlier that day that she would die and he would never have the chance to love or hold her anymore intensified his need for her.

His passionate kiss possessed her, consuming all her senses, and she was lost to the world around her, save for him. His heart was aching with the secret knowledge he held, the fear that she would die earlier, and only her arms, her kiss, and her love could help dull it.

He reached over and started removing her dress while his eyes looked at her with awe.

“You are so beautiful, Cinder,” he thought as the dress slid from her form, rustling to the floor. No one else came close.

He gently framed her jaw with his hands and bent to kiss her ardently. He backed them up to the side of his bed and pulled back to look at her naked form in the moonlight streaming through the massive doors to his balcony. His eyes illuminated to match hers as he looked at her with that look again, the one where he could be looking at something worthy of reverence.

She wet her lips and drew a breath over her parted lips as she thought, “Why do you look at me like that, Adrian?”

He sighed, almost like he couldn’t believe she didn’t know. He walked up to her, the look still in his eyes and a small smile coming to his lips. He bent and kissed her and then slowly started kissing his way down her neck and chest to her breasts, making her gasp and tremble at his touch. He slowly sank down onto his knees and framed her hips with his hands as he kissed his way down her stomach.

He looked up at her and thought, “You’ve captured my soul, Cinder.” She sighed with the love he held for her in his words and face, and she reached down to run her fingers through his hair, caressing him. ”I am enraptured with your beauty and consumed with your love. Can you not hear it? Feel it?”

She closed her eyes and focused, and his pure love washed over her mind making her suck in a breath and slowly breathe it out over her parted lips. Her illuminated eyes opened again, and she looked at him. He looked at her stomach and leaned forward to kiss her there again, leaving a trail of fire behind his mouth as he traveled lower to her aching need.

A moan escaped her mouth as her head flew back with the ecstasy of his mouth on her throbbing heat. Her legs buckled with the pleasure and building need. His hands steadied her with his hold on her hips while his mouth worked her up into a fiery passion of need. She cried out with a burst of pleasure and release, fanning out to fill her being; only his firm hold on her prevented her from collapsing to the floor.

“Adrian,” she breathed out. His hands caressed her thighs and waist, and he looked up at her. She finally managed to look down at him and meet his eye, her head falling slack to her chest. He took in her flushed cheeks with a look of pure love and adoration. He bent forward and kissed her sweetly on her stomach again as she smiled and caressed his hair.

“You always manage to bring me to my knees, Cinder,” he whispered.

He reached up and gently laid her back onto his bed, pressing his hips between her thighs after removing his sleeping pants. His hot hands continued to caress her thighs while he leaned over her, sucking a breast into his mouth, making her back arch into him, moaning his name.

“Adrian, I need you,” she pleaded, her need for him burning hot in her core.

He pulled her to the edge of the bed, still sucking and teasing her breast with his mouth as he pressed into her. Cinder wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled on him, plunging him into her, filling her completely. She reached down and gripped his shoulders, leaning her head and shoulders forward on a deep gasp, when he started moving within her, wringing out their pleasure together.

His electric blue eyes stayed on her face, watching every tiny change as he made love to her, slowly rocking his hips to stroke her at the perfect angle over and over, building the pressure one thrust at a time. Her hips rose to meet his each time as their bodies united, desperate for one another.

Cinder cried out and clawed at Adrian’s shoulders as he drove her to the point of no return, the explosion of white-hot fire bursting out from her core on a final cry of passion, her body shuddering and clamping down on him while he still moved. His hands pulled on her thighs, meeting his final thrust, before his head fell back on a deep guttural moan of ecstasy; his own pleasure bursting out within to fill him.

He laid down over her, breathing heavily, his heart pounding, while he listened to hers do the same. They lay still for a long moment, coming down from the overwhelming passion.

“Cinder,” he started thinking, but she shushed him.

She stroked his head and thought, “No, Adrian, don’t. Let’s not talk about it. It could be years.”

“Or it could be hours, Cinder! I don’t know what to do,” he confessed.

“There is nothing that can be done, Adrian, except to use the time we do have. All we can do is not waste the time we do have,” she whispered back. She could feel him tremble slightly as he breathed out slowly, dwelling on the heart-breaking knowledge that he would lose her and be alone once more. “Shhhhh,” she caressed him.

He stood and pulled them up into his bed, holding her to him. He looked down at her and watched her slowly fall asleep in his arms, her eyes at last fading back to their violet. She warned him about seeing her dreams just before she drifted off, held close by him.

Cinder was indeed safe from Dominique’s bite over the next few weeks. Dominique, smelling the werewolf blood, cursed himself for losing control again, making a transfusion necessary. It was confusing to him that she was still a witch after receiving werewolf blood. He knew something was preventing the infection from taking hold, but he couldn’t figure out what, and he refused to ask her about it; she never brought it up and pretended like she couldn’t hear his thoughts when he was around her, pondering the mystery.

Dominique knew he would have to be more careful with her if he wanted to continue to use the hold over her that he had found if he would continue to work towards making her bond with him. He gave her some space, deciding to work on his self-control, and didn’t disturb her work either, hoping that she would continue to bond with the prisoners to the point he could use them to force her to bond with him.

Cinder closed her eyes, remembering her first visit back to the prison. Sean was on the table, and he had caught her hand as she passed him, meeting her eyes with his piercing green ones.

“Why witch? Why would you risk your life for mine?” She looked at him with sadness.

“To give you a better chance at living and replaceing a new life, one in which you can have a family, friends, and love. You deserve better than this, Sean; better than the life of an assassin.”

He had never known anyone to ever be willing to risk their life for an assassin; for him. He couldn’t grasp the feelings rising up in him, feelings being absolutely foreign to him.

She gave him a sad smile as she looked at him with her beautiful violet eyes, transfixing him with her gaze as he drew in a deep breath. Slowly she reached out to him with her free hand and swept his long dirty hair out of his eyes. He saw something there in her eyes as she reached down to caress his face before settling her palm on his face.

“You deserve better than this, Sean, and even if you’re not willing to try, I’ll fight for you. You haven’t lived, not really, and I would have you one day live free of this place to taste all that life has to offer. You say you have known nothing of love, and you should have the chance.”

He looked at her, and then it hit him. He had known love in her; her tender care of him, her grief on his behalf, that stolen kiss, her risking her life to save him. She had shown him love, and it awoke something deep within; something stirred down in the dark there as he looked at her.

She caressed him again, her sad smile deepening, and then she released him and continued working. He had remained in deep thought the rest of the visit, but she couldn’t hear him. His mind was closed to her unless she tried pressing it or he let her hear. He watched her treat the others with the same tender care that she treated him. How she cried over a woman who died in her arms just then, the crystal tears rolling down her slender face as her heart throbbed for the lifeless woman in her arm. How she hid her fear and tears from the little girl called Lucy, always showing her a smile and making the little girl laugh, even if it ended in a coughing fit. How exhausted she was by the end of the day, but she kept working.

Cinder had felt Sean’s eyes on her the entire time and knew that she had given him a lot to think about in their brief conversation; she only hoped he would take some of it to heart and that she would somehow be able to get him free, so he could experience life and love. She made sure all the prisoners had a drink of water before leaving. She had held Sean’s head for him while she brought the water to his lips.

“Thank you, witch.” It was rare for him to thank her for helping him, and it surprised her; perhaps her words had had an effect after all.

She had given him another sad smile before leaving, thinking, “I’ll see you in a few days, Sean.”

Cinder was pulled from her memories by a knock on her door. It was the night of the full moon, close to the time Sebastian would transform.

“Cinder?” Sebastian called her.

“I’m coming.” She came to him, and they entered his room. She helped him out of his clothes and kneeled beside him as they waited for the first wave of torment to hit. He felt guilty for fetching her to him. He almost wished she had forgotten and he hadn’t reminded her, but he wasn’t sure if he could bear the change silently to keep her from hearing him.

“Sebastian, stop thinking like that.”

A wave of pain hit him, stopping any retort he would give her. She lay her hands on him and let her magic flow into him, speeding up his change and bearing a portion of the pain. Wave after wave came, and she helped him ride each of them to make it to the change. It always pained her deeply to see him in so much pain, even as she did what she could to help him.

He contorted and roared as his body almost exploded at once into his great Lycan form. His head whipped around, still roaring, and he snapped at her, nipping her shoulder in a shallow scraping of his venomous teeth, before he collapsed onto the floor.

Cinder felt a small amount of stinging where his venom entered her system; this wasn’t the first time, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last, but it only ever bothered Sebastian. She healed the wound and wiped it clean before he could see it and feel guilty. He lay breathing heavily as the pain subsided for him, his body still quivering with the strain of the forced change. She breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his face gently in encouragement.

Another tormented roar from the other room reached her ears and pulled at her heartstrings. She closed her eyes at the sound, a slight grimace coming to her face at Adrian’s pain. Cinder bent down, kissed Sebastian on his face, and walked to the hidden door.

“I’m going to go help the King, Sebastian. He can’t infect me now. Just rest.” She turned and entered the King’s chambers through the door, leaving Sebastian on the floor.

She spotted Adrian on all fours on a rug in front of the balcony doors, the moonlight streaming in and washing over his naked form that was stretching as he clenched his teeth through the remainder of the current wave of pain. He was quivering from head to toe with the pain of the transformation, his muscles cording and flexing as his body contorted and strained. Cinder would have thought him beautiful there in the moonlight if he hadn’t been in so much pain.

He looked up at her, in-between two of the waves, but couldn’t focus as the next wave hit him, sending him sprawling out on the carpet as he roared in pain.

“Adrian.” She felt his acknowledgment but no reply as he tried to manage the pain. ”Adrian, I’m going to help you. Let me come to your side and try not to attack me, alright?” He gave a labored nod and clenched his teeth, turning away from her as the pain returned, his electric blue eyes flashing in the moonlight.

She calmly walked to him to not trigger any instinctual attack and slowly knelt beside him on the rug. She placed her hands on his back and opened up her magic to him, aiding his, increasing it to be more effective in bringing on the change. He convulsed and cried out with the next wave, mentally gawking at the aid of her magic in speeding it up.

She started pulling some of his pain into herself, and he gasped at the relief, turning his face toward her with his glowing eyes as the pain subsided briefly. Another rush of pain came through his body, causing him to jerk and strain, but the overwhelming need to cry out left when Cinder began bearing some of the pain with him.

She pushed more magic into him to make the change more effective and watched as his body slowly stretched and expanded into his great Lycan form. Cinder hadn’t known what to expect, having only ever seen a partial transformation from the King. She was so used to helping Sebastian change into his black form that the King’s lighter color surprised her. He was the coloring of a timber wolf, lighter with a brown dusting and coloring in areas.

He sucked in another breath as the final rush of pain pushed his form into his full Lycan body. He let his breath out in a gush of air that was edged with a slight rumble in his chest. She began stroking his brow like she tended to do when he was in his human form. He turned to her, blue eyes glowing, and looked at her, astonished by what she had just done.

She trembled slightly after, feeling tired, but Adrian could sense no fear in her as she sat close to him, touching him in this form. Witches would barely touch a werewolf in their human form; he had never even heard of one that would get close to a Lycan, and here she was, nestled up close to him, caressing him without fear.

His large clawed hand reached up and took her tiny hand in his, thinking, “Cinder.” It was covered in relief as he uttered her name in his mind. He couldn’t get any other thought to form in his exhausted state.

“Shhh,” she soothed him and began humming a gentle melody. ”Sebastian?”

“Yes, Cinder?”

“Are you alright?” His large Lycan form came through the secret door and approached her. He gave a tired nod and lay down on the floor near her. The two Lycans acknowledged one another but then settled down to rest, surrounding Cinder’s tiny form.

“Cinder?! Cinder, are you in there with the King? Is he alright? I have to go; my change is coming soon, but I was called to make sure he was ok,” thought Jenny from outside the King’s chambers. She opened the door, and the sight that met her eyes made Jenny gasp.

Cinder sat on the floor with two massive nine-foot Lycans lying around her, surrounding her and making her look very small. Both Alpha Kings radiated power, even in the look they sent her from across the room; Jenny could physically feel the weight of it and their instant protectiveness of the tiny witch sitting between their forms.

Jenny looked back at Cinder, thinking, “Is everything alright? The guards didn’t hear him finish transforming before they had to run off themselves.”

Cinder nodded while she stroked the two Lycans lying near her, thinking, “Yes, hurry back to your home. Your change is close, and you’re not safe to be around me.” Jenny nodded and retreated from the room, rushing down the hall back to her home near the hospital.

Cinder shut and locked all of the doors to Adrian’s room with her power before she turned and nestled down on the plush rug, with her head on Adrian’s chest and Sebastian’s head in her lap. Adrian’s great arm lay over her collarbones, embracing her shoulders across her front, holding her to him. Cinder leaned back against Adrian and reached down to brush Sebastian’s fur in a caress, making him sigh. Cinder used her magic to pull two large fur throws off the couches and placed them over the two wolves for when they would change back into men. She then closed her eyes and fell into an exhausted sleep with the two Lycans.

Sebastian and Adrian escorted Cinder to Dominique’s Keep the following day. The two planned to survey the forest after dropping her off, so they had both decided to come. They had been discussing with the General about creating a guard outpost on the opposite side of the great woods for better security coverage of the forest. The three rode up to the great black iron gates and dismounted, all three discussing the possibility of the guard outpost.

When the gates to the large Keep opened to reveal Dominique waiting for her, Sebastian and Adrian stood close, talking to her.

“I’ll be right down that way, Cinder, and the King will also be around when you’re done here. Be safe.” Sebastian whispered the last part and touched her face, gently caressing and looking at her with love. The look Adrian gave Cinder also spoke volumes, and Dominique took it all in with the new knowledge that Cinder had been hiding her relationship with both of them from him. Both men got on their mounts and rode off in the direction Sebastian had pointed out.

Cinder drew a deep breath, trying to calm herself; she had overheard Dominique’s evaluation and the revelation that he knew about her and Sebastian; she had already known that he knew about her and Adrian after his perusal of the Moonstone that day Adrian had escorted her.

She took ahold of Obsidian’s reigns and slowly walked into the Keep, a place that had become a sort of hell for her. She led him to the hitching post, doing her best not to show her nerves to Dominique.

“One wolf isn’t enough for you, huh? You just had to go and add another one to your collection, didn’t you?” Dominique whispered in her ear from behind as she tied up her horse. His nearness and deadly voice sent shivers of dread down her spine, standing the hairs on her neck up. “Tell me, Cinder, do you collect other magical creatures as well, or just furry beasts?” Her anger flared, but she refused to turn around and let him have the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to her. He leaned in even closer and continued in a deadly whisper, “What could I do to get on your list, my dear? Would you like to know the love of a vampire as well? If you need two of them to satisfy you, I could show you what you’re missing. Just say the word, and I will take you up to my chambers to show you love like you have obviously never known. Or do you prefer flea-bitten hounds in your bed?”

Cinder began shaking in anger and turned on him, forgetting to hide her illuminated eyes from him. They flamed an electric blue, and it was her turn to strike him across the face, sending his granite face whipping to the side with her magic-enforced hand. He turned slowly and looked at her, aghast at her glowing wolf eyes and enraged that she had struck him. She was never to raise her hand against him, according to the work release and Apprenticeship Laws, but she didn’t care.

He bent toward her, intent on strangling her a little, and she snarled at him, baring her teeth, as the rage built inside her. Dominique was afraid for the first time and took a step back; usually, he would never stand so close if interacting with a werewolf because of the risk. He found himself utterly unsure about what she was capable of because she looked like a werewolf.

“I would never love a monster like you! I will never bond with you, or had you forgotten that I am already bonded to Sebastian, you fool? Your evil is a stain on this world; should I ever have the chance, I would wipe it out! You will never be the most powerful in the world! I will never leave Sebastian and bond with you!” she screamed at him in rage, almost snarling in her fury, leaning closer to him as she glared with her glowing eyes. Dominique’s fear mounted, but so did his rage.

“We will see about that, Cinder!” he screamed back at her. “Take her! I have a werewolf Bondmate to go kill,” he shouted. He ran from the fortress in vampire speed, in the direction the two wolves had ridden their horses. Cinder reacted faster than Dominique’s guard could catch her, stunning most of them with magic and hitting back those she couldn’t. She jumped on her horse and sped after Dominique, trying to catch up to him to warn Sebastian. Fear was clawing at her heart as she raced off to try to save her love.