She snatched up one saddlebag and buckled it to Buttons’ saddle, gesturing for him to do the same. “Help me mount,” she commanded, too worried to attempt it on her own; she just wasn’t very good at it yet. He threw her up into the saddle, and mounted right after her, settling solid and easy in the saddle.
She’d been right, earlier; Buttons could go faster, but the downhill slopes were helping his stride, and the bits of her mind that weren’t worrying at the unexpected summons feared the horse stepping in a hole and breaking a leg. They were pulling up at the Prince’s camp, a stableboy already waiting to take Buttons away and care for him, before she realised.
At first glance it seemed as though Prince Derek was speaking to a twin, the two looked so alike. Tall and dark and ruggedly handsome, in a stern sort of way.Then she realised that the other was no one she knew, and a chill ran through her, freezing her feet to the ground.
Grabbing her waist and lifting her up to place her on the horse, he twisted on the spot and scoured their surroundings, checking for anything of importance that they might have left behind. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he hopped up behind her with ease, wrapping his arms around her.
Soon they were flying through the forest, and yet he paid no attention to the journey, mind swirling with indecision and trepidation, wondering what was happening at the castle that was of utmost urgency. And soon, they were there and he clambered to the ground, pulling her down after him before he turned once more, gazing before him with a bewildered expression twisting his features.
She clutched at Isaac’s arm, suddenly terrified of losing him. The stranger turned and looked at her, and she felt, somehow, his attention arrest on her. She tried to withdraw, hide behind Isaac, but her feet wouldn’t move.
And then the stranger turned away, and she gasped in a breath. After another moment of conversation, Derek walked over to them, looking even more stern than usual, and drew a deep breath himself. “That was a messenger from Kent.” He glanced at Summer. “They think Summer is their long missing princess.”