Read Online The Royal Pursuit by Ruth Ann Nordin - Free Book Online Page A

in the forest. Since she was the
one who knew where the stone was, thanks to her magic, it was up to
her to be the leader. She carefully made her way through the
forest, dodging weeds and stepping over tree roots.
    She was grateful no wild animals
attacked them. She saw several furry small animals that resembled
squirrels and birds on Earth, but she knew they were a different
species.
    Jaz called out, “Wait,” in a
whisper.
    Ann, Athen, and Falon obeyed her, and
Ann looked uneasily around them. Everything was quiet except for
some animal noises. What had Jaz heard? Falon and Jaz took out
their guns and scanned the area, ready to shoot at anything that
posed a threat to the group. Ann grew nervous. Why didn’t she sense
anything? Shouldn’t her magic tell her if she should be on her
guard?
    Athen reached in his pocket to pull
out the Book of Spells. As soon as he gasped in alarm, Ann realized
he had lost the book. He probably dropped it when they were falling
out of the spaceship. She turned her attention to the trees around
her. She didn’t see or hear anything unusual. What was she
missing?
    Jaz fired her gun.
    Then everything around Ann became
chaotic. Out of nowhere, two people jumped on her. Startled, she
fell to the ground. Before she could move, one of them chained her
hands together. She briefly noted a web-like net snatching Jaz’s
and Falon’s guns out of their hands.
    As they struggled against their
attackers, a man dressed in white struck Athen with his white cane
so Athen couldn’t move. The man in white swiftly turned to do the
same to Jaz and Falon.
    Before Ann could throw her two
attackers off of her, one of the Nicals pressed a clear crystal to
her forehead. She struggled to get away from it, but they were too
fast for her. She felt the magic leave her body. It was at that
moment she realized how much magic Raz had granted her. She hadn’t
used it much in the past, so she’d never harnessed its full
abilities, a decision she was quickly regretting. If she had
trained more in it, then she might have reacted swiftly to protect
her and her friends from their attackers.
    “ Well done,” the man in
white said, satisfied.
    By the time Ann was on her feet,
Athen, Jaz, and Falon were also chained.
    “ Queen Ann.” The man in
white bowed. “What a pleasure it is to meet you at last. I have
heard so much about you.”
    She remained quiet, figuring there was
nothing she could say to make the situation better.
    “ You are beautiful, though
disappointing. I had expected more of a fight out of you,” he
continued. He shook his head. “You can’t have it all, I
suppose.”
    She thought it was odd when he ignored
her friends. For some reason, his focus was exclusively on
her.
    “ Come. We need to get back
to your ruler,” he told the Nicals.
    They nodded.
    He started walking. As they followed
him, they led their captives by the chains. Ann couldn’t help but
notice the Nicals, though just as human as the man in white, wore
tattered brown wool clothes and looked as if they hadn’t slept in
days. She also noticed another peculiarity. Their hair seemed to
change color.
    Two of her captors had yellow hair.
The only woman in the group had green hair. The two men leading her
by the chains had blue hair. What did the different colors
mean?
    Athen, Jaz and Falon walked behind
her. Ann was sure they were making plans to escape, but she
wondered if such planning was in vain. They wouldn’t be getting out
of these chains unless one of the Nicals released them, and from
the way things looked, they weren’t likely to do that.
    Again, she felt helpless. She recalled
the comment the man in white had made to her. He was disappointed
in her because she didn’t put up a fight. He was right. What good
was being the Queen of Raz if she relied on others to protect her
all the time? She forced aside her doubts about her
abilities.
    Now wasn’t the time to dwell on her
insecurities. There would be plenty of time for that