Hold Me Never (Holding Never) Read Online Free PDF Page A

return to
the Palace at once. There's so much work to do. An emperor's work
is never done. Busy, busy, busy.” He enunciates the last
three words deliberately, emphatically, loudly, waving one finger
high in the air. I suppress an almost irresistible, irrational urge
to roll my eyes and snort. It is blatantly obvious that he is
anything but busy, busy, busy.
    The Emperor turns his horse around. Stopping abruptly,
he taps the side of his head, as if just recalling a trifling,
inconvenient matter that has slipped his busy mind.
    “ Oh, Commander Ryleth?” The Emperor sniffs
over his shoulder.
    “ Yes, Your Majesty.”
    “ Our little prisoner seems to have an excess of
energy and fire. Perhaps being dragged behind your horse all the way
to the Palace will exhaust some of that fire. Yes? Cool down that
hot little head—and body, of hers. Oh, we're going to have
fun, so much fun!”
    Without
waiting for Commander Ryleth's response, the Emperor cackles loudly and kicks his horse into a
gallop. The
Emperor and his soldiers t ake
off in a cloud
of dust, leaving
me in the care and control of his Commander .

CHAPTER
THREE

    In the wake of the Emperor's thunderous departure,
Officer Goddot dusts himself off and picks up the branding iron.
Reasserting his authority, he waves the iron threateningly around,
pushing back the crowd. “Scram!” he shouts, the redness
returning to his face which had a minute ago been drained of color.
“Get away! Back to your hovels and dormitories! Go on, shoo!
Get the hell out of here! All of you!”
    Some of the townspeople scatter, but a few press in
closer.
    I hear my name being called, but Officer Goddot is
screeching and brandishing the iron in a dangerous, deranged manner
to prevent anyone from getting too close.
    I try to twist around, but Commander Ryleth's large
hands are suddenly at my waist, lifting me up. I let out a cry
before I realize that he has propped me up on his horse.
    Worried voices rise from the thinning crowd behind me.
    “ Zoey...poor girl!”
    “ ...please...”
    “ ...he can't do that...no...”
    “ Commander, sir!”
    “ ...please, sir, you're not going to drag her
behind your horse, are you?”
    “ She won't survive...”
    “ You'll kill her!”
    Pleas continue rising and rippling all around me. The
sky is full dark now, and the few dim street lamps in the town square
don't provide enough illumination for me to make out the faces
clearly. The only face I can see is the Commander's.
    His expression is grim, and when he pivots round to face
the crowd, there is an audible gasp and the people seem to shrink
away from him.
    A black-uniformed Imperial soldier is to be feared.
Everyone knows that. We have all seen and felt the brutality of the
Imperial army. A Commander of the Imperial army is no doubt one of
the most fearsome, ruthless, deadly creatures, a creature without a
soul.
    Commander Ryleth steps forward and a hush descends on
the crowd. “You heard the Emperor,” he says in a clear,
cold voice. “The Emperor has ordered her to be dragged behind
my horse. A few miles from here, where the terrain is rockier and
rougher and more punishing, she will be dragged in accordance with
the Emperor's order. If she is unable to endure the punishment and
perishes on the journey, her corpse will be delivered to the Palace.
The Emperor's word is law.” He finishes with a salute. “Long
live the Emperor!”
    With that, he turns back and strides towards his horse.
Without looking at me, he leaps up behind me and pulls the reins. I
try to turn around but his muscular arms cage me in as he spurs his
horse into a run. I am flattened against his chest as we pick up
speed swiftly, hurtling out of the small town and into the wide field
beyond that is overgrown with tall grasses and weeds.
    The noise and faint lights of the town fade behind me,
slipping further and further away from me until there is nothing for
me to hold on to. Over the Commander's broad shoulder, I can