“You will do no such thing.” With a stride forward, she stepped around Clyde, her movements deliberate, assertive, as she closed the gap between Damien and herself. “I apologize for my guard’s manners,” she said, her voice steady despite the tension. “He was just trying to do his job.”
“No need to apologize for some disgracefulhuman,” Damien countered, a subtle edge in his tone. He leaned in and he whispered, “If he becomes bothersome, I can always help him take another nap.”
A nervous laugh sputtered out of her, and she covered her face with her hand, trying to disguise it as a cough. “I don’t know what you speak of, but it’s fine. I don’t usually attend events outside of the palace.” She rolled her eyes to Clyde, watching his expressions as she spoke. The lines on his forehead were drawn into deep wrinkles, his eyes narrowed, studying her. “My guard is just acting a bit overprotective.”
Damien reached for her hand and, with a smile that made her heart flutter, he said, “You look beautiful.” Softly, he pressed a kiss to her hand, while subtly slipping something in between her fingers.
For an instant, she forgot all about Clyde. Forgot about magic. The residual touch of Damien’s hand on hers overwhelmed her senses, sending tingles over her skin. Her cheeks warmed. She could listen to this man give her compliments all day. “You’re too kind.”
Clyde shoved between them and ripped their hands apart. “I don’t know who you think you are, but it’s best you be on your way.”
Oh skies above, this was not going to end well.
Damien did not seem like the type of man who would take orders from another. Clyde needed to back off before this turned out like the last time these two had an interaction.
Dropping her voice to a whisper, she said to Clyde, “Remember your station.” After all, he was there to protect her and ensure she followed the rules, not control who spoke to her.
Clyde remained unmoving, standing between the pair, staring Damien down.
Damien only smirked, then leaned sideways, looking around Clyde to Luna. “Come with me,” he said, mimicking the motion of ripping something.
Clyde raised his arm in the air as if that would be enough to hold Luna back if she chose to go to Damien, but she didn’t. She wouldn’t. As captivating as he was, he wasn’t who or what she wanted.
She shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing together as she realized what he had slipped into her palm. Why had he given her a leaf?
From the corner of her eye, Luna spotted three figures approaching Nina, cloaked in dark brown robes with their hoods drawn.Good,Luna thought to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. Someone had finally come to tend to her.
“We don’t have much time,” Damien urged Luna, attempting to move past Clyde, but Clyde stood his ground, remaining in his way.
There was a finality in his voice, and she knew, without a doubt, if she went with him, there would be no coming back—not that she was considering going. He was practically a stranger. She might be immature, and more than a little naïve, but even she knew running off with a stranger was not a good idea, regardless of how alluring he was.
Luna whipped her head from side to side. She couldn’t leave her family, even if it meant living a life of deceit. She was safe and loved here. This kingdom, full of humans, was her home.
One of the cloaked figures pulled out a herb with three little leaves. Luna could see the three leaves of the teleportation plant, even from the distance she stood. They plucked one of the leaves off the stem, and Nina began to scramble backwards on her hands and knees.
The cloaked figures were saying something to her as they rounded on her, but Luna could only make out Nina’s desperate reply. “No. Stop. I won’t face him.”
Nina’s head snapped upwards, her eyes of silver waters quickly finding Luna, eliciting an indescribable emotion from her. Luna gasped, her heart pounding in her chest. She turned away from the boys, running down the stairs, unsure of what to do once she got to Nina; all she knew was that she needed to help.
She didn’t make it far, though. Strong hands wrapped around her arm, restraining her. “You’re hurting me,” she told Clyde as she tried to pull her arm free.
He shushed her, his eyes wide, taking in the scene unfolding on the stone platform.
One of the teleportation leaves had been ripped in half, and the cloaked figures were now struggling to grab Nina. Every time they reached for her, she recoiled, snatching away her arm or leg from them.
Luna heard the figures all speaking at once, shouting at Nina to quit resisting.
“We need to be quick.”
“Nina, you aren’t thinking clearly.”
“We’ve got to go—now!”
Nina violently shook her head, her hair whipping against her face. “How did you find me?” she wailed as she twisted away from their grasp.
A cloaked figure lunged for her and managed to hold onto her arm.
“Leave me alone!” she shrieked before she began to scream. Her cries finally drew the attention of several guards and some of the crowd who had been busy gathering food all this time.
