They rounded a corner, stepping into an empty hall. Luna’s thoughts were so tangled that, at first, she didn’t notice the subtle movement of shadows crawling along the walls. The darkness pulsed with fury, like a growing fire. Slowly, they gathered, dark tendrils weaving together until they formed the silhouette of a man.
Damien leaned casually against the wall, as if appearing from nowhere was a normal occurrence. Given all Luna knew of him, it very well could be. Magic, black and potent, danced around Damien’s fingertips, a silent threat in the dim corridor.
Clyde immediately reached for his sword, but Damien was faster. Before he could unsheathe it, shadowy magic shot from Damien’s hands, wrapping around Clyde’s wrists and pinning them behind him. Freed, Luna stumbled forward and ran to Damien, not allowing Clyde the chance to use his blade against her again.
Clyde struggled, groaning against Damien’s shadows. The magic coiled up his arms, clinging to him. With excruciating slowness, he battled Damien’s power, somehow managing to unsheathe his sword. His entire body shook violently, as if the weapon were impossibly heavy in his grasp. “You won’t get away with this,” he snarled at Damien, his voice ragged with strain. “Everyone is looking for you.”
Damien didn’t appear to hear him, though; his eyes were glued to Luna.
A black shadow lifted off the ground, snaking up her body, and wrapping around her torso, up to her chin. The shadow was like a cool mist as it brushed against her cheek. “Who did this to you?” Damien growled—his voice was low, dangerous.
Luna suspected he already knew the answer, but he followed her gaze anyway, his attention locking on Clyde. “Oh”—he chuckled darkly—“you’re gonna regret that.”
“The only thing I regret,” Clyde sneered, “is not killing you when I had the chance!”
Damien cracked his neck, and his shadows sent Clyde sprawling to the ground. “If you can’t keep your mouth shut, I will do it for you.”
He then turned back to Luna, his expression smoothing into something unreadable . . . like the calm before the storm. His gaze swept over her, taking in every detail: the ruined dress, the bruises, the tension taut in her frame. “Tell me, did he hurt you?”
Yes. My heart. My head. Everything.But she didn’t tell him that. Instead, she swallowed hard and said, “I’m fine. Tell me you can get us out of here.”
His silence was heavier than words as he cupped her chin, tilting her face up to meet his; she knew he saw everything she tried to hide.
Gently, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The fragile wall that was keeping her calm broke. Her bottom lip quivered, her body tensing as she fought against it—but the shaking started anyway. Small at first, barely noticeable, until it overtook her completely.
Damien wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against him and whispered, “It’s okay, I’m here now. No one is going to harm you.” He held her until her shaking subsided as if he wasn’t an escaped prisoner being hunted down and they had all the time in the world.
“I’m going to get us out of here one way or another,” he said, finally answering her question. “But first, turn around and cover your ears.”
She did as he instructed. But, even with her hands covering her ears, she still heard Damien’s taunting voice as he mocked Clyde, “I’ve been dreaming of the day we were reunited.”
There was a flash of blackness, a sickening crunch, then an agonizing scream.
Damien purred. “Music to my ears, but we can’t have your suffering bring others.”
The darkness lashed out again, and Clyde’s screams turned into muffled sobs.
So many lines had been crossed tonight that Damien’s actions almost felt like justice, but guilt clawed at Luna’s heart, sharp and unrelenting. If only she were stronger, she wouldn’t be helpless, wouldn’t need someone else to fight her battles, or save her like a damsel in distress. Keeping her back to Clyde, she said softly to Damien, “You didn’t have to do that.”
Damien put an arm around her and guided her away from the scene. “He won’t raise a sword against you again.”
An urge to go back and spit on Clyde’s broken body overwhelmed her, but she resisted, knowing it would do nothing to help her heal. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of dragging her down to his level. As she walked with Damien, she lifted her chin and rolled her shoulders back. This was her moment to rise above, reclaim her strength, and she refused to waste it on someone who no longer mattered.
Chapter 21
Knight in Shining Armour
As they ran through the halls, Luna heard guards shouting commands, searching for the missing prisoner—unaware he was helping her escape. Her heart pounded in her chest. Once the guards stumbled across Clyde, they would be looking for her too.
Quickly, and as quietly as she could through her laboured breathing, she told Damien about the secret passage she had found earlier. The nearby voices echoed down the halls, growing louder, stopping both Luna and Damien dead in their tracks.
“Where could he have gone? We’ve looked through every inch of this place.”
She glanced at Damien for guidance, and was answered with a devilish grin; he cracked his knuckles together and said, “Hang tight. This won’t take long.”
“What are you going to do?” she breathed, trying to keep the panic from her voice.
“A bit of murdering,” he said nonchalantly, as if killing was just routine for him—and for all she knew, it was.
