Luna looked everywhere but down as Knox continued to run his fingers through her hair.
“What a lovely thing you are,” he purred. The difference in his tone was startling; much gentler bordering on flirtatious. It was unnerving how quickly he had changed.
Her noblewoman upbringing forced her to respond with automatic politeness—despite him deserving none. In the coming days, she would regret being this pleasant, wishing she’d come up with some kind of witty retort instead of. “Umm . . . Well, thank you, that’s very kind of you to say.”
“You know,” Knox drawled, gathering her hair to one side before giving it a slight tug that pulled her head backwards, “it’s a well-known fact that I know how to show a woman a good time.” He continued to stroke her hair, his fingers brushing over her shoulders as he did so.
Luna bit her lip. Although she would never admit it out loud, the way Knox played with her hair sent tingles down her scalp thatalmostfelt nice.
Damien was scowling, his entire body taut with barely restrained fury. “You have two choices. Take your hand off her, or I’ll rip it from your body myself.”
Knox rolled his eyes, twisting Luna’s hair around his finger one last time before releasing his hold on her. “Such a charmer, that man you’ve got. I think you could use a little upgrade, don’t you?”
“Uh . . .no, but thank you?” Luna said, once again responding far too politely. “It was nice to meet you and all but—”
“The pleasure is all mine. I didn’t catch your name, though, sweetness. Perhaps you’d prefer I call you,myprincess?”
“Oh—skies—no. I’m Luna, but . . . erm . . . we have to go.”
A sly smirk crept across his face—too slick, too self-assured. Luna got the feeling she’d just made a grave mistake.
He grabbed her hand, twirling her on the spot. “Do you have to? We’re just getting started.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips against her skin.
Luna looked to Damien. Why wasn’t he using his shadows to get rid of them? Was he worried they’d hurt her before his shadows could reach them?
“If the lady insists, perhaps we should let them leave?” Harlow said, stroking his chin. His eyes were on Damien, as if he’d been watching him this entire time. It didn’t surprise Luna; he seemed like a man who missed nothing—keen on catching every detail, even the ones others tried to hide.
“I do,” Luna replied quickly as she brushed her hand against her pants, removing any trace of the kiss and the unwanted attention. “I must insist.”
Knox glared at his friend, a frown forming on his lips. “Very well, then. If you wish us to leave, we will.”
Harlow nodded, flicking his wrist towards Damien as a gesture of his dismissal. “I look forward to when we meet again.”
Knox only had eyes for Luna. “Hopefully sooner rather than later,myprincess . . . my dearest Luna.”
Luna curtsied and the two were all smiles as they transformed back into unicorns and turned away. She breathed a sigh of relief once Harlow and Knox had disappeared into the trees.
“So, just a thought,” Damien said, grabbing her attention. “Maybe we don’t volunteer our names to the enemy?”
“Hey! Who are you calling an enemy?” Knox called out from a distance.
Apparently, he wasn’t out of earshot yet.
Luna couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She spoke up before Damien could, “If you don’t want to be considered that, then do something about it.”
Luna heard Harlow laugh as Knox replied, “Now, where’s the fun in that?”
After several moments of silence, Damien returned to his human form, officially signalling they were finally out of danger. Luna averted her eyes as he grabbed clothes out of Barley’s pack and got dressed. “Don’t look around. You won’t like what you see,” Damien warned. “I’ve used a lot of magic over the last few days so my shadows can only cover so much.”
Luna nodded, keeping her gaze on her feet as they walked through the village with the two horses following behind.
Damien guided her around what she assumed was debris; she couldn’t tell with his shadows blanketing the ground. After they had walked some distance, Damien cleared his throat and said, “We are on the run from the king’s men, but they aren’t the only evil out there. Next time you come across demonic unicorns, maybe don’t be so polite? By touching your hair, Knox could have done much worse than just end your life. All he needs is a strand to make someone his puppet.”
Luna shuddered at the thought. She didn’t even know it was possible to remove her free will. “Who were they? You seemed familiarwith them.”
“They follow the Darkened One . . .” For a moment, Damien was quiet, like he was contemplating the rest of his answer. Then, he sighed and admitted, “But I knew them before they got entangled in that web. Believe it or not—they were decent men once upon a time.”
“Why did he call you a prince?”
