Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ellery
I didn’t have time to register any details of the earl’s cavernous room before Luna sprinted toward the mound in the center of the enormous bed. I stretched a hand out for her, but it was already too late; she was beyond my reach.
She didn’t make a sound as she leapt onto the bed. The mound beneath the blue blankets grunted, but I still couldn’t see the earl.
“Hello, master,” Luna snarled.
“Wha…?” came a groggy reply.
Clasping her dagger in both hands, Luna raised it over her head and shrieked as she drove it down. A burst of red sprayed from the blankets as Luna tore her dagger free and slashed it down over and over again.
She moved with impossible speed as the blood spray drenched her and the blankets. The earl didn’t scream, but his legs kicked beneath the blankets, and one hand flailed at the air as he tried to knock her away; the earl screeched when Luna sliced through his palm.
Tearing myself free from my shock, I turned away as I searched the room for a guard. Luna’s attack had happened so fast that I didn’t have the time to make sure the earl hadn’t decided to have some of his men watch over him in his room.
I spun in a circle, trying to take it all in, but if there were any soldiers in the room, they would have moved to stop Luna by now. I scolded myself for not reacting faster as I strode away to examine the rest of the room.
Scarlet followed me, but I didn’t think it was because she worried someone could be hiding here; I suspected she wanted away from that bed. The earl had stopped kicking, and his hand no longer flailed, but the sickening, wet thud of the blade piercing bloody flesh continued.
I should have seen Luna’s reaction coming and been prepared to intervene so she would stay safe, but I was too focused on the mission. That was a mistake I wouldn’t make again, though I doubted Luna would attack anyone else with this kind of unthinking savagery.
The earl deserved everything she unleashed, and Luna deserved her revenge. I would gladly unleash the same wrath on the duke and anyone else who stood between Ryker and me.
I’d take down everyone who wished to harm this realm, but my stomach couldn’t handle watching Luna’s retribution. This was also something personal to her, and I was an intruder.
With my lightning leading the way, I entered the earl’s closet, which was bigger than mine and my parents’ bedrooms combined. All his clothes were either hung neatly or tucked away on perfectly organized shelves.
Row after row of shoes and boots took the entire back wall. Not one blemish marred their shiny surfaces. I couldn’t imagine how much time it took to polish these things.
“Why would anyone need so many shoes?” Scarlet whispered.
“I don’t know, but I’d love to set them all on fire.”
“Me too.”
When we left the closet, I was relieved to discover Luna’s attack had ended. She remained on the blood-drenched mattress; her shoulders hunched forward as sobs wracked her slender body. The dagger lay on the bed before her.
Slowly approaching the bed, I walked around the side and, after extinguishing my lightning, rested my hand on Luna’s shoulder. I tried to avoid the blood soaking her and the blankets, but it was impossible.
Rivulets of red dripped from her once golden-blonde hair and slid down her face. The tears falling from her blue eyes created trails of clean skin through all the blood.
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” I whispered.
Luna’s lower lip trembled before she threw back her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I know where the bathroom is.”
Taking her hand, I helped her slide off the bed. Her legs shook before she steadied them.
Her shirt cleaved to her body and covered her to her knees. Bent beneath her during the attack, Luna’s lower legs were protected from the spray. She couldn’t continue to wear the soiled garments; they’d only hinder her.
“The only clothes we have for you to change into are his,” I told her.
“I’d rather be naked than smell that fucker on me again,” she spat.
Scarlet grasped her other arm, and I released Luna to my friend’s guidance. Once they were in the bathroom, I shifted my attention to the earl.
I dreaded going any closer to him, but I had to make sure he was dead. Luna had unleashed years of pent-up rage on him, but that didn’t mean she finished the job. While it was doubtful she hadn’t killed him, we couldn’t take the chance he lived.
Leaning closer, I lifted my hand with the lightning so I could peer down at the unmoving body. She’d stabbed him so much that she’d carved open his chest and sliced his heart to shreds. The remnants of it lay outside his rib cage.
I didn’t have to see any more of the bastard to know the man who’d tormented Luna and bought Tucker’s home out from under him was dead. In the bathroom, the water turned on, and I went to join my friends.