Chapter 5 Encounter #2
She didn’t stop to rest, not even for a second.
Fearing if she did, she would realize how stupid this was and return home.
Without hesitation, she grasped another branch, her fingers tightly gripping the rough bark, and with a strong pull, she hoisted herself up.
With each upward movement, she felt the tree supporting her, its leaves whispering encouragement in the breeze.
She could see over the wall now. From here, if she jumped, she would land on top of it.
Her heart raced; though she had never been one to be scared of heights, she also had never been at risk of falling off something.
Before apprehension could set in, she launched herself from the tree.
Wildly, her legs and arms flailed around her, and for a heartbeat, she was flying, until she wasn’t.
She underestimated the distance from the tree to the wall.
Or perhaps, overestimated her ability to jump the distance.
Luna was falling. Twigs snapped around her, unable to mask her screams. Desperately, she reached out, trying to grab onto something. Anything. The air whizzed by her, a blur of motion and sound. Her life flashed before her eyes.
She was going to die.
In the last second, her hands wrapped around a solid branch—no, shadow—no, a branch. Whatever it was, her body dangled below, so she clung to it for dear life. Gasping for breath, her vision hazed. The trees near her began twirling as bile rose in her throat.
The branch she was dangling from swayed in the wind, bending unnaturally, drawing her closer to the trunk of the tree. Without questioning nature’s ways, she quickly moved to grab the trunk, pressing her entire body against it while thanking her lucky stars.
Shaking, she took a deep, grounding breath. She was safe. She was alive.
In the distance, she heard Emily’s voice. “You! Guard! You will help me search as well. We need to find my earring before the prince discovers I lost it. This is top priority. You hear me. TOP. PRIORITY.”
How they hadn’t heard her, she’d never know, but her sister’s distraction would only last a while longer.
Eventually, the guards would give up and go back to their posts.
Luna chanced a glance down, the ground seemed as far away as the sun.
She gulped. Should she back out and go home, or dare another attempt?
It was now or never. Something deep within her called her forward, beckoning her to continue climbing.
It was as if the sunlight was a golden thread, shining down on her, pulling her upwards.
This was probably her only chance to escape the palace; she couldn’t waste it.
What was the point of living if she never really got to live?
Her fingers found new crevices and her feet found new footholds, allowing her to climb higher and higher.
With her heart thumping rapidly in her chest, the world below shrunk.
Stepping carefully across the wider branches, she picked a different path than before and moved to adjacent trees whose limbs seemed to crisscross, forming intricate pathways that allowed her to bridge the gaps between them.
When she was finally high enough to see over the wall again, she rested, taking a moment to formulate her next move.
The branch she was standing on hung over the wall; perhaps she could crawl out on it, step off, and if luck was on her side, land on top of the wall.
Her only hesitation was that luck had not been on her side so far.
Her sister’s voice echoed in the distance. “Now that I think about it . . . I probably dropped it in this flowerbed.” Groans followed from the guards searching for the lost item. It was only a matter of time until the guards actually found the earring.
Slowly, Luna inched forward. When the branch began to narrow, she hooked her legs and arms around it and snaked forward the rest of the way. The farther she got from the trunk, the more the branch bent under her weight.
She was nearly over top of the wall now.
Shaking like a leaf, she let her legs dangle, holding on with just her hands.
She started to swing her body back and forth despite the fear dampening her skin.
If she delayed jumping any longer, she might slip or shake herself right off the tree.
With a large inhale, she braced for impact and leaped.
Luck was still not on her side. She misjudged the distance, and more or less fell onto the wall, landing directly on her hips. The impact knocked the air from her lungs and her body was bent in half like a horseshoe, her head and legs dangling on opposite sides of the wall.
With most of her weight on one side of the narrow wall, gravity threatened to drag her down face-first. In an attempt to stabilize, she tried to reach behind her and grab the ledge to pull herself upright, but her arms were weak from the effort it took to climb.
Luna’s fingers fought desperately to find purchase on the rough stone as she slid downward, trying to keep herself where she was, but her palms were slick with sweat.
Her heart pounded in her chest and she scrambled to secure another handhold, to right herself.
Time slowed to a crawl as the world blurred around her and she fell headfirst.
Before she could scream, everything went dark.
Something wrapped around her, soft and weightless, slowing her fall. She didn’t remember closing her eyes, but when she finally opened them, she was gazing into the eyes of the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
He cradled her against his chest, with one arm supporting her legs and the other wrapped around her back, yet he was the picture of a perfect gentleman.
“Well, hello there,” he said, his baritone voice rumbling low in his chest as he spoke.
The notes soothed her in a way she couldn’t quite describe.
Gazing dreamily into his deep forest green eyes, she wondered if he was death himself, here to come collect her.
If he was, she sure didn’t mind. Leaning her head against his broad shoulder, she watched the wind tousle his wavy dark brown hair as she tried to think of a response but struggled to find the words.
A roguish smirk flashed across his face, highlighting his dimples. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Well . . . Her heart hadn’t stopped, and she was still breathing, so all evidence pointed to her being alive. Forcing her tongue to move, she squeaked out the words, “I think so.”
She caught the faint smear of dirt at his jaw, stark against his skin. Before she could think better of it, she brushed it away with her thumb. His eyes flicked to hers, unreadable, and for a moment, the world narrowed to the warmth of his skin under her touch.
“I didn’t—I umm . . .” She looked back to the wall. How the hell was she going to get back over it? This was not the time to worry about that. “I can explain . . .”
No, she couldn’t. What was she going to say? I didn’t come from the palace! I fell out of the sky. It’s a raining-ladies-kind of day!
He gently placed Luna down on her feet, keeping his hand on her back to steady her while she regained her balance.
She straightened the scarf wrapped around her head, tucking in any loose hairs, and brushed off the random twigs and leaves clinging to the fabric of her skirts. If she didn’t already look like a lowly maid, she definitely did now.
“No need for explanations,” he said, an almost imperceptible sigh escaping him. “But honestly, your tree climbing skills need work. Next time, use the numbers I left you . . .”
“Thank you for your assist— Wait, what?” Her jaw dropped. Had she heard him correctly? Surely not.
“You’re hurt,” he said, his gaze focused on her arms and hands, a frown creasing his lips as if her injuries personally displeased him.
She glanced down.
A faint yellow glow dripped from her palms. How had I missed that?!
She opened her hands wider and sure enough, her palms were raw—probably from climbing those trees. On her left hand, just below her middle finger, the skin was ripped open. Small cuts covered her arms as well, probably from when she fell the first time, and she hadn’t realized it.
Eyes wide, she stared dumbfounded at her injuries. The blood wasn’t a dark red crimson like she’d expected. Rather than blood, it looked like light. Literal light. As if the sun was pouring from her veins. “I’m going to die,” she whispered, horror cracking her voice.
His eyebrows furrowed together, concern etched between them. “They look like minor surface wounds.”
Was he seeing what she was seeing? This wasn’t normal; she was not going to be fine.
Sunshine was bleeding from her veins—that was a problem in and of itself—but more importantly, it wasn’t clotting.
Lightheaded, the world began to spin and her blood intensified, changing from a dull yellow to lightning-white.
He gently grabbed her trembling hand and lifted it up so he could inspect the wound. His eyes widened, worry wrinkling his face. “You should have stopped bleeding by now.”
A weak smile touched her lips and she responded with a humourless laugh, “Welcome to the panic party. Glad you could join.”
His eyes searched hers with an emotion she couldn’t name. “What did they do to you?”
Confusion washed over her face as he dropped her hand.
She shook her head; no one had done anything to her.
Her illness was the reason why she couldn’t stop bleeding and must be the reason why she bled light.
But before she could say anything, he changed.
His whole body faded into nothingness, consumed by complete darkness.
Shadows crept, like a black mist, along her arms, moving down to her palms. The light from her wounds flickered.
Time seemed to stop as she watched the shadows dance along her skin, the light dimming, then disappearing completely, as the cuts closed.
She looked up, but gone was the man with forest green eyes, replaced by blackness that resembled the silhouette of a man—no, not a man—a unicorn.
His entire form, from the tip of his elegant horn to his strong legs, was cloaked in an inky blackness that seemed to absorb the very essence of light.
His mane and tail, like strands of the darkest night, flowed in the gentle breeze.
Luna’s heart raced, her fear deepening as the realization of who stood in front of her dawned on her.
She yelped and stumbled backwards. “Y-y-you’re the intruder. Get away from me.”
Surprisingly, the unicorn listened. He took several steps backwards before he spoke, “And here I thought you were going to thank me.” His voice was light and playful, not at all matching his ominous reputation.
Was he insane? Thank him for what? Toying with her? “What did you do to me?”
“I saved you.”
“Saved me?!” Unicorns didn’t save humans; they killed them. She blinked, and he was back to his human form, snatching up his torn clothes and sliding his hands into his pockets as if he kept his shadow magic there.
With all the adrenaline rushing through her body, it took a moment for logic to enter her brain. As she began to process what happened, feelings of guilt sank in.
He did have a point. She looked back at her healed hand. “Why? You’re the enemy?” She meant to say the last part as a statement, but it came out as more of a question.
He scoffed, a sound that seemed too human for such a beast. “What makes you so certain?”
“Besides the fact your kind has terrorized us since the dawn of time . . . You hurt my guard.”
He chuckled. He actually chuckled! The sound was surprisingly pleasant.
It wasn’t the mocking laughter she might have expected from someone of his feared reputation; instead, it was a low, quiet rumble that seemed to resonate directly from his chest. For a fleeting moment, Luna wanted nothing more than to keep hearing it.
It did something to her—or rather, it undid something.
Even as he looked at her with an expression that suggested she had four heads, the warmth of his laughter inexplicably softened the edges of her fear.
She shook her hands, as if she could physically dislodge the unfamiliar feelings that were creeping into her mind, feelings that threatened to unravel her understanding of friend and foe.
He cocked his head sideways, his neck cracking from the motion, before he replied with mocking tones, “He’s not dead, is he?” His arms crossed in front of his chest defensively. “If I was this big, bad, evil boogeyman, wouldn’t I have taken his life?”
She studied him, her eyes narrowing. Someone had said something similar to her before . . .
The man looked Luna dead in the eyes and when he spoke again, it was with such authority there was no questioning the truth of his statement. “Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not your enemy.”
A shudder flowed through her—she’d hate to be whoever that was.
Looking over her shoulder, the street ahead was empty, shadows stretching from the quiet buildings under the early morning light.
“So . . . you’re going to let me go then?
” Was she going to live through a second encounter with a unicorn?
He frowned, as if he had been insulted by the question. “I was never the one holding you captive.” With a deliberate turn of his back, he strode away, vanishing into a shadow of nothingness.