Chapter 11 Nina #2
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 na?ve, 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.
Taking an offensive stance in front of Luna, Clyde mumbled more to himself than her, “I don’t like this.” He drew his sword. “We should get out of here.”
A whistle sounded, the pitch starting high then falling low; guards from all over began to move.
Luna caught sight of King Hendrix, as well as Prince Kieran, and Emily, ushered into a carriage.
Where had they been this whole time? Other guards quickly and quietly started to gather the noble families and send them on their way.
Clyde backed up towards the carriages, in turn, forcing Luna to do the same.
Damien followed them, reaching for Luna, but Clyde skillfully used his sword to maintain a defensive stance, keeping him at a wary distance. Damien attempted to manoeuvre around Clyde, but the seasoned guard held his ground, steadily moving backwards.
Damien’s voice was a plea. “There is still time. Come with me, I can keep you safe.”
Safe from what? Luna looked down at her hand, at the leaf curled up in her palm.
“You’ll finally be free,” he urged.
She shook her head. How many times did she have to tell him she wasn’t a captive. She looked up at him, at the lines of urgency marking his face. When she didn’t move to him, he lunged for her.
But Clyde was quick, and in one swift motion, his sword plunged through Damien’s chest. Blood gushed from the wound, staining the ground black. Luna screamed, her voice piercing the air. Clyde turned on her, his sword dripping with Damien’s blood as he pulled it free.
“We can leave nicely, or I can haul you over my shoulder,” he said, his tone as sharp as the blade in his hand.
She barely heard him. She couldn’t stop screaming. Her mind was unable to comprehend what had just happened. Damien was on his knees, his head bowed, looking down at the blackness oozing down his shirt.
Clyde glanced over his shoulder and gasped, releasing his tight grip on her arm. “Unicorn,” he whispered, the word a curse on his tongue.
Free, Luna ran to Damien. Her hands found his shoulder, and with a comforting squeeze, she lied, “It’s going to be alright.” She repeated the words over and over again.
He had been kind to her.
He had saved her.
He couldn’t die . . . not like this.
Damien looked up at her, confusion written on his face. It startled her. But, what had he expected to happen?
Clyde grabbed her, yanking her to her feet.
“Let me go!” she screamed. She should be with Damien in his final moments. Say the ritual death prayer to the high skies . . . or at least hold his hand; he didn’t deserve to die alone.
“Shoulder it is,” Clyde declared, and in one seamless motion, he scooped her up.
“Clyde! How dare you. Put me down!” Luna wiggled and squirmed, beating against his back, but Clyde’s grip remained unyielding.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” he told her.
“You’re a murderer!”
“I’m just doing my job.” His voice was void of all emotions as he stalked over to a row of horses tied against a fence, ignoring Luna’s pitiful attempts to muscle free.
Luna stole a backwards glance, expecting to see Damien lying on the ground, dying in a pool of his own blood, but he wasn’t there. In his place stood a beautiful black-onyx unicorn.
His nostrils flared and black magic flowed around him, swirling in the air reaching for the skies as if he were a tornado touching down, ready to rip the earth apart.
“Oh no,” Luna whispered, causing Clyde to pause and turn.
“Don’t move,” Clyde warned as he put her down.
“Unicorn!” someone from the crowd shouted, causing the crowd to panic immediately. Cries rang out around them as people ran, pushing through the throng and knocking others down in the process; some even stomped over those who’d fallen.
“Hate to interrupt the party,” Damien announced.
Damien charged towards Clyde, barreling faster than she had ever seen a horse move. Clyde pushed her away and readied his sword to slice Damien’s horn off like Nina’s had been.
Luna screamed, “No!” She couldn’t bear to watch this and covered her eyes with her hands. Horn met sword with a loud clash. Unable to help herself, Luna peered through the cracks in her fingers to see Damien in mid-swing again, coming down hard on Clyde’s sword—denting it.
Unbelievable. Damien’s horn had actually dented the sword! But that didn’t make any sense. Nina’s horn had been severed by a sword, yet now it appeared that another unicorn’s horn was impervious to the same weapon. What had changed?
Another loud clash of weapons echoed, and Clyde stumbled backwards, bumping into Luna. Their eyes met, and an unmistakable flicker of malice gleamed in his gaze. This was a man who was facing his enemy; mercy was off the table.
Luna sucked in a breath, but before she could react further, Clyde manoeuvred her in front of him using her like a human shield, stopping Damien in his tracks.
Nina’s voice thundered, echoing loudly enough that time itself seemed to stop. “You leave me no choice!”