Chapter 44 A Captive Once Again
A Captive Once Again
“No!” Luna screamed into the gag. No.
Trees blurred together outside the carriage window as the skull building disappeared. The subtle shift in motion as the ground fell away and the carriage began to ascend caused Luna’s stomach to do a full somersault.
Slowly, her crying ceased and the only sounds were the thumping of the devil horses’ wings and the quiet breathing of the man sitting across from her. A man who not only thought she was Nina, but also thought that she belonged to him.
A shiver crawled down Luna’s spine.
She was going to the Darkened One, whether she wanted to or not.
She took a deep breath, steadying herself, trying to accept her fate. Or rather, her doom.
A second later, Crawford’s hands were on her, cupping her face in his palms, turning her chin so that she was forced to look at him. She couldn’t help but whimper as he purred. “We’re alone now. Give up the hysterics and let me help you.”
She pulled away, but his hands were gentle as he undid the cloth gagging her.
Relief poured through her, and she opened and closed her mouth as the tension in her jaw eased.
As if he were some kind of gentleman, Crawford took it upon himself to massage her cheeks.
Immediately, Luna tried to shove him off, but with her hands still bound the effort was futile.
Undeterred by her disdain, he asked, “Are you up for repeating some history with me?”
Not in a million years.
She pushed back against the seat, trying to create as much distance as possible from him. “Get away from me.”
“Don’t be like that.” He retracted an inch, taking a better look at her. His eyebrows knit together with something that looked like disappointment, but it quickly disappeared.
Again, he reached out, stroking her arm, cooing softly, “Is this about last time? Come on, Nina. Sleeping with me wasn’t going to change his ruling.
I had no choice but to exile you. I did try to make it easier for you, though.
I didn’t chop off your horn like I was ordered to. Don’t I get some good grace for that?”
“I’m not Nina.” Why she bothered saying it was beyond her. It wasn’t like he, of all people, was going to believe her.
And as interesting as it was to learn he had been kind to her a lifetime ago, Luna didn’t care to learn more about her backstabbing-good-for-nothing birth mother.
He took his hand back, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I’m not an idiot. I can take rejection. There’s no need to lie.”
Luna rolled her eyes. There was nothing she was going to be able to say or do that would convince anyone she wasn’t Nina. “How long until we get there?”
“Well, if you hadn’t broken the teleportation system, it would be seconds, but now it’s gonna be a while.”
Hell would be better than spending any more time with this man. But what was she going to do? It wasn’t like Damien was coming to rescue her.
An idea formed in her mind. “Take the cuffs off and I’ll fix it.” Not that she knew how to, but if he took off the cuffs, at least she would have a fighting chance to escape.
He gave her a sideways glance. “You’ve got that look in your eyes that screams you want to roast marshmallows after you’ve set the world to flames. I’d rather not unleash your wrath. It’s a bit on the nasty side.” He licked his lips as if he was remembering exactly how nasty Nina could be.
Gross.
He then added, “We both know if I let you fix the teleportation system, you’d be gone. The Darkened One already knows you’re coming. As much as I like chasing you, I’m also fond of my head being attached to my body. I’d rather it stay that way.”
Luna ignored the guard’s mindless chatter, her thoughts busy searching for another way to escape. She couldn’t rely on anyone else to save her, she needed to save herself.
She stared at the silver door handle. All she had to do was grab it and jump.
Without thinking, she sprang from her seat, fumbling with the handle for only a heartbeat before the door flung open.
A wall of wind rushed past her, tousling her hair as she leapt.
In that heart-stopping moment, Crawford reacted with lightning speed.
Holding onto the carriage with one hand, he grabbed the back of her shirt with the other. The fabric bit into her shoulders as her body whipped in the air, nothing between her and the drop but his grip.
Inch by inch, she could feel her shirt slipping through his fingers. He shifted his weight, getting a better footing, freeing his second hand to grab her arm.
His eyes, wide with terror and disbelief, locked onto Luna’s as the wind howled around them. With a surge of strength she could only describe as godly, Crawford hauled her into the carriage.
She crashed to the floor, gasping for breath, every muscle trembling.
He slammed the carriage door shut and cried out, “What the hell, Nina!” His voice was filled with a mixture of anger, panic, and sheer disbelief. “Are you insane?!”
Insane would have been doing nothing. Jumping out of a flying carriage wasn’t a logical thing to do, but what options did she have?
She exchanged a wordless glance with Crawford before returning to her seat. Did he expect her to thank him? She wasn’t bound to her noblewoman etiquette anymore, and she wasn’t about to play the polite little captive for anyone—even if he had just saved her from falling to her death.
“I forgot what a pain in the ass you are,” he grumbled, cursing under his breath as he lifted the cushions of the opposite bench to reveal a long rope.
He then proceeded to use that rope on Luna, winding it around the binding of her hands, similar to a leash.
Once it was secure, he tied the other end around his hand. “Now, where you go, I go.”
She scowled at him. “You think that scares me?” It did, but she wouldn’t let him know that.
He chuckled as if she had told him a joke. “I don’t think anything scares you, Nina.” His gaze slid to the door she’d flung herself from moments before.
“I already told you I’m not Nina.”
“And I’m not Crawford. I just look and sound like him.”
“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but then I’d be lying.”
Crawford slumped back against his seat and closed his eyes. “I’m done with this game of yours. We can just sit in silence for the rest of the trip if you’re going to act like this.”
Was that supposed to be a punishment? She scoffed. “Fine with me.”
Silence fell over the carriage. Luna became more aware of the rhythmic beating of the devil horses’ wings.
Peering out the window, she watched the world below in its miniature form, at the patchwork of fields, rivers, and forests.
The sheer vastness of the sky above and the distant horizon stretching out before her would have been breathtaking in any other situation.
The last time Luna had been in a carriage, she’d been with her family and been so excited to go to the protection ceremony. Back then, her biggest problem was arguing with her mother over a silly hat. How she wished she could go back to the simplicity of those days.
Tears welled in her eyes, and she shut them tight.
She had to be strong now. This was not the time for pity.
She hadn’t allowed anyone to pity her after the camp, and she wasn’t about to let herself do it now.
She remembered how, not so long ago, she told Damien she had never wanted to be helpless again—and so she wouldn’t.
She could decide that.
Mistake or not, she’d make the Darkened One regret ever bringing her into his territory. No longer was she a damsel in need of saving; she was her own knight, with wrath that’d make her armour shine.
When the situation arose, she would use her magic to free herself, and dead or alive, she wouldn’t become a pawn in someone else’s game.
As if ignited by the thought, her power roared inside of her, a defiant flame ready to burn.
The second she was free of these ropes, she would act.
Not as a victim, not as someone who needed saving, but as a force to be feared.
And make no mistake, she would be feared.