2
DAMIEN
“You could not have interrupted at a worse time, Luka,” I growled as I stepped out of Eva’s bedroom. My heart clenched as I took one last look at my princess, sleeping peacefully in her bed.
Without me.
As I expected, Luka was perched up against the wall across from her door, ensuring that no one entered or exited the premises without his knowledge. I was hoping to avoid him all together during my brief excursion this evening. I didn’t want to see the annoyance in his eyes the moment he realized who I was going to see. But then that damn nightmare happened. I tore down the hallways like a man on fire. So, I guess it wasn’t his fault I was that damn noticeable.
He hated how I felt about Eva. Claimed that I always came to her rescue, but she could handle herself. She didn’t need me to save her, but sometimes… Sometimes she just needed a little help to manage the monsters in her head. After what she’d been through… Fuck, I didn’t understand how she was still functioning day-to-day. I’d lost my mother when I was young, and it was a brutal sight to come across, but I didn’t see it happen right in front of my eyes like she did.
I could feel the tension coiling between us as we walked to my father’s chambers. So much left unsaid. But maybe that was the wisest decision. Especially given the way Eva had thrown him out on his ass. That was likely to have wounded his pride so severely, he’d be nursing it for weeks. It shouldn’t have been as funny as it was. I knew he meant well, and he was right. I wanted to know when my father had returned. Tonight, though… Tonight was the wrong night to barge in on us. Eva was hardly holding on when I got there. I could feel the storm brewing inside of her, even the electric feeling of the lightning in the air. The kingdom was lucky to have avoided a hurricane she could have caused without trying. I’d seen it happen before. It stormed every godsdamn day after her mother died. Storms like no one had seen before, but she couldn’t help it. The elements were so intimately tied to her emotions; it was like they were one.
“I was just doing my damn job,” Luka grumbled, stomping his feet as we went. “How was I supposed to know she was in one of her moods? That woman should come with a fucking warning bell. Maybe some sort of color-coded system…” he trailed off, and I couldn’t help but laugh at him.
“What? Are you scared of her or something?” I asked him.
He blanched, stumbling over his feet for a split second. “Me? Scared of her?” He laughed, but anxiously looked around. “Absolutely not. No way. I’m not scared of anything or anyone.”
I looked at him, rolling my eyes. “Luka, she’s just… You know how she is. She’s had it rough.”
“That doesn’t give her an excuse to be a bitch,” he mumbled.
I reacted, grabbing his neck, and slamming him against the wall. A look of terror passed over his face as he struggled against me, but my hand clenched around his neck harder. “Don’t you dare call her that,” I growled. “Regardless of what you think, she’s still your fucking princess, so you better show her the respect she’s due.” Giving a final warning squeeze, I let him go. He fell to my feet, gasping for air. Immediate regret pooled over me as I looked down at him. Fuck. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. I wasn’t in the mood to tiptoe around anyone, right now. And he knew better than to slander her, especially out in these hallways. Anyone could have heard him and taken it as a direct threat against the crown. It would have earned him a one-way ticket to a dungeon cell. I didn’t know if evenIcould have saved his neck at that point.
“Luka, I…” But I didn’t know what to say. By the look in his eyes, he knew what he’d said was wrong. The reason I reacted the way I did. He waved me off, pushing off of the ground and getting to his feet.
“No, I get it. I fucked up. You know I didn’t mean it like that, and I deserved more than what you just did. But everyone has trauma. Just because you’ve gone through something, it doesn’t mean you can use it as an excuse to be a dick. That’s all I was trying to say, or rather what I meant to say.” He clapped me on the back. I knew he was right, but I didn’t see her like that. At all.
I’d be naïve to say I didn’t notice how others seemed to tiptoe around her sometimes, but that was only because of how powerful she was. She was the heir to the Helian throne, for god’s sake. If she didn’t make you quake in your boots a bit, I’d say you were a lunatic.
But the Eva I knew? The one I loved?Shit.The word bit into me to the point of pain. I swallowed it down.
The Eva I loved was vivacious. She was stubborn, and she loved passionately. It would be a frosty day in the underworld when she’d be subservient in any sense of the word. There was a passion for what she did, who she needed to become, and fuck… It was beautiful to see. To even be near her was to feel joy.
I rubbed my chest, turning from Luka as we walked down the corridor again. The time was spent in sullen silence. Neither one of us knew what to say to the other. There wasn’t anything to say. Until Luka broke our quietness once more.
“Your father… He didn’t seem right,” he said, as we rounded a corner.
“What do you mean?”
He paused, unsure of how to continue. Maybe he was just hesitant after our slight altercation. “Just be careful. He’s on edge, and I know how he can get.” We stepped up to the towering doors of my father’s chambers. Luka clapped me on the back and stepped away, standing outside as the dutiful guard he was trained to be. I took a deep breath and knocked twice before cracking the door open.
It was dark, given the fact it was damn near early morning. Orion Carnell was an immensely proud man and a fierce warrior, which helped guide the decor choices for his bedroom. It was the epitome of masculine energy. Large mixed stone walls kept the interior cool, while candelabras were placed strategically to provide light. My father had insisted on a room with few windows, as he felt they were a breach of privacy.
Yeah, he was loony, but still an effective general.
I stepped through and let the thick doors close behind me. Walking around a large stone pillar near the entryway, I found him.
He was sitting at a round table in the corner of the room, maps littering every inch of the surface. Running his hands through his hair, he sighed as he stared down at them. “Fuck,” he muttered.
My father was often stressed. He was not only the top general of all Helian armies, but also the king’s second in command. It was just a fancy way of saying he was the king’s direct advisor. Seeing him like this was normal for me. Should be for Luka, too. But I’d always been there with my father. Watching him plan battles, map out caravan lines, and even prepare royal decrees. “Make yourself invaluable, Damien.” That’s what he’d always told me. “If you’re invaluable, you’re indispensable.” So that’s what I’d done. I’d followed in his footsteps and rose in the ranks. My family’s close relationship with the royal family aside, I’d earned every damn spot I’d climbed into. Nothing was handed to me and I was fucking proud of that fact.
I cleared my throat, alerting him of my presence, and he whirled around to face me. He was a big man, towering over almost anyone who was near him, myself included. With his red hair and bushy beard, he’d been nicknamedThe Giantby most of the children in the kingdom and he fit the description without doubt. Though his eyes were dark brown, the color of watered soil. He preferred to refer to them as shit brown, and he’d tell that to anyone and everyone in the vicinity. I thanked the gods every day that I inherited my crystal blue eyes from my mother.
The look on his face was one of pure rage as he took me in from head to toe. “Where the fuck have you been, boy? I sent that useless guard of yours to fetch you hours ago!” He boomed, standing up. His chair fell to the side, breathing heavily. “You just show up when you fancy, eh? Think you can keep me waiting?” He picked up the chair and threw it in my direction. I ducked in time as it crashed against the stone wall. It would’ve nearly taken my head off if I’d been a moment slower.
“Father…” I said as I walked toward him, but I stopped. I’d rather keep all my appendages attached to my body if I was honest, and approaching him right now seemed like a surefire way to lose one. I cleared my throat. “I apologize. The faults mine.” He peered at me skeptically. “I was with Eva and we… I mean, I lost track of time.”
