His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 56: Run from here.

I was raised in the harshest of winters, yet my excuse to remain outside in minus temperatures dropped once the chill seeped beneath my skin and into my bones. Reluctantly, I finally return to my palace, my hand in the crook of Eryx’s arm, playing my part in this game we are playing. I didn’t mind the walk, as quiet as it was, undisturbed, with my mind and body frazzled from the day’s events.

Unlike the blue tint to my lips and the shivers skittering along my body, Eryx, a Prince born under the sun I know not much about, walked beside me, surprisingly unaffected this evening by the sharp drop in temperature. Perhaps he is using one of those enchanted gems to remain warm, or perhaps his wolf’s fur has thickened, adapting to the weather here. Does he look a little bigger?

My eyes run along his wide chest and abdomen, and I swiftly look away when he catches me staring. An unreadable smirk crosses his features, the ghost of a smile before a mask of indifference falls into place.

The palace doors burst open, and there to greet me is Theo.

It is as though he welcomes me home. The act is so simple, yet it clutches at my heart. The act was so ordinary and surreal to return to. Even without the day’s events, this greeting would stop me in my tracks. It had been many years since someone welcomed me back.

Internally, I shake the thoughts from my mind. Things were changing, and I had to adapt to them, whether they were good or not.

Before I can enter the palace, Eryx stops my departure, tugging my hand back until I stop in front of him. He brings my hand to his lips, hunching slightly from his gigantic height. The Alpha Prince us close, a little too personal for a mere farewell. I can feel the heat radiating from him, and I smell his scent wrapping around me like a coat or a cage. I cannot decipher my feelings towards it yet.

"You are safe," he says, those striking eyes flicking to the sky so discreetly I almost missed it.

I follow his gaze and see a shadow on the roof before it disappears like smoke in the wind. Faidon. I do not argue with Eryx about his shadow guarding me.

With a smirk and without the heart to follow through with my jest, I say, "This is court. It is never safe."

A rumble stirs from his chest, yet his lips remain on my knuckles as his stare pierces me. We may be enemies, but I cannot deny I am inexplicably drawn to him.

"Lia," he whispers my name, the smooth accent barely above the sound of the gentle wind. My name, one word, a plea, in desperation, saying so much and nothing at all. He searches my gaze and mine his.

"Eryx," my whisper is drowned out by the sudden roar of the wind, but he hears it. Of course, he does. He is Were.

The green in his eyes is swallowed up by his pupils, his nostrils flaring, and the sharp prick of his canines freeze me to the spot, mesmerised by this sudden change. It is Eryx who breaks the spell and steps back, dropping my hand and abruptly turning away. I watch and listen as his boots sink into the thick snow, where he doesn’t follow the path and instead heads towards the wall leading to the forest.

In seconds, he is a beast leaping over the wall before any guards see and stop him. What was that all about? My chest rises and falls like I am gasping for the air he has taken away with him, leaving me almost suffocating without his presence.

What is wrong with me? He is Eryx Solarius, the prince with the blood of many of our men on his hands. He has done atrocious things.

"Your Highness?" Theo calls to me, and my head whips back to see him beside me. He must have called me many times. The expression on his face tells it all. "You are frozen; come inside and warm up."

I stare at him, unable to look away or respond, as frozen as my body. Can I trust Theo or is this another I should be wary of?

"Ida?" He whispers, stepping closer, eyes flicking between mine in concern. It could all be fake. "What is wrong?" His hands on my arms snap me out of my reverie.

"Nothing," I murmur, tapping his hands and forcing a small smile. "Let us go inside. I would like some tea to warm up."

Theo watches me walk towards the palace a while longer before rushing to meet my side. "How about a bath?" He suggests, ignoring what I know to be an odd mood surrounding me.

"No," I chuckle but do not feel the warmth in it. "No more baths for today."

"No more?" The darkness of the palace falls upon us with only the slight flickering of candlelight to guide us through the hallways.

"I have already bathed." I sigh and collapse on the bed, arms above my head as I stare at the dark ceiling.

"Ida, is everything okay?" Theo rounds the bed and kneels by my feet. Already, his hands tug my feet from my boots and begin massaging them.

I stiffen, then relax. "Can you keep a secret?" My question makes his hands pause.

"You are my master. I would never betray you-"

I interrupt him, unable to hide the emotion in my voice. "I was attacked today. Almost killed."

Theo sits beside me instantly, looking down at me and holding my hand, thumb caressing my knuckles or more like rubbing away where Eryx kissed them. "Are you hurt? Do you need me to do anything?"

Shaking my head, I answer him, "I am fine. There is nothing to be done. I must be patient with any plans."

"Where is Soren?!" Theo clips, unaware of what Soren might have possibly done. "He is meant to be protecting you!"

His hand grips mine a little too tightly now, but I welcome the small pain while my chest stings with the words Theo has thrown at me. He doesn’t know. How could he? I wasn’t about to tell him anything more than this, either.

If Soren cannot be trusted, someone who has been by my side for years, then Theo, a friend I abandoned long ago, might also fall along those lines. It might not be fair, but I need to protect myself.

"We should run away, Ida." My hand is in both of his as he implores me with this again. "You say to be patient, but whoever did this could try to kill you again. Why have they tried to kill you now?"

"You ask a good question. One I will try to figure out." I sit up and rub at my temple and stare at our hands, feeling nothing like the warmth and tingles that spread along my arms and body from the smallest of touches from Eryx.

"I cannot run away from this," I whisper, my gaze flicking to his. "It will not solve anything. We must be patient."

"You could be killed-"

"We are protected right now," I say, a little hesitantly. Does Faidon count? Eryx is his master, he could easily turn on me from the click of the prince’s finger.

"I still think we should run." Theo cups the side of my face. "What future do you have here, Ida? You might escape through an arranged marriage to a life that will not be your own or tormented by the Queen Mother until the King has a son and your claim to the throne is further weakened."

This wasn’t what I wanted to hear right now. Run away? I wish. Any ideas to run have been put at the back of my mind. Security has been heightened since the first attempt, and now that Deyanira has involved the Southern Weres, I am more than curious to try and understand why she has risked war with the kingdom of Sun and Fury.

Slipping my hand from Theo’s, I push off the bed and turn away. "I would like some tea in the study. Once this is made, you are dismissed."

Although fatigue weighs me down, and the slightest chill from the windows makes me want to shrivel up and pass out, I know I will not sleep tonight. I feel too restless. Faidon may be ’protecting me’, but Soren’s betrayal is still fresh in my mind, making it run with possibilities and scenarios.

"Ida..." Theo stands and steps towards me. "I am trying to help."

"You cannot," I hiss back, then look away, feeling horrid for my words. "Please, Theo, do not worry."

"But I do..." My slave rounds me and starts to leave. "I fear for you, Ida. Like you said, I cannot do anything to help you here." He leaves me in the dark, quiet room, alone.