To Love A Villain-Chapter 211: These Feelings

>>Enya

Steel sang in the air.

My eyes that were tightly shut opened when I heard the reverberating sound. My head shot up to see what had happened and how was I still safe?

Ahin.

His sword collided with the monster’s arm, sparks flying from the impact. The force knocked him back a few steps, but he held firm. His body shielded mine. His jacket — the one I gave him — fluttered in the wind, catching the light like a banner of defiance.

He didn’t speak.

Didn’t look back.

Just fought.

The monster roared and lunged again. Ahin ducked, rolling beneath its limbs, slicing across its exposed flank. Dark, oozing blood splattered the snow.

I stepped forward, trying to cast — but he shouted, "Stay back!"

It wasn’t a command. It was fear.

For me.

I clenched my fists, torn between fighting beside him and honoring his protection. But the thing was fast. Faster than it should’ve been. It twisted, recovered, and lashed its tail — hitting Ahin across the ribs and sending him skidding across the path.

"Ahin!" I cried.

He rolled to a stop, gasping — but alive. Bleeding, but standing.

He still held the sword.

The monster turned to me again.

I raised my arm — magic ready this time — but Ahin was faster. He pushed himself between us again, eyes blazing with determination I hadn’t seen before.

He was furious.

Not just at the monster.

At the threat.

With a cry, he launched himself upward, using the surrounding branches as leverage to bring his sword down into the beast’s shoulder. It screamed, tried to shake him off, but he held on, blade buried deep.

The creature let out one last, strangled howl before its body collapsed, twitching once... then still.

Blood trickled down the side of his face. His jacket was torn. But he was alive.

The monster lay still, its form already beginning to dissolve into ash and smoke, leaving the garden eerily silent again. But my breath still came in fast, unsteady bursts, my limbs trembling not from fear — but from something far more confusing.

"Ahin," I started, but the moment I spoke, he turned sharply to me. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

His sword clattered to the ground.

"My lady!" His voice broke as he closed the space between us in two long strides. "Are you hurt? Did it touch you?"

His hands were already reaching — not harshly, not carelessly, but with a desperation that made my breath hitch. He took my hand first, turning it over, checking my palm for cuts, for burns, for any hint of injury. Then the other. Then up my arms, brushing aside the folds of my sleeves. His touch was gentle but frantic, his gaze sharp and frantic like he was trying to see through me.

"Ahin—" I tried again.

"Your face," he said, panic rising. "Did anything—? Let me see."

His hand came to my cheek, and for the briefest second, his thumb brushed just beneath my eye, tilting my face to the light.

That was when it happened.

My heart — it jolted in my chest.

No, jolted wasn’t the right word.

It roared.

Loud and fast and unrelenting. My throat tightened, my breath stuttered, and I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, my ears, my fingertips. It wasn’t just the touch. It wasn’t just the fear in his voice. It was the way he looked at me — like I was precious. Like I mattered. Like he would’ve thrown himself into a thousand more monsters if it meant I’d never have to feel afraid.

I blinked rapidly, trying to find air. Trying to calm the storm rising in me.

But it wouldn’t stop.

And worse — I knew then.

I knew.

This wasn’t just kindness. This wasn’t just protection. This wasn’t just the fact that we were both half-breeds in a world that didn’t want us. This wasn’t about safety or promises or loyalty.

I was falling for him hard. I had already started liking him as a man but now I was in trouble.

But my mind rebelled.

No. No, I couldn’t do that. He was here because I brought him here. Because I made him a promise. Because I wanted to save him.

He was doing his job.

That’s all this was. His duty. His responsibility. His knightly obligation.

Right?

Right?

"My lady?" he said again, more softly now, still holding my hand. His fingers brushed a scratch near my wrist and he flinched, like it had been his pain. "Why didn’t you move? Why did you stand there?"

I swallowed. "I didn’t... I didn’t expect it to move so fast."

He looked down, ashamed. "I should’ve gotten to you quicker. I shouldn’t have let it get so close. I—"

"You saved me," I said, louder than I meant to.

He froze.

"I could’ve died. If you hadn’t—" My throat tightened. "You didn’t even hesitate."

His eyes met mine. "I never would."

The silence that followed wasn’t empty. It was heavy. Filled with the pounding of my heart, the faint hum of leftover magic in the air, the closeness of him.

I should’ve let go of his hand.

I didn’t.

Instead, I looked at the cut across his temple, the bruising along his ribs. His jacket — the one I gave him — was torn at the sleeve, but he wore it like armor anyway.

"You’re hurt," I murmured, finally able to speak.

"It doesn’t matter," he said. "You’re safe. That’s all I care about."

!!!!

And there it was again.

That thing in his voice. That sincerity. That devotion that made everything inside me ache.

I looked away before I did something I couldn’t take back. Like lean in. Like ask him to say it again. "I should... we should go inside," I muttered, pulling back, even as every part of me screamed not to.

He didn’t stop me. He just nodded, stepping beside me like a shadow, silent and steady.

But my heart — it didn’t settle.

Author’s Note

Hope you guys are doing well. The book isn’t far from getting finished and I hope you all can leave good reviews for the book and promote it. Thank you