Es’s entire body instinctively tensed as his arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her effortlessly from the ground as though she weighed nothing more than a doll.
In the sudden motion, her veil slipped free, revealing her unnaturally pale face, eyes widened in disbelief. His final words echoed in her ears, leaving her frozen in shock.
She was his? When did she ever agree to such a claim?!
Lennox’s eyes flashed with deep resentnt when Donovan stole his bride right before his eyes. His claws elongated, and he gritted out. "Get your filthy hands off her."
"I don’t want to," ca Donovan’s witted response as his smirk widened, his voice cool, yet laced with a subtle challenge.
"What are you going to do about it?" he deliberately taunted. "Seems to you’ve been heavily abandoned." The mockery in his voice made Lennox look around him, and true to Donovan’s words, the courtyard was deserted.
"Allow to officially pronounce this wedding over."
"DONOVAN!!" Lennox’s roar echoed through his space, his wolf rging forth as his canine elongated. In a desperate bid to save his bride, he lunged forward, claws extended, and his eyes glead with a murderous intent.
Donovan tsked when he sensed the incoming attack, and clicked his tongue. "You’d think age brings wisdom, but I guess a fool stays a fool."
Before Lennox could deliver a strike, a thick swirling darkness erupted around Donovan and Es, enveloping them in a cold, impenetrable mist. Lennox’s pupils dilated when that mist took the form of a wolf’s head, those beaming eyes gleaming with bloodlust as they locked on him.
He ended up slicing through the empty air with his claws, and when the mist dissipated, they were both gone.
The dark clouds eventually cleared, and the sky returned to normal.
Lennox’s eyes bulged when he realized his bride had been kidnapped. The courtyard was indeed empty, not even the councils, Dahr, none of them were at sight.
"Your Majesty!" A guard rushed forward, breathless. "Young Finnian is nowhere to be seen. I think he took him as well!" he inford Lennox, whose expression blanched at the news.
"No!" He seized the guard by the collar of his shirt, his voice a furious snarl. "What good are you all if you’re this incompetent, useless!" his grip tightened, anger burning his eyes. "How did he slip past you? You all were ant to secure every corner of the palace!"
The guard noticed the dark gleam in its alpha’s eyes, and if he were in his wolf form, his tail would’ve been tucked between his legs in fear. "The gate was being guarded, I promise! He must have used dark magic to teleport inside!"
Lennox freed his collar, his voice a low growl as he ordered, "Assemble every guard to the main hall!"
Without hesitation, the guard scrambled off to obey.
At the far end of the courtyard, Irwin’s lips curled into a knowing smile. He eventually turned and strolled away, as if nothing out of the ordinary just took place.
anwhile, as the dark mist dissipated, Es felt her stomach twist in knots, her senses reeling from the sudden shift in surroundings. Though Donovan still held her securely at his side as if she were so sort of handbag, she could tell they now stood atop a hill, the air cooler and heavier.
In the distance, a breathtaking landscape unfolded, but her mind was overwheld. The chaos, stress and shock of the day had eventually caught up to her, and her head began to spin, her vision blurring at the edges.
"Welco to the land of Damned... Es," was the inviting words she heard before her body went limp in his arms.
When she awoke, her eyes t the unfamiliar dark ceiling before her. She instantly moved to sit up in a frenzy, and her alard gaze landed on Finnian who was sitting beside her bed, his blue eyes sparkling with relief when he saw she was awake.
"Finn?" Es’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of him, and it eventually dawned on her that she wasn’t hallucinating his presence. "Finn!" she enveloped him in a hug before he could say anything to her.
"I’m so glad you’re alright, you aren’t hurt anywhere, are you? They didn’t harm you, did they?" Her questions tumbled out, and Finnian shook his head, reassuring her that he was perfectly fine.
"I’m sorry I worried you. I did as you told though, but then the guards ca. They injected with sothing that hindered from shifting, but I was told it’s a temporary effect." He explained, and Es was glad to see that nothing serious had happened to him.
She glanced around the unfamiliar chamber she was in and returned her stupefied gaze to her brother. The steady crackling of fire drew her gaze to the large stone fireplace that dominated the vicinity, and it casted the room in a warm, inviting glow.
The room’s high vaulted ceilings were made from wooden beams, and heavy, dark curtains adorned with intricate snowflake patterns that veil the windows.
"Where is this place?" Es returned her gaze to Finnian. "Where are we?"
Before he could answer, Es got out of bed, her feet quiet against the dark stone tiles as she gravitated towards the window. Drawing back the curtains, it revealed a tall, pointed-arch window with intricate tracery. Through it, the night sky unfolded in a breathtaking panorama.
"So many stars..." Es whispered in awe as she took in the celestial expanse, having seen nothing like it. The distant horizon was dotted with buildings and houses, their lights twinkling like fireflies in the darkness.
"What is this place?" She asked, still captivated by the view.
"We’re in Van Dan’s ho." Finnian stood up to tell her. "He brought us here."
"Van... Dan?" It took a mont of pondering for Es to realize he was talking about Donovan. Then, everything that happened yesterday ca rushing back into her head like a tsunami. A gasp fell from her lips upon realizing he had stord into her wedding and taken not just her, but Finnian as well.
"Isn’t his house cool?" Finnian uttered as he drew up all the curtains. "This window leads to a balcony. I did so exploring while you were asleep." he shrugged upon noticing the questioning stare in his sister’s face.
"I don’t know where we are in full but I like it already. Can we stay here instead?"
"He brought us here..? And this is his ho?" Es found it hard to believe, even when it was obvious since she had been in his arms last. In order to be fully clear of where she was, she headed for the door and pulled it open. She wasn’t sure why she expected to find the door locked, but it surprised her that it wasn’t.
Stepping out in a hurry, Es collided with a taller, imposing figure who was about to make his way in. She stumbled back, but a stronger arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her securely against him and keeping her steady.
Her eyes widened when her gaze t a blindfold, and despite its obscurity, his face was strikingly attractive up close. Whoever created him went far enough to give him a flawless forehead.
"You’re up," his deep voice rolled out smoothly, and he barely loosened his gentle hold around her waist. "You shouldn’t get out of bed just yet, you still need to recover. Are you okay?" He asked, snapping Es out of her montary trance.
Growing conscious of their current pose, Es pulled back from his secured grasp. Now that she stood in front of him, aware that Finnian wasn’t making up stories – that she was indeed in Donovan’s ho, it left her uncertain on how to respond.
Standing in his presence like this made her heart flutter inexplicably. It was as strange as when he first showed up in the tower, and she had to compose herself before speaking.
"You..."
The question she planned on asking remained unspoken as Donovan gently placed a hand on her forehead, accessing her temperature. His touch was devoid of any ill or mischievous intent, and in that fleeting mont of silence, he seed genuinely concerned for her well-being.
"I’ll have Neville run another health check to be certain," he murmured. "You need to eat more, you’re almost thin. Your wrist wasn’t exactly this delicate during our last eting." He gently took her wrist in his hand, his touch light and tentative, like butterflies alighting on her skin.
How much physical contact did he get to know her wrist size?
Es slipped her wrist free from his grasp, and she refused to be side-tracked.
"Why am I here?" She asked, a feeling of uncertainty and suspicion clouding her senses. "Did you bring here with the intention of using ? I won’t be offended if you’re honest with . It took a while to realize that people only co after because they want sothing out of , so if that’s the reason you brought here... then I’m sorry to say but I don’t have any special powers. Kindly let and my brother leave."
Es refused to let herself be fooled again by fake affections and gestures. If he had an ulterior motive, she wanted to confront it directly, so she wouldn’t face unnecessary suffering.
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