Her Darkling

Chapter 6.

My eyes cracked open and standing before me was Eamon on his horse, surrounded by dead demons.

My palms planted into the sandy ground and I pushed back slightly, my back connecting with the jagged cavern walls. My eyes scanned the area surrounding us to see ashes and charred bones, all from the demons that had been vanquished. Their spirits must have faded back into nothingness and I tried not to express my sheer shock at his display of expert demon-killing skills.

My eyes darted back to his horse. His hair must have loosened in the tousle because soft, long, flaxen tendrils framed his face, accentuating his sharp jawline. His aquiline nose was balanced perfectly between his eyes, the only blemish being a scratch he must have gotten from battling with the already dead demons. I could feel his aura from where I sat by the mouth cavern. I didn't need to be told that he possessed so much strength; the gait of a man mighty in battle, a man who had led armies to victory.

Why the hell had I ever underestimated him in the first place?

I hadn't seen him take down those demons, as I had been too occupied with getting that last demon off me before he helped, but I was sure that it hadn't taken up to two minutes for him to kill them all. It was impressive. Very much impressive and I wished I had seen him take them down.

Kicking his horse, Eamon slipped out of his saddle, his boots sinking into the loam as he walked towards me.

His gaze was fixed on me, giving me a once over, searching and scrutinizing till he stopped before me.

I took a close look at him this time, taking off my judgemental and hateful lenses to gain more clarity.

He was young. I could tell from the slight boyish features fading from his face as he morphed into a man. It wasn't so easy for a man as young as him to lead an army. Heck, it wasn't easy to lead them to fight supernatural creatures.

He stopped before me and leaned over with an outstretched hand. "Here. Let me help you."

Nodding, I slipped my hand into his, noticing how relatively small mine was against his. His hand engulfed mine, fully covering it up as long, wiry fingers pushed into my skin before I was pulled off the ground with ease.

Like his skin burned mine, I pulled my hand from his hold and backed away from him, my eyes scanning everywhere but him as I tried to process the awkwardness of all of this. I wasn't supposed to react that way to his touch. Not after I'd been nothing but rude to him in the past.

"You okay?" He asked in the most relaxed voice, like he hadn't just singlehandedly performed a nearly impossible feat.

I nodded and swallowed back any snide remark I was about to make and replaced it with something far more polite. "Of course, I am. Thanks."

Eamon and I turned when we heard the sound of irregular footsteps advancing in our direction, only to see that it was Eldrion jumping over a boulder and nearly tripping on his feet before he held onto a rock to keep him stable.

When he saw Eamon, his eyes lit up a bit but it was gone as soon as it came; in a flash.

He cleared his throat and walked over to where we stood, looking all sweaty and breathing heavily. His pants were torn in different places and I caught a red stain on his thigh and frowned before hurrying over to him.

"You okay? What happened to your thigh?"

Eldrion looked down at his leg to see what I was talking about. "It must have been a wound. But it's gone already. I didn't even realize."

"Glad you both are okay," Eamon said and just as I was about to ask him why those men had been sent here to humiliate us, Eldrion took over, pushing me gently to the side.

"Thank you very much for intervening. You really came to our aid at the right time."

Eamon gave him a curt nod. "It's nothing. It is my job as the Army General of Twinecrest to safeguard and protect."

I scoffed. "Then you shouldn't have come here. We are not a part of Twinecrest and it isn't your responsibility to guard us."

Eamon gave me a look. I couldn't read the expression on his face or the message he was trying to pass with his stormy grey eyes. But he spoke anyway, in the same calm voice that was starting to annoy me now.

"I came here because our townsmen were sent here. They got attacked and it is my duty to protect our own."

There were no words so I clamped my mouth shut and recoiled to the side.

Eamon turned to me. "Once again, I want to know if you have in any way changed your mind about joining our ranks. There is still a chance if you want." Then he turned to Eldrion. "On my ride here, I caught sight of you warding off demons and was highly impressed by your skillful prowess and great speed. The way with which you fight those demons had me hooked. I believe you would be a great addition to our ranks, too."

Eldrion cleared his throat and I took a step back, knowing he wanted to be in charge. "I really appreciate you constantly asking for us to join the ranks with every chance you get, General Eamon. We also know you are impressed by our skills but I believe that by now, we have made it quite clear to you that we aren't interested in joining the ranks. Nariel's refusal should have been enough answer for you."

Oh, now he was supporting me? Who would have expected it? I folded one arm over the other and stared defiantly at Eamon. His eyes darted over to me for a split second before he returned his attention back to Eldrion.

Eldrion on the other hand, fully faced me with a faint smile on his face, like he wanted my approval. I returned his smile with one that immediately disappeared.

Eamon nodded and took a step back. "Well, it's alright. My apologies for making it seem like I was beginning to be a pester. I'll be on my way. You both have a good night."

He tipped me an imaginary hat before he turned away and walked over to his horse. Grabbing the reins, he slipped his boot into the stirrup and heaved himself up on the horse. Kicking the side of his horse, he willed it to make a turn. His horse broke into gallops as it moved towards the eastern direction of the lake where a bridge was located.

As soon as he left, Eldrion sighed and closed his eyes. "That was one hell of a hard thing to do, Nariel."

"I wanted to say a lot of things to him. Glad you took over."

Eldrion rolled his eyes. "You always have something to say."

"Why did you say no though?" I asked as we walked back to the cottage. "Tonight was an opportunity for you to say yes. You've always wanted this."

Eldrion shrugged. "Your distaste and lack of interest were enough for me to know that you actually didn't want to join the ranks. So I just had to let him know. He didn't look like he was going to refuse with you." Then he threw his arm around my back and pulled me into him. "Plus, I can't go without Nariel by my side."

Our gazes jammed. His moss-green eyes lingered, like he knew something. Like he understood me from the inside out.

Well, he did. But not in the way he was staring at me now like he knew me more than I did myself.

We finally got to the cottage. Neoma was standing by the door with a worried look on her face and as soon as she saw us, the relief on her face was obvious.

"I was scared that something had happened!" She cried and pulled me into a hug. "I couldn't step out. I watched Eldrion battle with demons and gods, I hated that I couldn't help."

Eldrion sighed and wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her close to him before he pressed his lips into her forehead. "Don't think of it, Mother. We already had it taken care of."

"We should go to bed. It's already late."