The Queen's Mate

TEN

Eleanor tore through the dancing crowds of people as the low lights and classical jazz played in the ballroom where the masquerade ball commenced; her eyes drifted away to every blond-haired man she saw in hopes of finding Adonis.

The Mare she saw about a few minutes ago was no longer standing there but she knew that she would be a fool to believe that they weren’t already here.

It had begun; Anderson’s thirst for her life had grown so much that he probably had the entire estate crawling with Mares and whatever else he could command.

“Where are you, Adonis…” She mumbled to herself as she finally came onto the marble balcony at the far end of the ballroom.

She could see how the servants had decorated the gardens and the deck for the celebration of her birthday eve, however, she could not feel happy about turning twenty-five; there was nothing good about her birthday this year.

She fumbled to open her clutch and hurriedly took out her phone to call the blond angel but the second she looked up; she was surrounded by four hooded figures wearing red cloaks.

A loud gasp escaped her lips as she looked around wildly and tried to find a way away from them but they seemed to be closing in on the distance and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to make it in time so she took a deep breath and bent down to her ankles.

She smirked when she swiped out two ring daggers strapped to her calf as she got back up and spread her hands wide, challengingly; her years of training with various kinds of daggers and knives were surely coming into play as of now.

“You want to kill me?” She spat at the Mares, unsure if they could even understand her. “Well, guess what? I am not going down without a fight.”

The Mares each replied without words but with loud hisses which confirmed her thoughts that they weren’t going to back down now.

Taking a deep breath, she shifted her weight on her front foot and took the stance positioning the Chinese ring daggers defensively as she assessed the Mares in front of her while keeping her attention on any possible attacks from behind her.

One of them glared heatedly at her and his eyes began to glow red as he swirled his hands in the air until a swivel of blazing red energy appeared between them and Eleanor widened her eyes knowing that she was not going to be able to defend herself from something like that with knives.

Right as the mare attacked her with a burst of his flaming magic, the brunette ducked in time and the blaze hit the mare standing right behind her and as an impact, he fell off the balcony and disappeared mid-air making the heiress screech in surprise.

Her ring daggers were no longer of use when she threw them at one of the three mares and they passed right through him as if there was no flesh in his body and just smoke; from what Adonis had told her about them, she knew that there was only one weapon which could harm them.

The attacks now came from all three sides as she defended herself by sidestepping and retreating whenever needed until she was in close proximity to one of the mares and had the opportunity to take a hold of the sword hanging from his waist.

“Gotcha.” She smirked as she swiped out his sword and this time used it to block all of their attacks before she drove it right through one of them which led to him turning into ash within seconds.

Adonis’ intel had been correct about a mare’s sword being the only weapon that could kill him. She was proud of herself for remembering that, however, she was sure that her seventeen-year-old self would have never imagined this day to come when she had first requested to be trained in weaponry by her parents.

Now that she fought the mares, her mind took her to how good Mary and Daniel had been when it came to combat; how they knew which knife or gun to use and when and how they had mastered everything.

Something did not sit right with the noirette and she felt that somehow she was underestimating their involvement in the supernatural world. She now believed that whatever the two had taught her, whatever they had trained her in, had a different meaning attached to it.

She was eager to find that out.

With a loud scream erupting from her face, she decapitated the head of the last remaining mare on the balcony with the sword in her hand right before the sword disappeared altogether leaving her with a baffled expression.

“What the hell?” She mumbled to herself right before she heard the sound of someone clapping their hands as she looked up confused and slightly agitated.

That was when footsteps were heard and a man walked out from behind one of the pillars. Eleanor gasped when she was yet again gazing into familiar onyx eyes.

However, this time she was certain that it was not a dream. This was reality and the man she had met once in her visions was standing in front of her; the only difference was that she could see him completely rather than just his eyes.

His raven, feather-like hair was brushed away from his forehead as his onyx eyes glimmered like an abyss of intoxicating darkness. His tailored suit was snug around his broad shoulders as she could just see the fine curves of his biceps. The front buttons of his tux had been left stylishly open as his bow-tie hung undone around his neck, whereas his chiseled chest peaked through the open buttons of his white dress shirt giving him a neatly disheveled look.

His strong jaw was lifted in a daring smirk as he finally lowered his hands that he was clapping and slipped them into the pockets of his pants as he looked at her with his orbs sharp on her flushed face.

“That was quite the spectacle, darling.” His melodious voice flew out of his mouth like a sinful alliance of danger and strength; everything about him felt wrong, and yet, she could not help but be drawn into those dark orbs which seem to be hiding a million dreams underneath.

“Who are you?” She asked pointedly, raising her eyebrow in suspicion. He had seen her battle the mares and by how unaffected he looked, she could guess that he knew something that she did not.

The man smiled smugly, the mischievousness under his orbs danced with excited swirls making her feel uneasy. She felt his scrutinizing gaze making her vulnerable; as if he was testing her in some way.

“I’m Damien.” He replied to her question in an almost convincing tone which made her wish to believe him. She knew he could be dangerous and someone working for Anderson which was why she clenched her fists in anger and stayed in a defensive stance, still.

A velvety chuckle reverberated from Damien’s chest when he studied her frame and movements. He shook his head grinning condescendingly towards the heiress who seemed to be well equipped while fighting the mares but so unguarded when talking to him.

Before the brunette could say anything in return, the door to the balcony burst open to reveal baffled looking, Adonis and Liam.

Adonis’ eyes fell on Eleanor and he visibly relaxed as he ran up to her and immediately took her in his arms, “oh, thank the Angel, you’re okay!” He whispered breathing in her shoulder as she too felt all of her fear leave her body and wrapped her arms around his torso, snuggling her face in his chest.

“Took you long enough.” She jested with a relieved smile making him scoff as he shook his head and stood embracing her until Liam cleared his throat and the two had to break apart.

Damien, meanwhile, stood leaning on the pillar he was hiding behind before as he watched the exchange between the trio with a relaxed expression. His eyes however were intent on the brunette heiress who had fought the mares valiantly.

Adonis turned around and he saw Damien. The two men exchanged blank stares as if challenging each other before Liam ignored them and looked at Eleanor with pursed lips.

“Elle, this is Damien Ravena,” Liam said gesturing to the raven-haired man making Eleanor furrow her brows thinking about how her best friend knew the stranger. “He is my elder brother,” Liam added and Eleanor could not believe her ears.