Luna of the Beastly Lycan King

Chapter 8. Worthless

☉DANIKA

There was no time at all to spare. The Crimson-horned stag was still hurtling at me, even with the arrow lodged in its leg. It gave a defiant roar as it crashed into the place where I lay sprawled on the ground. Instinct made me dive for cover at the last second.

Hot, its breath was, and its eyes seemed to shine deeper than any light I had ever known. Darker than any depth of darkness I might have thought would hide me.

I wondered where Finarfin was. The last time my eyes had stumbled upon his, by a chance encounter, he had been lurking in the shadows of the thick forest growth. His words had assailed my ears, even before the appearance of this terrifying beast.

I scrambled away with what little will I had, heart clutched between my teeth. Even as the beast stumbled and crashed into the undergrowth, huffing breath after steaming breath, eyes glinting dangerously, it was still more than a whole head bigger than my person.

Goddess, what have I gotten myself into?

I was not stupid enough to believe that the scales of justice had been tipped so mercilessly in my favor when I had demanded to attend to Finarfin’s side as he hunted—we had hunted together far more times than I could count, and even though I had not done any actual hunting, but tending to him, encouraging him and the likes, it was hurtful, even now to see this side of him.

It had not been in existence from before. I could scarcely believe the man who had set me upon this arduous task. There was no reconstitution. His will had been made perfectly clear. I was to return to him with the stag subdued, as a gift to prove my worthiness. I thought about the words of the other maiden, on how I was no longer his friend—

Alphas had no time for friends. He was ruler now and he had a thousand more demands to attend to than the sniveling of one little lovesick girl.

My boots quaked in the floor and with another snort of the stag, I tripped and fell over. Its eyes locked with mine and I could imagine the ceaseless depths of hatred this beast owed me who knew it not. The beast raised itself on a leg and stood up straight, propelling the beast to a fraction of its previously impossible height.

“Flee, you scoundrel!” I heard angry words behind me. There was no time to move out of the way, so I let myself fall back swiftly as the whizz of an arrow sliced past my head. My wounded ear, no matter how much it had healed, throbbed at the nearness of this projectile. I cursed as I rolled, catching one more glimpse of the stag, even as the arrow that was shot at its head got deflected by its massive, strong forehead.

Sonia pulled me up by the arm.

“Run, you fool!”

Her teeth were gritted and her voice held fury in it. The bow strapped to her back swayed and slapped me as she dragged me through the woods. We came into an open space and Sonia let go of me.

“From here on, you run alone. I won’t die with you.”

“Wait—!”

But she was already sprinting through the woods. I lost her immediately, my eyes not at all suited to her fast movements, especially in such a territory as this. I waited for her to call out, for someone to give me a hand. Nothing ventured.

The Stag’s irritated braying reached me from here. I scrambled away into a thicket. Anything that would get me away from the beast, for I had stood in its presence and gazed into its eyes, and I understood that should the slightest opportunity be presented, the Crimson-horned Stag would trample me underfoot until my entrails desecrated the land.

I could not bring my mind to imagine what would happen after that.

My mind flashed briefly to Finarfen, but a stomp of those heavy hooves told me that I needed to focus on my present task. The Stag was in front of me; its steaming breath was filling the air. It brayed uproariously, and I felt it quake in my bones.

My bow and arrows had been tossed askance when the stag had first charged me. I was a long way away from help. Only the stag’s thumping hooves matched the intensity of my pounding heart. It trotted away. I inhaled and wiped the sweat from my brow. I pushed my way to a tree and rested against it.

No sooner had I done that did the tree exploded into splintering wood, tossing me like a strawdoll. I heard that Goddess-cursed beast bellow its bloodlust and my eyes made contact again, with the eyes that so desired my death.

The stag had run into the tree I rested against to impale me. Now it's antlers were stuck. But I knew it would not be stuck for long. Already, the tree was creaking as the stag made agitated movements.

I broke into a run, abandoning whatever dignity I thought I had.

“HELP!”

The woods did not even spare me the courtesy of answering my words with an echo; the words got snuffed out as soon as they left my lips. Still, I shouted.

I ran a circle around the stag, trying to claw my way back to the position where I had thrown my bow and arrows. I had no hope of subduing the beast. I had no hope of killing it either, but my bow and arrows in my hand again might give me the confidence to escape and perhaps think of something.

What was Finarfen thinking? This was not what I had in mind.

The sounds of breaking wood and crunching plants reached my ears with a loud earth-shaking crash. I dared not turn back. The stag had broken free of the tree. I imagined it shaking its horns and snorting wildly.

I poured myself into my race. The sound of pounding hooves filled my ears. In the side of my vision, I could see horns so crimson they might have been wine. They bent light around them until they seemed to move of their own accord.

There!

My bow and arrows. I dove for them at the last minute. The stag charged right past me, hooves clobbering and thundering. There was no time to spare. It raised its head, pawed at the ground; I began my race again. It charged. I felt its steamy breath in front of me and could have sworn that its muzzle grazed my head.

Then I heard another arrow whistle through the air and the loud braying of the stag. It shook around immediately. Its rump caught me in the full. I was thrown back several feet. The stag bellowed again, snorted, and ran straight at a tree.

“Run, you fool!” Sonia shouted from the top. She was running on the thick branches of the trees. The stag chased after her. I jumped up too quickly and fell back down, immobile. A sharp pain tore through my sides and my head felt numb.

The noise of the arrows whistling through the air challenged the brays and bellows and stomps of the stag. In the distance, its horns were still vivid crimson.

Sonia dropped in front of me so suddenly I had no time to scream. She nocked her bow and fired three successive shots in the distance after the stag. I looked at her nearly empty quiver. The stag showed no signs of relenting.

I thought to myself, this was just a less honorable way to die. It was no different from being sentenced to partake in the battle of rites and fight in the Colosseum.

“Hey!” Sonia’s hands traced the outline of my face. It stung like hell. “I’m not going to die here with you. That beast is coming back. Can you walk?”

My face was hot and wet and sticky. Sonia looked exactly how Eirin had looked so many years ago, when she was still and unmoving on the ground, in the dirt… even as the rains tried to wash the filth away.

I bit back the bile that rose in my throat and the pain that needled every single pore of my skin.

I nodded solemnly. Sonia threw my arm over her head. We limped like it was as natural as walking. Every stray thought had been abolished from the recesses of my mind. We had to survive this beast. We may not be able to kill it, but perhaps if we stayed alive long enough… our heads were on a constant swivel. The noises in the woods crescendoed.

I noticed only too late that it had become eerily silent.

“Wasn’t the stag right behind—“

A flash of crimson. A snort of steam. The heavy thundering, pounding of hooves. My eyes widened. Sonia tipped forward, mouth full of blood. She didn't move again.

“SONIA!” I started to scream, but my mouth would not work. Instead of words, I vomited blood, and my body refused to move, even as the stag slammed me into a tree.

My hands would not move. Only my head rose feebly. I could feel something warm and sticky pouring into my eyes. I could no longer feel the pain in my back. All I could think about was how thick the blood had looked as it spurted out of Sonia’s side.

My vision was tinged with red, but I knew that beyond the red, it was black. Twilight was setting quickly within me, and my slanting eyes could barely make out the Crimson-horned Stag in the distance, pawing at the earth and snorting.

I could scarce tell where Sonia was, for even of myself, I had no knowledge as to the whereabouts.

Every sound came one second too late, too loud. My wounded ear sang fiery songs and my legs spread apart would not respond to my call. I regarded my end with merciless scorn. At the very least, I hoped to have seen Finarfen’s coronation.

My gaze slid downwards as the Stag charged. My eyelids closed.

I knew not how long my eyes had slept, but when they opened, Finarfen was towering over me, wringing his hands. I could barely make out his face, but the air he gave off was imposing. Dominating. Intimidating.

“Worthless.” His voice rang in my head, even though his lips barely moved. I struggled to focus on him, but he just looked like a large blur walking towards me. I felt my chin tugged upwards.

“You wish to ride with me into battle, and you would have me take you along with me always, like a pest—like a tick clinging to the back of a dog. And even this one, you cannot manage.”

Finarfen’s words sounded strange and distant in my ears. “Worthless.”

I watched his feet crunch away, distant shouts echoing in my head. My eyes were heavy, and my face felt like the delicate texture of bread. My head was too heavy for my neck and I feared for my spine, for the weight that it carried.

A raspy breath escaped my lips. I willed my eyes to search for Sonia, willed my ears to hear her whisper, her whimpers… I wished my heart would hold out hope.

But the sea of the endless was what visited me as the lids of my eyes joined together. Only one name was on my breath.

“Finarfen.”