Luna of the Beastly Lycan King

Chapter 28. Silent

☉DANIKA

For the longest time, I watched as though time had stood still.

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole, but no such luck. I stared with bated breath as Finarfin turned to stare at me.

The arrow was lodged deep in Finarfin’s shoulder and coupled with the fact that my arms were already tired, I felt like the only reasonable thing that my body could do right now was fall into an instant faint. No such thing happened.

Panic flooded my senses as I tried to think of a reasonable answer as to why the arrow would wound Finarfin. He was fast. Fast enough to avoid Fergal’s blows and even hold his ground against his warriors. Dodging an arrow should have been a walk in the field for him.

And yet…

Finarfin pulled the arrow out of his shoulder and I gasped as he plucked it free. The blood that spilled out from the wound was not of considerable quantity, but considering the fact that I had been the person who shot the arrow, I was more than loath to think that the blood that spilled was little.

He flung the arrow to the floor and turned in the direction of the other sparring men. They had stopped their sparring. His gaze was unwavering when he turned to me. I drew in a breath and forgot how to breathe.

Then his gaze broke away from mine and I felt all the air I had inhaled rushing out of me in that instant. Finarfin was walking away from the sparring grounds.

It was some time after he had gone before I was able to breathe properly again. Beads of sweat peppered my forehead and my skin prickled.

“I should have taken your advice, Fergal.” I gabbled breathlessly. “I should have thought about my inheritance before I came to the training today.”

I turned, but Fergal was no longer there. I turned around wildly, nonplussed, but Fergal had completely disappeared from the sparring grounds with no trace of when he had left.

I cursed my luck and slunk away, praying that no one had seen me. But Finarfin had locked eyes with me. He knew that I was the one who had shot the arrow.

I raced to the palace with the intention of shutting myself in my chamber until I was sure that I was far from danger, but Andras was waiting for me at the entrance to my chamber.

I brought myself to a grinding halt, suspicious. I stalked towards him.

“A-Andras?” I called, my voice quivering. I had hoped that I would be able to get away, but seeing Andras standing right in front of me, obstructing me from entering my chambers confirmed all of my fears. I knew that something was very wrong. Still, I asked, just to be absolutely certain.

“Is everything all right, Andras?” I hated the way my voice fluctuated between octaves, but I was right to be scared. Only earlier today, I had shot the king of Cynthros in the arm with an arrow. The most powerful man in all of Cynthros and I had shot him with an arrow! I could have run mad with derision.

But Andras’s voice was sober, calm. Almost even pitying.

“Would you truly like me to answer that question?”

I was crestfallen. “No, No I would not.”

“The Alpha King Finarfin has requested your presence. He has asked that I escort you back to him.” Andras said tonelessly. I was used to his lack of empathy and the way that he concealed his emotions so perfectly, but today, it drove genuine fear in me.

I had not had anything to eat. I was tired and my arms were swollen, but of course, I had chosen today of all days to pull my most useless stunt yet. I tried to gather myself while Andras waited, inhaling and exhaling several times until I did not feel like I was going to teeter forward and fall into a never-ending sleep if I took the next step.

Goddess help me, I prayed. Then I nodded at Andras, telling him to lead the way.

I walked slowly behind Andras. His frame in his bulking armor, though still not nearly as large as either Fergal or Finarfin dwarfed me and almost completely blocked out the light in the corridor. We came upon the corner that led to Finarfin’s chambers and then walked past it.

So Finarfin did not want to meet me in his chambers, I thought grimly. I had no idea how I was going to explain the occurrence of the day. What could I possibly tell him?

‘My dear Alpha King Finarfin, I’m pathetic at every other thing that relates to fighting so I thought about firing a bow, but I’m horrible at that too’?

There was no excuse that I knew would suffice. Nothing sounded right in my head. Noblemen had been executed for far fewer reasons. And now I…

“Andras, I’m not going to be executed, am I?”

Andras kept his gaze forward as he moved and would not say anything. We passed by court officials who barely spared a glance in my direction and then passed even more people who for some reason, were moving up and down. The palace had never been this busy before. Could it be…

Andras stopped at a familiar set of double doors. I recognized this part of the palace. But this time, there were guards standing sentry outside. Finarfin’s study. The first place where I had inflicted damage on him. How ironic that it would also be the last place that I would ever be able to see him again.

Andras stepped out of the way so I could walk up to the door. The guards were looking straight ahead as they swung the doors open, the tips of their halberds gleaming. I tried not to focus too much on these as I walked forward. The doors swung back behind me, closing the doors with a surprisingly easy sigh.

Finarfin was standing behind his desk, his back turned to me. The urge to suddenly turn back and run out seized me, but I had seen Finarfin in his fight against Fergal and the other warriors. Even if I decided to run, there was absolutely no way that I was going to make it to the door before he caught me.

I walked forward, tremulous. When I was near the desk, he said, “Leave us.” I wondered who else was with us. Then out from the shadows, just behind a bookshelf and out of sight, Fergal stepped out. He bowed stiffly to Finarfin and walked past me without so much as batting an eyelid at me. I wondered what the both of them had been talking about. It was none of my business anyway. They were Alpha and Beta. They were entitled to their own private discussions.

And why had Fergal completely disregarded me? Just what had Finarfin been talking to him about? What had Fergal told him? My mind wandered. Had it been about me?—

“Danika.”

The words boomed in my head. I snapped to full attention immediately and involuntarily. “Yes, my alpha.” I trembled, but my body would not relax its pose. I marched towards Finarfin and stopped just shy of the desk. I felt like I was going to die, just standing in Finarfin’s presence. I had never felt this way about him before. He had always been intimidating, but this time, genuine fear rooted me to the ground. I had never had any cause before to be this scared of him. Now that I was here, standing before him guilty of a horrendous crime, I felt only pity for whoever might have had the mind to oppose him.

He turned towards me and I felt the full power of his gaze ripping through me.

“You shot me today. And the other day, here in this very room, you lobbed this—” he lifted the paperweight and put it back down. “—straight at my face.”

He drew to me in a single stride. “Is it perhaps because I have been more than generous in my dealings with you and have given you way too much free reign that your insolence now abounds? Or perhaps… I am tempted to think, is it that you are intentionally antagonizing me, woman?” He growled.

I shivered, but I managed to say, “I would never do that, Finarfin.”

I turned to catch him staring at the right side of my face with concentration. His gaze was most curious. But then he pulled away and said in a suddenly lighter tone that brought me no reassurance, “You seem to be having quite the time, testing your accuracy. Your arrow was headed straight for my heart. Had I not turned at the last minute and let it hit my shoulder instead, you would have been dead by now, killed for the crime of regicide. Did you know this? Any other person would have died. Killed instantly by your arrow.”

So he had seen the arrow coming after all. And he was definitely fast enough to avoid it. So why did he let it strike him?

I swallowed heavily and tried to steady my breathing. He bent low until he was at eye level with me. His eyes were all-seeking.

“But that is only to say.” He straightened up. “You seem to know how to use a bow now. If you are now that accurate, then it is only fitting that you come hunting with me.”

I had almost gone into a dead faint, just standing next to him. Then he had mentioned a hunt, and my mind immediately cleared. I could not help but stutter. “Finarfin?”

“You’ve always wanted to protect me and stay by my side, haven’t you? You have your chance now.”

I stuttered, but he cut my words short, walking towards the door; it swung open as he neared it. “I wish to see the scope of your skills for myself. Ready your things and sharpen your skills. We’re going hunting.”

And then the double doors slammed shut. I did not know what to feel.