MATURE FANTASY** He is a predator who thought he captured an ordinary girl... but her mind is sharper than any of his claws.
Ariana lives in the shadow of her monstrous father in a world barely held together by a treaty. Until her lands are invad...
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There were footsteps from the hall which entered my living quarters. By the darkness outside, it was deep into the night. There shouldn't have been anyone entering or leaving this area at such a time. Something was wrong.
I was instantly out of bed and at the door. As soon as it opened, Ariana and Kole froze in their tracks, the way rodents often did when trying to sneak by. Believing that they might have gone unnoticed if they just remained still enough when in the presence of danger.
Taking a sharp inhale, I smelled blood, her blood.
Instantly, a wave of heat ran through my body.
I turned to Kole. "Why is she bleeding?" The anger in my voice was sharp.
His gaze dropped to the ground. He knew that there was going to be no patience on this matter. Ariana was to be protected. That was his duty, and he failed miserably. What excuse could there possibly have been for whatever events led to this?
"She ran into a couple of Lysians in the hall," Kole answered, while shifting on his feet, unmistakably nervous.
"And where were you?" My voice dropped an octave with simmering fury. Not only had Kole done a poor job of watching her, but other Lysians were involved. They harmed her. The girl who was too brave for her own good.
"She was hungry." Kole offered a pitiful excuse.
A growl ripped through me and I refrained from taking a single step towards my friend, for I could have ripped his head off. My hands balled into fists to keep them at my sides.
Ariana seemed to have re-discovered a sliver of her briefly shaken bravery as she stepped forward.
"It was my fault. I was reading the books you left and was trying to be sneakier, like one of the characters. You all are so silent with your movements, and so I just... I didn't know anyone would roam the halls." Her voice wavered ever so slightly with uncertainty, her pulse racing while her eyes focused on the threat before her, me.
My attention and anger turned towards her. Kole nearly winced.
Ariana was trying to make light of the situation, and I was not in the mood. She needed to remain unharmed. Despite being a prisoner of war, she was to be treated as a guest. For her to side with us, she was not to be injured by a Lysian. Kole's job was to ensure that.
