The Immortal King

16: Him.

I don’t know why I was even shocked at this point. I mean, it would be very on brand for my story to include my deranged ex-lover somehow intruding into the life I was trying to build with my new one.

“Eric?”, My head tilted in disbelief at the sight in front of me. So many emotions ran through me at the sight of his smug face above, but the one that took over the most was anger.

The revelation of who was on top of me only led to more struggle.

“Liz. Why are you trying to fight me?”, He inquired amused as he brought one of his hands to graze his claws against my cheek. I flinched at the sudden touch and flashbacks of the past that I l worked so hard to bury resurfaced.

My heart began to pound in fear and tears brimmed as the familiar feeling of panic took over me. 

My face almost planted into the ground in an attempt to avoid his bloodstained claws. The loudness of the world went quiet as my body made instinctive efforts to mentally escape his hold. 

If I could go my whole life never seeing someone again, that person would have been Eric.

It was no shock to me that he would be apart of the group attacking the palace. He was a terrorist in every sense of the word. The mere thought of him made my skin boil and to know that he was on top of me in this very moment made me want to bathe in acid.

“Get off of me”, I said through gritted teeth as I continued to struggle. Eric ignored me as he continued to caress my face slowly gliding to my neck where the pretty necklace fell. The extended claw on his index finger toyed with my jewel.

“This looks so good on you”, he spoke, my face twisting at the echo. He then brought his face to be inches away from mine as he glided his nose against my neck. A cough left my lips as his movements applied more pressure onto my chest, “Being queen, I mean”

A whimper fell from my lips as the tears began to brim. What did he want?

I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my skull as his lashes pierced my skin, “I wish I could say I was here to see you, but that’s just a bonus, my dear”

The voice that used to have my heart flutter now made my stomach twist in disgust, “I need that kid so let’s chat later, okay baby” 

I felt his eyes leave my face and wander off to the child who quaked in front of us. I shook my head rapidly as Eric swiftly grabbed the necklace and removed himself from me to approach the boy.

Before I could even think to get up to follow him, Eric stomped his foot into my chest leaving me immobile. 

I could feel my lower ribs c***k as air suddenly became a foreign substance to me and blood began to collect in my throat. 

The familiar feeling of helplessness I knew around him came and tears streamed down my face as I helplessly choked on my own blood. I clutched my chest and hunched over gasping for air which only worsened my condition.

Eric approached the child who attempted to run.

Just when I felt myself succumbing to the darkness, I could feel my ribs repairing on their own. This sudden healing allowed for me to catch my breath, but before I could get to Eric, someone beat me to it.

It was not Sebastien, but Luis.

A snarl echoed through the air.

As I clutched my now healed chest, I watched as Luis stepped in front of the child and attempted to grab Eric. 

He did not seem to be alone either. As the smoke began to clear, more men, who I assumed to be palace guardsmen stood in front of Eric who stood in front of me.

The realization that I was now in more danger than the child dawned on me when the men did not move to attack.

When I turned around, I noticed how far the young boy and I had truly wandered from our original placement at the Re-announcement. Somehow, I had made my way all the way to the border between the palace and the rest of the kingdom. Both separated by a wide and dark forest.

Once an individual went into the forest, they might as well have disappeared. I knew this because it was the same route I had taken when I escaped the first time.

Muscle memory?

Eric quickly noticed his poor position and with a quickness he grabbed me to his front as leverage against the men and pressed a claw to my neck. 

“Fine, you take the boy, and how about I take her?”, He chuckled menacingly. 

One of the guards took a step forward and I winced as Eric pressed his claw into my neck immediately drawing blood. Luis raised his arm to stop the guard from advancing any further as he intently watched Eric make slow strides backward.

“She can’t leave”, Luis scoffed confidently, his black claws curling into fists. His blue freckles slowly spread across his face and it was evident that he was about to fully turn. 

Eric’s pace quickened toward the border as he knew that once Luis shifted, it would be unrealistic for him to make a clean getaway.

My brows furrowed in confusion to Luis' words. What do you mean I can't leave? 

Without allowing more time to pass, Eric rushed across the border and a sudden burning sensation simultaneously slapped against my back and trickled through my spine when he attempted to take me along with him. 

The more Eric tugged, the more I screeched in pain. In automatic self defense, my claws bore and I pierced his hand until he let me go eventually leaving me on the ground as he retreated without even a second glance.

My body immediately hit the ground and more yelps left as I arched not wanting anything to come in contact with the burns. Tears streamed as I tossed and turned attempting to rid myself of the sudden pain.

What the f*ck?

“Follow him”, Luis commanded as he gestured toward the woods ignoring my outburst, “I want him in my dungeon by tonight” 

Like my ribs before, my body fought to heal. 

When my scene was over, I rose in confusion to see a partially shifted Luis along with a sea of guards staring back at me unamused. The little boy, who now sat in the protective arms of one soldier, looked on in complete horror. 

Still, there was no sign of Sebastien. 

***

Thoughts ran wild in my head as my mind attempted to grasp an understanding of tonight’s events. Honestly, things would have gone better if I would have just ran away again. Another unwarranted visit from the palace guardsmen and their king would have been much less painful than what just transpired. 

My thoughts began to drift remembering everything I had undergone in the little time I had been here. If I did not know any better, I would say that being Luna was a death wish. 

It was as if every event in my life since becoming Sebastien’s mate was being curated to end me.

The palace was dead silent as I followed Luis to Sebastien’s office. There was not a maid in sight as the guardsmen surrounded us. All that could be heard were the sounds of our footsteps against the marble floors when we passed through the dark corridors.  

Luis had not said a word to me throughout the entire stroll. It was unusual seeing him like this.

I mean, as royalty, it was expected for him to know how to handle situations such as these, but the sight of him on that field was frightening. The way the two brothers could go from such personality to having none at all was a sight that struck fear in my heart.I did not like the unpredictability that came with not knowing what they were capable of doing next. It was like a sensitive switch. 

I saw it with their father that day when he went from poor satire to almost killing me. Then, I saw it every time Sebastien turned off his humanity. Now, I was experiencing it with Luis. 

When we got to the familiar doors, Luis dismissed the guards and we walked in to see an almost fully shifted Sebastien. 

Unlike Luis, the sight of Sebastian caused feelings of both excitement and arousal to form. 

There was dark blood dripping from his claws onto the ground and drowning his torn dress shirt. Veins pulsated through his body as I watched the usual blue creep from his neck. His hair was no longer in its pretty style as it lie messily on his head. His teeth bore and one of his eyes were a complete pitch black as his prior pacing came to a halt. All my body yearned to do was be near him and help him recover from the clear agitation that ravaged him.

Was it safe for me to be in here with two almost fully shifted beasts?

On his desk, which he stood next to, sat our two crowns, mine bent at the top and his smothered with chunks of raw meat. 

My hand unconsciously met my empty head as I had not even realized it fell off through all the panic. A small sense of relief came to me as I was glad there was at least one mystery resolved from this night.

I stood by the door not wanting to fully enter a room with two unhinged characters that could tear me to pieces. The fear in my face must have been obvious as Luis walked over to his brother and whispered something before unshifting. 

Sebastien remained the same as before and said nothing as he slowly walked toward his usual seat behind his desk and turned away so that he was not facing us. 

Luis gestured for me to take a seat on the couch as he sat on the desk blocking my view from Sebastien.

For a moment there was silence as Luis examined me. My back hit against the back of the couch, flashbacks of this evening still haunting me, as I stared forward not wanting to Luis' eyes.

To be honest, all I wanted to do was take a hot shower and remove the feeling of Eric from my body. Was I upset about my re-announcement being ruined? Yes. Did I have questions as to why we were attacked? Yes. Was I extremely upset about the fact that I was charmed without my knowledge to remain within the confines of this horrid palace because my mate did not trust me? Yes. 

These questions and sentiments only scratched the surface, but in the moment, my priority was getting this torn gown off and scrubbing away these horrid new memories.

“Elizabeth”, The sound of my full name brought me out of my thoughts, “First and foremost, are you okay?”

I slowly nodded my head as I brought my hand to itch the dried blood on my empty neck. Did I look okay?

That f*cker really stole my necklace.

“Then we can get straight to it then?”, My brows furrowed at his line of questioning. Luis then cleared his throat, as if inaudibly commanding me to meet eyes with him. When I did so, the vex in his face was clear as day. What furthered my bewilderment was why his irritation would be directed toward me. 

“Did you have anything to do with what happened tonight?”