Page 8 of Taken By the Lord of the Nocturne Court

The hooks it has instead of feet are aimed my way, long red tongue rolls out, and I can’t deny reality anymore. That thing’s got a mouth, and needles for teeth.

I scream out and fall back to avoid it sinking its talons into my cheeks. It makes a nasty screech when I manage to slap it away, but thorns dig into my back before I can get away. Ishift around, but no matter which way I turn, the branches of the bushes I’ve just passed through seem to tighten their grip on me as if they’re snakes, not plants.

My heart stops for a split second, and I freeze altogether, to make sure I’m not imagining things, but no. The thorn covered vinesareshifting. They trail over my skin, leaving deep scratches and pulling me deeper into their tangle.

“Help!” I cry out, because pride be damned at this point, and my abductoristhe lesser evil. “Kyranis, please! I’m here!”

Chapter 4

Luke

“Luke!” Kyranis yells from afar.

I call him again, humiliated by the need for his help. I’m supposed to be running away from him, not begging him to save me. But faced with the reality of thorns biting into me ever harder, I choose the deal with the devil. Just like all those years ago when the dark river pulled me along its current, tangled with other dying bodies.

This is the first time I see him with a sword, and he no longer seems like a silly LARPer with fake ears. The weapon isn’tjustblack. It’s darkness in the form of metal, and when it swishes through the air, it leaves behind swirls of smoke that fall to the ground ever so slowly.

I see the prince in him when he approaches in fast strides, cutting through the bushes as if the sword and him are one. When his cloak catches on thorns, he leaves it behind, focused on one task only.

Saving me.

Call me a hypocrite, but right now my heart beats faster at the sight of him. I won’t forget that he’s why I’m in this predicament in the first place, but that’s something for future me to ponder. The present me desperately reaches out to him with both hands.

“Please! They’re cutting into me!” I feel so pathetic for having to say this, but when the thorny vines roll against my throat, tears spill from my eyes. I should be able to deal with everything myself, but I am utterly inadequate.

To make matters worse, I hear buzzing above me. Like that of the moth creature from before, but multiplied. Did that fuzzy fucker come back with reinforcements? Brought his whole family to gawk at the stupid human about to die due to his lack of foresight?

When one of the moths flies to a lower branch, staring at me with its beady black eyes, I writhe in panic. The bush is holding my arms, and if this thing tries to sit on my face like the last one, I won’t be able to stop it.

“Stop moving! They’re attracted to blood!” Kyranis yells, and I’m relieved that he’s only a few feet away now.

When another moth flies by, the meaning behind his words sinks in. The scratches and punctures all over my skin might be shallow, but I’mcoveredin smears of blood.

“They will become voracious when they taste it,” Kyranis says as my heart sinks.

He’s basically telling me that those giant bugs will feed until I’m Swiss cheese. My morbid imagination suggests they’d then lay eggs in the holes they make. I get nauseated at the very thought, so I focus on the sound of Kyranis’s sword ripping through the vines, and I can almost hear them whisper in protest.

“I’m almost there, hold on,” Kyranis says when our eyes meet.

I’m stunned into silence by this reassurance.

He’s just a few steps away, and while I hate him for taking me by force, it’s good to have someone in my corner for once. Someone’s willing to risk their own safety. For me.

I can yell at him later.

It calms me to see how proficiently he moves through the thickening bushes. The massive moon glows behind him, its light bouncing off the black leather he’s wearing, and while he’s lean, every time he brings the sword down, I see pure strength.

I no longer find his introduction as the Protector of the Nightmare Realm amusing.

Knowing he’s coming for me, I manage to stay still, which does stop the vines from tightening. All I need to do is wait. I’ll think about licking my wounds when I’m out of here and out of the range of flesh-eating moth monsters.

I look up at the toothed insect, imagining it falling from Kyranis’s sword, but the moth rolls out its long tongue my way, as if it can hear my thoughts. It vibrates above my face, and I shiver in disgust as a thick drop of moth spittle lands on my cheek. I groan. At least it takes my mind off the pain of tiny cuts all over my body.

The little beast rises off the branch with a buzz that sends a shiver down my spine, and I freeze in dread as it’s joined by its brethren. Six of them descend on me with no further warning, crowding on my shoulders and tangling in my hair.

I cry out again, no longer ashamed of my pathetic whining, because this is a nightmare. “Please hurry! Please!” I yell when one of the monsters licks a cut on my arm. Its saliva stings like a drop of sizzling oil on the skin. A pain I know intimately after making endless batches of French fries.

“Fuck! No!” Kyranis cuts down several more vines with more vigor, but then stops.