Kira froze. She had one hand buried in the nap of a shawl while the other grasped the front of her dress. If she could have reached in to hold onto her heart, she would have. Her stomach rose in her throat. She slowly turned to find Octavion, but he wasn’t looking at her anymore. The blood had drained from his face as his eyes caught sight of the woman he once loved.
Her sweet, angelic voice greeted Kira, but she couldn’t respond or move. Kira couldn’t take her eyes off his expression. He swallowed hard, tightening his jaw. His brow furrowed as he watched Serena come forward. When she said Kira’s name again, he turned away, hiding his face.
Kira numbly let her hands fall to her side and stepped closer to examine the shawl Serena placed on the table in front of her. Kira didn’t dare look up to see the girl’s face. She didn’t want to remember how much more beautiful Serena was than her. She especially didn’t want Serena’s image to intrude her dreams and be the subject of her nightmares.
Kira ran her fingers over the shawl, pretended it was the perfect match to her new green dress and asked that it be taken to the castle. When she was sure Serena had gone back into the shop, she thanked the older woman and walked away. She’d only taken a few steps when the urge to escape struck her. She lifted the hem of her dress and ran through the market, darting in and out between the blurred figures she saw through her tears. She got to the main road leading to the castle, but instead of heading up the hill, she ran between two cottages. She rounded the back corner and collided head on with a rock solid, well-dressed man.
Kira stumbled back as several items the man held fell to the ground. “Oh, I’m so sorry, sir.” She wiped the tears from her face and bent to pick up the scattered objects-a small tattered book filled with beautiful drawings and a small pouch of nuts that spilled and scattered everywhere. She scooped the nuts back into the pouch, then noticed a small cylinder object next to a rock. She scooted a little closer and plucked the item from the ground. She rolled it over in her hand, thinking it was some kind of medieval pencil. Her stomach lurched when she realized what it was.
A small wooden flute.
Chapter Thirty
Still crouched near the ground, she froze in place. She couldn’t look up to see the man’s face. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t do anything but stare at the flute.
The man lowered himself to her level. His large hand reached for her and with his index finger, he gently lifted her face so their eyes met. His long black hair shadowed his features, but there was no mistaking his eyes.
“Nigel?” A sigh of relief escaped her. He’d been the one who brought her food and water while in captivity. “You played this outside my window, didn’t you?”
Struck mute by his Darkord blood, he bowed his head slightly, then brushed a runaway tear from her face. He held his damp finger up between them with a questioning look.
“It’s nothing. I was running from Octavion. He-”
Nigel didn’t let her finish. He jumped to his feet and drew his knife, turning in the direction she’d come from.
“Stop! He didn’t hurt me.” Kira stood and grabbed his arm, pulling him around to the back of the cottage. “You can’t be seen. Xantara forbids Darkords within their walls and if Octavion catches you here, he’ll kill you.”
Nigel slipped his knife back into its sheath. Running a gentle finger down the scar on her cheek, he gave her a questioning look. He took her hand and touched the Crystor.
“No, it doesn’t work,” she said.
Nigel took a deep breath and put a hand to his heart as if to say he was sorry.
“It’s not your fault. You saved me. I’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”
Nigel brushed another tear from her cheek and held it up for her to see. Another questioning look crossed his face.
“No, Octavion didn’t hurt me. Not like you think. It’s just. . there’s another girl, someone he knew before.”
Nigel’s shoulders drooped as he let out a breath.
“Why are you here? Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”
He motioned to Kira and smiled.
“You’re here to check up on me?”
He nodded.
“That’s sweet, Nigel, but I’m okay. I don’t want you to get caught here. You need to go.”
For a long moment, he stared into her eyes-until she looked away. She didn’t understand why she felt so comfortable around him when she should fear him. Even though he’d saved her, he was still a Darkord and brother to the man who’d tortured her.
Nigel laid a gentle hand on her cheek and turned her to face him. Then he patted his hand over his heart and motioned toward her.
“I don’t understand,” Kira said.
He sighed heavily, then paced for a moment before drawing his knife. Kira jumped back, thinking he might try to hurt her, then realized he was just trying to make a point. She relaxed a little, but kept her distance.
Nigel put the tip of the knife over his heart and made a motion as if stabbing himself, then pointed to Kira and nodded.
“You want me to kill myself?”
He shook his head.
“You want to take your own life?”
A look of frustration washed over his face as he repeated the sequence with the knife, once again pointing to her.
Now she understood. “You’d die for me, to keep me safe.”
He smiled, nodded and replaced his knife.
“But that doesn’t make sense. You don’t even know me.”
He straightened to his full height and slammed his right fist over his heart. The same gesture Luka made to Octavion-a sign of respect and obedience, she supposed. Only she was pretty sure Luka’s was far from genuine.
“You want to be my guardian, don’t you? My protector?”
He nodded again.
“Kira?” Octavion’s voice sounded from nearby.
Kira grabbed Nigel’s arm and whispered to him. “Promise me you’ll go home. If he sees you, he’ll be angry. Please. I don’t want you hurt.”
Nigel looked in the direction of Octavion’s voice, then back at Kira and nodded. He turned and walked away.
“Wait,” Kira called out in a loud whisper. “I mean you need to go, like disappear like you did in the barn. If you don’t, you’ll get caught.”
Nigel looked back over his shoulder, the look of pain and deep regret in his eyes. Then he continued walking. He didn’t need words for her to understand he’d lost the power to travel with his mind. It twisted a place in her heart she tried to forget existed-where she’d buried the pain of her mother’s abandonment. Somehow, even though the situations were nothing alike, she knew how alone and lost he felt.
Kira leaned against the cottage wall and tried to compose herself. Running into Nigel had taken her mind off Serena, but now her emotions returned. She’d been a fool. How could she believe Octavion wouldn’t still love Serena? How could she think for even one minute that she could fill the void she left in his heart? Kira slid down the wall and lowered her head into her hands.
“Kira.” Octavion’s panicked voice made her jump.
“Go away,” she begged.
His steps caused little pebbles to scatter as he came closer. She looked up to find him down on one knee
