Chapter 41

Damien

Damien lay on the couch in the large common room, one arm over his forehead and the other across his stomach as he fell in and out of sleep. Just like he'd been since his scouts had headed into the human world. Ever since he'd watch that airship take off, he'd felt this overwhelming sense of loss that he didn't understand where it was coming from. Nothing had changed, he'd watched his scouts leave on missions all his life, so why now did it seem so different and why did he feel like something bad was going to happen.

"Damien," He looked over to see Ryan standing next to the couch and blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. He could see that Ryan had his arms crossed, slight worry on his face as if that hadn't been the first time he'd called Damien's name. Pushing himself to a sitting position he rubbed his face a few times before he pulled his long hair over his shoulder and started to run his fingers through it, his eyes on Ryan. "Prince Gabriel is here." He said shortly and all Damien did was nod as he stood and headed towards the door where it was cracked. He pulled it open to see Gabriel standing there with Sigma and Dashiner, a tired smile on his lips.

"Hey," Gabriel spoke as he turned from his scouts to greet him but paused. "You okay?" Damien ran a hand over his face and shook his head once to clear the fog that always seemed to be hanging around these days.

"Yeah, I think I'm just a little tired," Damien mumbled. There was a beat of silence as they just looked at each other. It was as if Gabriel was trying to figure something out that he didn't understand. "What's up?" Damien asked, breaking the silence, and Gabriel's eyes refocused on him.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join us for lunch? We're heading down to get Nyline and her maids from the training grounds." Damien paused as he glanced behind him, seeing his scouts picking up their cards and grabbing shoes.

"Yeah, we'll come. Just give me a minute to get my shoes on." Gabriel nodded as Damien walked over to the couch to start pulling his boots on. Gabriel walked into the room looking around a little before his eyes landed back on Damien.

"The scouts should be back later tonight or tomorrow, we're you guys planning on staying for a few more days or heading home to meet them in Dunhule?" He asked his eyes falling back on Damien. It took Damien a second of just looking at Gabriel before his eyes found Nathan. It had been a couple of days since the scouts had left and yet he hadn't received an update. A knot formed in his stomach as Damien made a mental note to ask Nathan what was going on, he was sure that Angelica was checking in, but he knew that he'd been out of it the last day or so.

"That depends on my scouts," Damien spoke as he stood and started towards the door, his scouts talking softly behind him, "If they want to come up here, we'll stay and if not, we'll meet them down south." He paused looking at Nathan. "Do you know what Angelica and Jake want to do?"

"I think they both planned on coming back up this way before heading back down," Nathan spoke as everyone walked down the long hallway, heading towards the steps that would lead them out into the large front garden.

"Would you mind double-checking for me?" Damien asked and Nathan nodded as Damien increased his speed so that he and Gabriel were even as they strode across the lush garden and to a side gate that he hadn't seen yet. "Your training grounds are pretty close to the castle."

"Well, these are the private ones for scouts and royal guards," Gabriel explained as he opened the large wooden door and they started down the incline.

Damien didn't catch what Gabriel said next as he looked across the vast open area where he saw Nyline with a scout blade, going full force against King Nicholas. Their blades clashing against each other with such force that he was seeing sparks. His eyes looked around the large clearing to see that the two maids that were often with Nyline were off to the side with swords as they seemed to be sparring with each other. His hand went to his empty hip as he watched the two moved with fineness as they attacked, defended, and parried with ease. He wished that he'd brought his sword so that he could challenge one of them. It had been a while since he'd been able to go up against a new opponent.

"We can always come back," Rebecca whispered as she took his arm in hers and started to drag him down to a shed that was a little off to the side of the path. He continued to look around realizing that there were more than just the four of them on the training grounds. Once at the sidelines he saw a senior scout with black pixy cut hair with purple tips. Off in the distance, he could also see a few people training off on the other side, while some were just running laps. When she turned to talk to Gabriel, he saw that she had purple eyes that lit up as she turned and looked at everyone joining them.

"Hello," She turned to Damien as he nodded her head a little. "I'm Reena, King Nicholas scout." She placed her fist on her heart and gave a short shallow bow. He nodded his head, knowing that she'd already know who he was.

"Nice to meet you," He spoke trying to be polite, Reena's eyes lit up as she grinned at each of his scouts as they stopped behind him. He didn't miss that her eyes lingered on Rebecca for just a little longer than the others. He held in the sigh, Rebecca always drew attention to herself, he just wondered what exactly she'd said this time to get that glint in the senior scouts' eyes.

"How's she doing?" Sigma asked as he took Reena's attention. Her face lighting up with the question.

"I won big time against Beck and Ezra. Jonathan trained her so well, it's like she already knows how to use a blade. It's actually really awesome to watch." She laughed loudly and Dashiner grinned at her as well. Damien idly wondered if the king and queen's scouts also had a habit of betting like Gabriel's scouts. Reena turned those purple eyes back towards the field as he heard Rebecca snort.

"Of course, he did," She muttered under her breath. Damien looked back to see her crossing her arms, her eyes going away from the field, and looking really annoyed. In truth, he didn't really understand what Rebecca's problem with Nyline was. Originally, he believed that it was just because of how mean Nyline had been, however at this point he was starting to wonder what else was bothering her. She did have a habit of pointing out that Nyline did a ton of stuff that wasn't normal for someone her own age, but still, why did that equate to Rebecca disliking her so much? It wasn't something he understood.

Damien turned his full attention to the field in time to see Nyline fly backward, he watched, waiting for her to catch herself, but when she didn't and simply skidded across the ground he glanced at Gabriel. His face had tightened, but his expression gave nothing away. Confused he turned back to see King Nicholas walking over to her slowly, an almost mirrored image of confusion painted across his face. Nyline didn't move for a few seconds before she rolled and went on her knees. It was then he realized that she was looking up at the sky behind her and not at the king who was walking over towards her, with a blade.

"What?" he heard Reena breathe next to him, but Damien didn't take his eyes off Nyline for a second as her head seemed to roll on her shoulders. Reena vanished from next to him and appeared near Nyline but the second she got too close Nyline's head snapped up and looked directly at Reena before she used her movement and vanished.

"Her mind is stuck in a conversation," Gabriel muttered, his eyes going to Dashiner who also vanished with his movement skill.

"What's going on?" Damien asked, his eyes going around the training grounds looking for Nyline as she landed a few feet away from them. It was brief but she turned her head slightly, and he felt a shiver go up and down his spine as he saw her pupils were so wide that there was only a small ring of green on the edges. Rebecca and Nathan jumped in front of him in the next second as she vanished once more. It was only then that he looked over at Gabriel who, surprisingly, didn't seem worried.

"Stop chasing her, her conscience is reacting to you getting too close." He shouted over the fields as she landed again, drawing a line in the ground with the toe of her shoe. The barrier shot up around her as she turned in a small circle as if following something that no one else could see.

"What?" Damien asked again sounding shocked. Gabriel glanced at him as he crossed his arms.

"It's just a theory right now, but I think the reason why Jonathan didn't teach her how to fight was because he wanted to make sure if her mind got caught in a conversation, that her subconscious would be able to avoid anyone until she came back." Damien just looked at Gabriel, who glanced sideways at him. "Her mind gets forced into conversations, she can't fight it, it's just something that happens. If her mind were to get pulled into something, then it leaves her body completely defenseless while her mind is elsewhere. Why else would Jonathan focus so much on avoidance tactics and her movement?" His voice lowered as he spoke this time.

He saw out of the corner of his eye Rebecca looking over at Nyline with a weird expression on her face that made Damien wonder even more what was going on between the two of them. A glance back to Gabriel told him that he'd also noticed that weird tension between the two girls. Gabriel gave a small shrug before Damien looked back across the field where Nyline was now sitting on her knees, her face turned up towards the sky. He honestly couldn't fathom what it would be like to be Nyline. Shaking his head, he didn't want to know. It was too complicated for him.

Damien felt himself looking skyward as well, wondering what was going on with the scouts. What was Jake up to at this moment? He turned to find Nathan when Gabriel made a pained grunting noise next to him. Damien blinked several times before he saw Gabriel was down on one knee his hand at his head. Sigma was next to him, one hand on the back of his neck as she looked at him confused before her eyes shot over to Nyline. He followed her line of sight just to see Nyline sitting on her butt, one leg stuck out straight as the other was bent and she had her head against it. He could see the king and Reena standing close to the edge of her barrier.

Pain lanced across Damien's mind and he couldn't help but gasp as the pressure built at the base of his head, he crashed to one knee next to Gabriel as they both clutched their heads. There was more pressure before it felt as though something popped and everything drained out of him at once. He took in a gasping breath, feeling as though he'd been holding it for far longer than the time that had passed, his lungs starved for air as he took another greedy breath in.

"Damien?" Rebecca was in front of him, her green eyes wide with shock and horror as she held onto his shoulders. "Can you hear me?" He heard the panic lacing her words, but his brain was confused. Why did he feel so much more… drained than before? He felt his mind grasping for straws as he struggled to figure out what exactly had just happened. Then his heart seemed to fall as sudden loneliness washed across his entire being, it was followed by a shiver before a cold sweat overtook his entire body. He was shivering as his body turned hot, then cold once more before it seemed like the world tilted slightly and he started to fall. Rebecca caught him before he could hit the ground.

Shaking his head, he looked around. What the hell had that been? He stood, not answering Rebecca's questions as he started looking for the source of whatever attack that had been. When his eyes were met with nothing, he did a quick once around. Gabriel was still on his knee, his breathing uneven. Only now not only Sigma was standing next to him, but Adrenell and Dashiner. Then Janti stood directly behind him, his eyes were focused on the training field. Those gold depths were slits as he seemed to be glaring at… Nyline? The barrier was down, and the king was kneeling beside her as if they were speaking but she was just shaking her head, looking as if something really bad had just happened.

"What's going on?" Damien asked in a slightly hard tone looking at Janti. His golden pools only glanced sideways slightly before they refocused on Nyline, his mouth staying shut. Damien cursed inwardly, no matter how much Janti dressed as a butler he was still a scout, which meant none of his questions would be answered and he needed answers now.

Next to him, Gabriel let out a loud whoosh of air that had Damien glancing down at him, his eyes wide as he saw that Gabriel looked visibly shaken. He had a sheen of sweat that had broken out across his brow, and his eyes were wide as he lifted them slowly towards Nyline before he took in another long breath. Damien was slightly shocked as Gabriel's eyes hardened with anger and his jaw ticked.

"Gabriel," Sigma spoke softly, stepping in front of his view and looking directly into his eyes. His jaw ticked a few more times. "Calm down," She said very, very softly. He only shook his head and stood; his entire body rigid as a board as his jaw continued to tick. Damien was worried that he might break a tooth if he continued to clench his jaw that tightly. Right as Damien was about to open his mouth Gabriel turned to him suddenly.

"Give me a minute, I'll meet you at breakfast." He said in a harsh breath before he vanished completely with his movement.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Damien asked looking around at Sigma who was the only one still standing where Gabriel and his scouts had been. Sigma looked at him and the sadness in those depths spoke volumes that he knew the girl wouldn't speak.

"Lady Nyline," she breathed her eyes turning to see that Nyline was standing, one glance over at where Gabriel had been standing and she also vanished. Her two maids sheathed their blades, glanced towards Reena and the king before they started to make their way back towards the castle. The king was running his hand up and down his face looking concerned and Reena was still just looking at the spot where Nyline had just been. "Lady Nyline…" Her eyes returned to Damien's as she searched for the correct words. "I don't know what happened." She breathed finally as if her mind was still trying to work everything out. Just from the features on her face, he could tell that she was struggling with some emotions, but he stopped asking questions and just crossed his arms.

"We're going to head up to get breakfast," Damien spoke in a tight tone, and without waiting for a reply he turned and started walking up the hill towards the castle. Sigma rushed to keep up with them.

"I'm your escort," She spoke quickly. Damien just looked at her, knowing full well that they needed an escort in a foreign kingdom, but whatever had just happened made him want to be with just his scouts, just his circle.

"Prince Damien!" He heard the king call out and his spine straightened as he jogged the rest of the distance between them. "Sorry to bother you, but could you explain to me what just happened?" Damien felt his own jaw tick at the annoyance of everything. He wanted to know what was going on! With a controlled breath, he focused on the king.

"I just had this weird pain in my head, then pressure built until it just all drained out." He said quickly. The king looked at him for what felt like minutes that were only seconds.

"Did you feel anything else? A temperature difference or any dizziness?" Damien raised a brow before he recounted exactly what he'd felt, down to the feeling in his toes. The king looked pensive for a few minutes before his attention went to the castle and then back to Damien.

"I apologize that happened to you while you were on Vaccoon grounds and under our protection." He spoke formally, "I don't believe it was an attack of any kind from a foreign entity. I believe it was something that Nyline just did, accident or not, I'm not entirely sure." Damien could feel the anger radiating off Rebecca and prayed that she'd hold her tongue in the presence of the king.

"I am aware," Damien lied, "What happened with Nyline?"

"I'm not entirely sure, she wouldn't tell me. Please excuse me, I need to go check on Gabriel." He said with a sigh.

"Of course," Damien spoke with a grace that he didn't actually feel. He felt empty, like a cup that had been knocked over and all the liquid had spilled out. With one more nod to the king, he also used his movement and vanished. Damien clenched his jaw just a little tighter. Why did it seem like everyone could use movement except for him? He let out a breath and pulled his hair over his shoulder as he started to run his fingers through the silky strands.

"Why does she always have to cause you problems?" Rebecca asked as they started their walk back to the castle.

"I don't think she does it on purpose," Sigma spoke softly, and Rebecca just shot her an angry look which made Sigma raised her brows.

"Rebecca, what exactly is your problem with Nyline?" Damien burst but Rebecca didn't stop but just continued to walk.

"I don't like how she treated you." Was her short response.

"No, why else do you hate her because we're past how she originally treated me." Rebecca glanced back but only shook her head.

"I just don't like her." She said in such a short tone that Damien knew that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. They continued to walk until they were right outside the kitchen, then as everyone was filtering in Nathan grabbed his arm.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked and Damien looked at him slightly shocked. Nathan looked upset, he was twitching, and when Damien nodded, he let out a long breath and waited for the door to close before he just looked into Damien's eyes, as if dreading the words, he was about to speak.

"What's wrong?" Damien asked, a knot forming in his stomach as Nathan just looked at him with the saddest dark blue eyes that Damien had ever seen. He let out another breath before he ran a hand through his shoulder-length dirty blond hair and looked back up into Damien's light brown ones.

"Jakes missing."