Chapter 24 - What did he want?

Slowly, I made my way towards the door, to listen in if Damien was already dealing with him but I heard nothing.

"What're you doing?" I suddenly heard and I could swear my heart jumped right out of my mouth. I turned to see Ivy and I sighed, happy it was her.

"There's someone in there…" I said and she raised her brows at me.

"Who did you see?"

"I don't know. He was in black and had a mask on" I explained.

"Is lord Damien in?" She asked.

"I'm not sure…I don't know"

She seemed to think for a short while before she suddenly brought out two daggers from the side of her denim jeans which I never knew were even there. She flung the door open and I saw her run inside.

"Hey…stop there" She yelled as she followed him.

My heart was still beating loudly as I walked into the study room. When I got in, I saw Ivy looking out through the window which was close to the bookshelf.

"Where'd he go?" I asked, noticing the frown on her face.

"He escaped…" she said and I joined her, looking out as well.

"...out the window?" I asked. We were literally over ten feet high up.

"Yes…" Ivy said and I wondered why I couldn't see him at least escaping.

Then Ivy raised my head and I saw a figure flying away. He was a dragon; a red one.

"Is that Julian?" I asked, recalling he was a red dragon.

"No…" Ivy said, tucking her knives back into the sheath.

"What do you think he came here for?" I asked moving away from the window.

"I don't know…but clearly, he wasn't after you"

Yeah, she's right. Otherwise he would have traced my scent straight to my room instead of here.

"We've got to tell Damien about this" I said and she nodded.

It took quite a while but we finally found him back at that training ground, swinging his sword gracefully with his right hand and his left arm behind him. The look in his eyes was intense and his focus was unwavering, seemingly unaware of our presence but I knew he knew we were there.

The metal armoured men were connected on a metal pole and they moved around randomly, swinging their swords at him from different ends but he never got cut or hit by any of them. He moved so quickly that I could barely even see him move.

Despite the sweat trickling down his skin, there was an air of calm and control about him. It was as if he had found his center amidst the chaos of the training ground.

His physique was sculpted to perfection, every muscle defined and glistening with sweat from the rigorous training session. The way he effortlessly wielded his sword was like this was his world.

The metal army soon stopped moving and he finally sheathed his sword and turned to face us, his expression was impossible to understand, giving nothing away.

I could sense the tension in the air as we waited for him to speak, the silence stretching between us.

We finally decided to go over to him and I tried so hard not to stare at his perfect body but failed.

"My eyes are up here…" I heard and I lifted my head up quickly but when I did, I noticed he wasn't looking at me. His eyes were pinned on Ivy.

"Uh…" Ivy stuttered, clearing her throat.

"There was an intruder in the building" she muttered and he turned his eyes to me, his eyes moving around my body as if checking for something.

"He wasn't after her…"

"What did he want then?" Damien said, turning back to her.

"I don't know, he left through the window as soon as he saw me" She said and he turned away from us, walking to the shade on the left where he picked up his bottle of water.

"He was a red dragon" Ivy said and he paused his drinking for a while before he continued again.

"Did he take anything?" Damien asked.

"I'm not sure but he was searching through one of the drawers in your study room" Ivy explained. Damien nodded as he put the bottle down.

"You can leave" Damien said and Ivy turned around to leave, giving me a last glance.

"What do you think he wanted?" I asked.

"I don't know but whatever he wanted wouldn't be in an open place like my drawers." He said with a smirk. Well, that made sense.

He looked at me for a while and began walking in the direction of where he had been training. He pushed the red button and the armored men started moving.

Well, in that case, I'll just practice with the arrows. Achieve balance. I thought as I picked up a bow and an arrow.

Damien's pov

In the midst of my training session, I couldn't help but notice her fiddling with the arrows. Despite her best efforts, her first shot missed her aim on the red dot. Her next attempts were even more off-target, the arrow barely making it a few feet before falling to the ground. It was clear that something was on her mind. I could sense her composure was scattered, her focus drifting elsewhere and in a bit of chaos.

"Are you okay?" I found myself asking as I pressed the red button again so the movement stopped.

"Yes I am" she lied.

After another moment of silence, she finally asked.

"What're you going to do?" she asked.

"What?"

"I mean...about the deal with King Iravan"

"It's off…He withdrew his guards" I said, putting on my shirt.

"but your mother…."

"She's fine…" I said in a hurry, not in the right mind to discuss such topics.

"Look, I don't know why you need protection for your mother but whatever your reason is, I think it's worth it, just marry Calista" she tried to convince me but deep down, I could tell she didn't want him to and that only confused me further.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why do you care so much about my mother? You haven't even seen her" I asked and she just stared silently.

"It doesn't matter… just marry her since you don't trust Julian not be reckless"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it,'' I said, turning to leave, a disturbing feeling washing over me,because I might know why she wishes to protect my mother.

As I left, I could hear the sound of the flying arrows and frustrated groans from behind me as she continued practicing.