Friends with the King of the Underworld | Book 1

Chapter Two

Damien and I met when we were both very young. We were both lost in the forest for two very different reasons.

I'd packed up a backpack, ready to set on an adventure like my favorite heroine on TV. Damien, on the other hand, had been left behind in the human world for his safety while his royal bodyguards fought off an attack as a last ditch effort to protect him as they ran from a coup to overthrow his uncle who was abusing power.

Or something like that.

I'd found Damien in the night, rolled up, hugging his knees under a tree. He thought that I was a fae as well since I'd emerged from the thick woods soaked in mud and rain. I couldn't understand what he was saying but I understood it was urgent. He'd grabbed my hand and pulled me to the ground next to him, placing his finger to his lips. He then pointed in front of me and I saw a glint of metal in the moonlight.

I wasn't sure how I hadn't seen them before but two men with large-now I knew what they were holding-scythes were looking for something in the darkness. They wore armor that glistened in the moonlight.

Damien held tightly to me, pushing me down as if willing for the earth to swallow me to make me even smaller.

Maybe he was. I still don't understand what his powers are.

We both stayed very still, but, somehow, they found us.

The long silver-haired one pointed to where we were and he and his partner charged for us.

We ran as fast as we could, Damien holding so tight to my hand that I thought he'd pull my fingers right off. I heard their footsteps closer still.

That's when Damien pushed me away and ran in a different direction, away from me.

His small legs didn't compare to the men running after him and in two strides, they caught up to him, one grabbing him by the shirt and holding him up as if he were a prize.

I spit the dirt and leaves from my mouth and pushed my hair away from my face, and I watched in horror as the two grown men terrorized the small child.

The two men spoke amongst themselves then to the boy who saved my life.

Running on adrenaline, I stood and tossed my small Hello Kitty backpack at them. Then rocks. Then dirt. "LET HIM GO!"

One of the men turned, annoyed, then charged at me with his large angled sword.

Not knowing what to do, I shut my eyes tightly, standing frozen in place.

But he never came.

When I opened my eyes again the man that had a second previously been coming at me at full speed now lay at my feet, not moving.

I still remember the blood on the leaves. The smell of it made my stomach turn.

I was only there for about five seconds before I was scooped up from the ground and taken to a different location.

It was Damien's father that saved us from the two men, cut them down where they stood, scooped us up from the ground, and took us somewhere safe.

While everything else was hazy, those were the details I remembered the most and they haunted me for years. Damien's father let us become friends afterwards since I bravely attempted to 'fight' Damien's would-be assassins.

Damien and I had been inseparable ever since.

And that's when I learned what he was.

Damien is the heir of a long standing royal family in power for thousands of years. While he won't exactly divulge all of the details about his true nature, he and his people are part of an ancient race that has lived alongside humans for centuries.