A villain's secret

Chapter 12: An unwanted guest

Nox POV
Present day

Nox didn't know who'd ended up getting hurt more after the way he'd left last time. And that thought pissed him off. The number of bodies and empty bottles had piled up considerably since he'd last been to the fourth ring.

He wanted to kill her for all the trouble, maybe then he'd finally be rid of that nagging feeling. The feeling that tugged him in her direction no matter how far he ran and how many bodies he left behind. The way over the years, worry would grip his chest at the thought something had happened while he wasn't there. She'd never seen him all the times he'd hurried back to the fourth ring, his mind and his shadows not content until he saw with his own eyes that she was still there.

Nox wanted to punch something, hard, when relief started to loosen his muscles with every step closer and darkness howled in excitement at the thought of seeing her.

Stop that.

It wasn't like the crude rush of power and adrenaline that overtook his body when he was fighting, instead this feeling sickened him. It was like a cool breeze on a hot day that took his breath away, it made him calm and sleepy. Weak.

Once it surrounded him, he never wanted to let that feeling go, and that was why he hated it. The last few days were enough proof that whatever that feeling was, it clouded his judgment and his rational thoughts. And he didn't want to find out what it would mean if he was allowed to experience it for too long. If he was around her for too long.

He'd been a slave to his darkness for years and before that his father, the last thing he needed was to be a slave to her and those feelings. And yet he still couldn't do it. He couldn't end her life. He didn't want to.

So, he was stuck in an endless circle of pain and anger. And guilt. Another apparent by product of bending his promise to Lillian and slipping away back to the third ring.

It was why he walked down the winding dirt path with his bag full of something completely different than it usually was. He was going to keep his promise and after that everything would go back to how it was, no guilt or shame. He'd continue to take jobs from the guild and visit Lillian whenever he wished, even if she never knew he was there most of the time.

Crows screeched in surprise, ebony wings taking to the sky, filling the blue background with splotches of black as he walked past. It was a change for Nox, seeing the fourth ring in the early rays of the morning sun. Somehow it made it less gloomy.

~

The little wooden house was soon in front of him, the flimsy wooden board swinging from its fraying tether as he ducked under the doorway. He tucked the brown duffel next to an overly worn pile of books, the letters on the covers curling into scandalous words that would've made any lady blush.

It had been the longest he'd truly been away from the fourth ring for a long time, and it took more concentration than he'd expected to keep his breathing steady. Fluttering through the room on a thousand yellow and white summery wings, butterflies floated towards him, swirling around him in a friendly cocoon just like they always did. The feel of her energy was so different from his shadows, and it sung to him, trying to tempt the evil from the place he kept it shackled, far, far away from her. Dark claws scratched at the invisible bindings inside Nox's mind, desperate to play with the light.

As if she'd been summoned, Lillian walked out of the kitchen to stand in the doorway. Her hair was twisted into a braid at the top of her head that ended with it fanning loosely over her shoulders. At the sight of her, he felt his heart finely calm and his fists uncurl. Green eyes the colour of spring grass captured him tightly and he waited for the usual chaos to erupt. He waited for something to fly at his head or for Lillian to charge toward his bag only to end up tripping over a rug and face planting the floor. He could never predict what would happen with her and it annoyed him just as much as it excited him.

Her energy retreated then, scattering in a panic like dust on the wind, a whine of despair coming from somewhere in his mind as darkness begun to stir.

That's enough. Nox tightened the mental chains that held down the shadowy energy, it's angry hiss ringing at his ears in response.

He couldn't work out what was wrong at first, not until the scent of another person filled his senses. His hand reached for the handle of his sword the moment his muscles turned rigid in preparation for a fight. Well, more of a slaughter. He barely registered Lillian's words as the darkness slipped passed his hold, releasing roars and high pitched screams into his head.

No ones taking her away from me. I will never let her go. Nox couldn't tell if he had thought that or if something else had.

He wanted to grab her and pull her away, so that when he destroyed the little house she wouldn't be taken with it. But he didn't have time to do anything when crystal blue eyes and short blonde hair appeared behind Lillian, the man easily standing taller than her as he moved closer. Nox didn't recognise him, which filled him with dread and relief, as if his brain couldn't work out which one was better.

He should never have left her alone. Never again. A wild silver fire had Nox's eyes glowing with rage and his whole body shaking with it. Lillian's face paled as she watched him lose control.