Chapter 46 Chapter 46
Amber
One second he was leaning against the tree, and the next he was between us and our pursuers.
The first man didn't even see him hiding in the shadows. Damian's fist connected with his jaw with a sickening crack, and the man dropped like a stone.
The second man pulled a knife, lunging forward with a wild swing.
Damian sidestepped it easily, grabbed the man's wrist, twisted it until I heard bones snap, and followed up with a brutal kick to the chest that sent him flying backward into a tree.
The remaining three men hesitated, clearly reassessing their chances.
Damian didn't give them time to decide. He moved through them like a force of nature, punching and kicking like he lived for violence. The men didn’t stand a chance as he grabbed one by the elbow and smacked him face front onto the nearby tree. He collapsed and didn’t move again.
The next lunged at him but Damian threw him over his shoulder and back on the ground like the man weighed nothing then brutally stomped on his neck, cutting off the wind supply.
The last remaining man clutched his chest and turned around to run for his life but Damian slowly, leisurely bent down to pick a huge stone and let the man run for a few seconds before the stone went flying out of his hands and landed straight on his head. Blood splattered again as he fell down, never to move again.
Within three minutes, all five men were on the ground, dead.
But Damian hadn't broken a sweat.
I stood there, my mouth hanging open, still supporting Ellie's weight, watching him in something like awe.
He turned to look at us, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeves.
And something inside me snapped.
I let go of Ellie's arm, and she barely managed to grab onto a nearby tree trunk to keep from falling.
Then I marched right up to Damian, my finger jabbing toward his chest.
"What the hell was that?" I demanded.
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“I fucking screamed at you to help me but you stood there like an idiot, watching me struggle when you could have done all this showoff five minutes ago.”
I yelled at him, my temper rising, my fingers curled into fists. I was panting hard from the marathon we had just run and his casual attitude just added fuel to my already irritated mind.
“Amber…” Ellie’s voice reached me. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
I turned my head to look at her and she mouthed. “Back off”
I ignored her and returned my attention to Damian who kept looking at me, his cold and sharp gaze assessing me.
He barked. “What is your name?”
I knew he wasn’t talking to me.
“Ellie” Ellie squeaked from somewhere behind us.
“Tell your friend to learn some manners while you are at it.”
Ellie’s eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights and she fumbled. “Yeah, she is…just scared. Please forgive her.”
“Take your friend and go to your room now!”
He shouted, still looking at me.
If I wasn’t so bloody annoyed, I would have soaked in the sight of him, noticed the small cuts on his cheeks that weren’t there the last time I saw him.
His hair was messy and I had to curl my fingers into tightly rolled fists to physically stop myself from running a hand through those soft locks.
“I am right here! Stop talking about me in third person.” I gritted my teeth.
How could my mind and body have two completely opposite reactions to him?
Damian took a step closer, his tall frame looming over me and I stared into his silver eyes. There was a redness to them.
Had he not gotten enough sleep lately? Was he busy investigating Clarke late at night or Amy was the one keeping him awake? Was she the one who scratched his face?
I shook my head before my mind could create that last scene in graphic detail.
"Exactly," Damian said, his tone flat. "You are out in the forest, sneaking into the village when you should be in your room. Go back to your room, now!"
Oh now, he decided to finally talk to me?
“What are you? My father? You don’t get to dictate where I go or what I do” I snapped, hating how my body was itching to lean closer to him, absorbing the warmth coming off him.
"Seeing that I just saved your ass for the third time already," his voice rose slightly, an edge of genuine anger creeping in, "I have every fucking right to dictate you."
Ellie made another small, frightened sound. “Third time?” I heard her whisper.
Oh shoot, now she was going to nag me about the first two times.
Damian's gaze shifted to her when she whispered and she immediately covered her mouth with her hand.
He looked at her leaning on the tree, the injured foot dangling in the air.
“Sorry” She mouthed.
When he spoke again, his tone had softened just a fraction. "Go get some ice on that ankle. And next time, maybe reconsider your choice of late-night activities."
"Yes, absolutely, definitely, thank you so much for saving us. I watched you kill those men like flies. It was awesome!" Ellie was fangirling but his gaze was back on me.
"Ellie!" He said again. "I'd hate to admit that you aren't the smartest of the two."
"Right! Goodnight!"
I could hear her already turning around and already hobbling away as fast as her injured ankle would allow.
The silence stretched between us, thick with tension.
"Do you need to be told separately?" he growled, that soft tone disappearing the instant his eyes landed on me again.