Page 14 of A Glimpse of Music

Eva said nothing, retreating to the same shell her mother hid beneath. The little girl clutched the flower to her chest, her eyes downcast.

His heart broke all over again. He should have been here. He should have protected them.

“I will tuck you in tonight. Are you hungry?”

Each girl shook their head before climbing the stairs and disappearing behind one of the doors. Joel turned to face Nyana, approaching slowly to give her time to protest or move away. She didn’t.

He handed her the sunflower, though it remained limp in her hand. A shuddering breath escaped her as she turned her back to him, her hand gripping her cane with white knuckles.

“Did they hurt you?” he asked quietly, but then he noticed the bruise on her temple. Quiet fury stirred within him.

She shook her head despite the conspicuous bruise. The way she leaned heavily on her cane gave away her pain. Fear radiated from her. Intense. Dark. Soul-destructive fear.

His eyes widened when the sunflower in her hand began to shrivel up. A thick green stem became thin and brittle within seconds. Bright, yellow petals browned and dried.

Nyana has magic?

The shock of the realization pulsed through his soul. Nyana was a Sun Fae. That was not what Sun Fae magic looked like. And from the look of it, she wasn’t even aware of what happened to the flower in her hand.

Her exhausted, brittle voice startled his attention away from the flower. “We can’t get married. There is no need to drag you through the dirt with me.”

His jaw clenched, his eyes hardening with determination as he stared at her back. He wanted to marry her. More than anything. But her safety and happiness mattered more. “What just happened has proven you need help, Nyana. Whoever these people are, they are targeting you. I’m not willing to wait another week when I’m worried senseless. We’ll get married tomorrow. If you say no, I can instead take you back to my family to live in Ebriel. You will be safer there. You know they would love to have you.”

The flower wilted even more beneath her touch, several yellow petals turning into a brown crisp and falling to the floor. She said nothing.

He dared to take another step toward her, but no more. “Tell me no, and I’ll rent a carriage to take us back to my home. You can live a safe, happy life there. But I can’t just leave you here by yourself.”

Several more petals fell to the floor.

“Tell me no,” he murmured.

A deep breath shuddered out of her. But she didn’t say the word. Instead, her reply came quietly. “Tomorrow then.”

Hope bolstered him as he started to walk away, but stopped when she spun around to face him, her expression filled with torture. “Joel.” Her mouth opened and closed. No sound escaped. They gazed back at each other within the small space of the living room. Even with sadness and hopelessness wedged in every inch of her pale expression, she was beautiful. Hair like sunshine. Red-pink lips like a summer rose.

“Get some sleep, Nyana. I will tuck the girls in and clean up this mess. And then, I will create an illusion of guards standing watch outside. It should be enough to deter anyone until I get back. Stay inside the house, and when I return shortly, I will sleep outside for the night.”

“It’s cold outside,” she whispered.

“I’ll manage.” He gave her a weak smile. “I just want you to feel safe.”

Again, she said nothing but watched him with a pained expression. He bounded up the stairs for the first task of a very, very long night. But for Nyana, it was worth it.

Chapter 4

Nyana peeked outside the girls’ bedroom window and into the darkness beyond. Shapes seemed to move with the breeze, shadows crawling across the earth and tormenting her insomnia. Four female guards stood outside in the front yard, each heavily adorned with red and gold Heulwen armor with a sword on their belt. They shifted every few minutes, and one of them even patrolled the property.

They appeared so lifelike despite her knowing they were an illusion. She watched one of them for a good while. The woman didn’t breathe.

But even with the extra protection a good illusion offered, fear crawled up her spine. The masked men had broken both locks when kicking in the door. She’d felt so helpless.

Especially when she’d frozen.

Memories tormented her of when Liam had often barged into her room. Touched her. Took what didn’t rightfully belong to him. And then left. Shame pooled behind her eyes. Shame at how defiled she felt. Shame at not fighting more. Shame at what little remained of her spirit. Joel deserved more than what she couldn’t give him.

There was nothing left to give.

Aching pains shot up her leg from being tossed around by the intruders as she limped toward the bed her daughters shared, each fast asleep. She quietly set aside her cane and climbed up with them, hugging little Eva close. Her daughter turned her head into her shoulder and quickly fell asleep again while Maisy didn’t stir.

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