VILLAIN

Chapter 15

I fumbled for something to say to him, my brain foggy and frustratingly empty. Thinking was a far greater effort than it should've been, but I eventually managed a weak shake of the head.

The man continued to stare at me, apparently marveling at my sudden appearance. I felt my cheeks heat up like they always did when I was being scrutinized, and I became all too aware of the fact that he was still carrying me. I opened my mouth to ask him to set me down, but in my dazed state I was slow, and someone else beat me to it.

"Ah!" the man's father shouted, pointing to my eyes. "It's a Villain! Put the wicked damsel down, before she curses you!"

The man holding me paled and immediately dropped me rather ungracefully to the ground. I let out an oof at the landing, but it at least succeeded in knocking me out of my foggy haze. I pushed myself to a standing position, brushing my hands off and shaking the remaining shock from the fall out of my head.

Unfortunately, once I had made my way to standing again, I almost wished I hadn't. The two men from earlier suddenly looked a lot larger and scarier than they had before, and each one held a long, silver sword in their hands. Both of their swords were pointed straight at me.

I gulped, putting my hands out in front of me and assessing the men. They were both broad-shouldered and muscular – although the older one's mass seemed to have far more to do with an overabundance of food. Their clothes were made of expensive fabrics in shades of deep navy. They each wore a long, velvet cloak and tall, black boots. Pristine, white shirts were tucked into equally pristine navy trousers, and every item of clothing they wore was embroidered with gilded, golden accents. They both had dark brown hair – the younger one's tousled, the older one's peppered with gray – and brilliant blue eyes.

I was amazed at how I could've missed it before – but I guessed falling off a flying horse and landing in the arms of a strange man would do that a person. Now, there could be no mistaking it. These two men were not just men. They were Nobility. And judging by the wave insignia on their velvet capes, they were Seacrest Nobility.

My mouth went dry as the gravity of the situation fell on me. I was staring down two sword-brandishing Noblemen with nothing to speak of except a flower petal dress and a mirror. This was not going to end well.

I backed up as subtly as I could, trembling hands held out in front of me in surrender.

"What shall we do with it, Father?" the one who'd caught me asked.

Had I not been a bit preoccupied trying to figure out some miraculous way to explain myself and not end up hanging from a noose in a few minutes, I would've been indignant at being referred to as an "it". Sadly, I was trying to figure out some miraculous way to explain myself and not end up hanging from a noose in a few minutes, so the slight went unnoticed.

"Turn it in to the authorities, of course!" his father replied, still carefully aiming his sword at my chest.

The younger one nodded, but his blue eyes seemed to be struggling with the concept. "But...how can we be sure it's really a Villain and not some sort of nymph? It did fall from the sky, after all."

The father rolled his eyes – beautiful and intense and achingly familiar. Where had I see those eyes before?

"Oh, for goodness' sake, Oscar! Just look at it! None of the fairy creatures have green eyes like that!" he replied impatiently.

His son chewed on his lip, clearly not convinced. My mind circled back to what the older Noble had just said, and I gasped as the pieces clicked together with horrible clarity. The man who'd caught me was Prince Oscar of Seacrest. And the older man was his father. Which meant...