Wild Knight (Midnight Empire: The Tower #1)(13)

The selkie was an obstacle to my simple yet pleasant future.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I yelled. But I will if I have to.

Preparing my escape route, I opened a path to shore. It wasn’t very far, but I was a faster runner than swimmer and who knew what other monsters lurked in the lake? At this point, I would’ve roused every single one of them.

The selkie must’ve been watching me from the depths of the water because she emerged in human form and landed behind me on the path. She was smarter than I gave her credit for.

She used her human foot to kick me squarely in the kidneys. I pitched forward and lost my control on the water. It flooded the path and crashed against me. The selkie took the opportunity to switch her bottom half back to seal form. Before I recovered from her unexpected maneuver, I felt sharp teeth prick my skin.

Ouch!

I elbowed her in the face. Even in the murk, I could see her eyes blaze with anger. I focused, intending to create another whirlpool around the selkie to isolate her. The water began to churn and I released a bit more magic. I was so intent on creating the whirlpool that I failed to notice a solid object skim the surface above our heads. A strong arm plunged into the water and grabbed the selkie by her long hair, ejecting her from the lake.

What the hell?

I shot to the surface in time to see a vampire break the selkie’s neck. He flung her back into the lake and I watched in silent fury as she sank to the bottom.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I yelled.

“What does it look like? Helping you.”

“I didn’t need your help. I had it under control!” It took me a moment to realize it was the vampire from Hole standing on a paddleboard. “You!”

He bowed with a flourish. “You’re welcome.”

“Are you kidding me? Where did you even get a paddleboard? None of the stalls are open.”

“I’m resourceful.”

I pulled myself on the paddleboard and tried to shove him in the water.

He appeared both shocked and amused by the gesture. “You’ll have to put a bit more muscle into it if you intend to move me.”

I frowned and pushed again, this time even harder. Even balanced on a board, he was like a brick wall. Impossible to move.

He laughed like I’d told him a funny joke. “You were in trouble and I rescued you.”

“It was under control,” I ground out.

He gave the lake a speculative glance. “Interesting. From my perspective, it looked like you were about to be drowned by a selkie. She’d definitely gained the upper hand.”

“It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.” I balanced on the edge of the board and debated whether to swim back to shore.

He picked up the paddle and dipped the end in the water. “You must be tired after your fierce battle. Care for a lift to shore?”

My jaw tightened. Who did this guy think he was?

“Why are you here? Are you stalking me?” A vampire trailing after me in a deserted park? I couldn’t let that threat go unchallenged.

“Rein in your ego. I wasn’t stalking you.” He seemed to want to laugh.

I’ll show you something funny. In one swift move, I sliced my leg underneath his feet and knocked him backward. Incredibly, he managed to stay on the board. I launched myself on top of him and kneeled on his neck with as much force as I could muster.

“Truce,” he choked out. The board rocked side to side as a gust of wind created waves.

“You would say that, wouldn’t you?”

He raised his hands in acquiescence. “I’m here on behalf of House Lewis.”

I froze. “What was that?”

“House. Lewis. I’m Prince Callan.”

Multiple curse words strained to pass my lips, but I suppressed them.

Prince Callan. House Lewis.

He took advantage of my shock and flipped me on my back. The back of my head slammed against the board and I tasted blood in my mouth. Stupid tongue always getting in the way. In more ways than one.

The board rocked again and he caught the paddle before it slid into the water.

“You said your name was Lincoln!”

“I lied. I’m Prince Callan and I’m here on royal business.”

“I know who you are,” I said through gritted teeth.

Everybody knew the name Prince Callan, otherwise known as the Demon of House Duncan, the Highland Reckoning, and the Lord of Shadows. He wasn’t the natural son of the king and queen of House Lewis. He’d been delivered as a hostage and a show of good faith when Houses Lewis and Duncan signed a peace treaty twenty years ago. He also single-handedly brought the city of Birmingham to its knees during his father’s march to Britannia City in one of the most violent battles between the Houses’ respective armies. He was twelve at the time.

“Good, if you know who I am, then you know what I can do to you.” His gaze lingered on my lips and I felt my body tense in response. He was talking about killing me, right? The way his eyes were locked on my face instead of my neck…Those fangs promised I’d be screaming—whether from pleasure or pain, I wasn’t sure.

I wriggled out from under him and he shifted his weight to release me. I couldn’t let him know that I could’ve done a lot more damage to him than he realized.

“Let’s try this again,” I said. I held out my hand for the paddle.