17|Leave us alone

Davina’s POV

“Davina!”

I stopped cleaning and turned toward the sound of the voice. Eva gently took my hand, pulling the rag from my grip. Though I couldn’t see her, I knew she was smiling. It had been a week since I arrived here, and I had grown close to Eva. She was the one who made this place feel a bit more comfortable—and she was my… friend.

“Davina, let’s go into town,” she said, and I tilted my head in confusion.

“Can we go out?” I asked, feeling her grip tighten on my hand. She’d told me before that we couldn’t leave because of the upcoming hunting games.

“Of course, we can’t go near the boundaries surrounding the pack, but we can still go into town. There’s so much to do outside—it’s far livelier than staying cooped up in the palace. Emmanuel already gave us permission. Since the king isn’t around, he said we’re allowed to go, but he warned us to stay out of trouble.” She scoffed.

I hadn’t seen the Lycan King for a week straight after what happened in his room. Eva said the king didn’t usually stay in the palace often; he traveled a lot and I couldn't help relax a bit when I heard it. 

It wasn’t that I disliked Hades, but he terrified me. Whenever he was near, I couldn’t think straight, gripped by the fear that he might hurt or even kill me before I could understand why.

They didn’t call him a beast for nothing.

“I’d love to,” I said with a small smile. I wanted to go into town for one reason. I had searched through most packs for Sebastian, but I hadn’t found him. One of the few packs I hadn’t checked was the king’s own.

The Kingdom of Astralon.

Ten minutes later, Eva handed me a dress, insisting it was pretty. As she looked at me in awe, I didn’t doubt her, but…

“Isn’t this short?” I asked, feeling a bit insecure. I hadn’t worn a short dress since I was seventeen. Father and Mother used to let me wear whatever I wanted, and I wore it with confidence. But now, I felt self-conscious.

With my white hair and white eyes, I couldn’t help it.

“Oh, please, you look gorgeous! We might be maids, but we’re still girls, and we’re allowed to look pretty and smoking hot too. I’m sure every guy will be staring as soon as you step outside,” she said, grinning.

I didn’t care about that, but since she had lent me her dress, I couldn’t just refuse.

“Is that a tattoo?” she asked suddenly, leaning in closer. I quickly stepped back, fastening the buttons on the dress. My bra must not have covered it completely.

“It’s nothing,” I said, and thankfully, she didn’t press further.

“You girls better be back before 6pm or else you're fired” Eva scoffed at Emmanuel's words as we walked downstairs and into the street.

As we walked into the bustling town, it was undeniably livelier than the palace. I imagined the king’s kingdom must be truly beautiful. The air felt fresh and soothing, and I couldn’t help but relax as Eva hurriedly showed me around, her excitement infectious. I noticed casual glances in my direction, but I ignored them—I didn’t want to dwell on what expressions the passersby had as they looked at me.

“Have you tried this? It’s so good!” she moaned, shoving a candy-like treat into my hand. I brought it to my mouth, and my eyes instantly widened as the sweetness hit my tongue. Goddess, it was delicious.

“This too—a refreshing drink to quench your thirst in this heat!” she continued, pressing another offering into my hand as we moved along. She kept handing me things, and I couldn’t help but laugh, telling her to stop before I ended up with too much.

“Won’t you run out of money like this?” I asked, holding her back just as she was about to head toward another stall.

“It’s okay, I stole Emmanuel’s secret stash,” she giggled. My eyes widened in alarm at the thought of how we had been spending the money she’d swiped from the head butler.

Eva must have seen my terrified expression because she burst out laughing. “Don’t worry, my silly brother will just give me a light scolding when he finds out.”

“He’s your brother?!” I asked, incredulous.

“Yes, he is. He might be stupid sometimes, but he’s a good guy,” she said, dragging me to yet another stall. I didn’t know Eva and Emmanuel were siblings; they had such different personalities. Still, Eva wasn’t as afraid of Emmanuel as the other maids were.

“Oh my, these are gorgeous hairpins!” she exclaimed, her voice full of awe. She clipped one into my hair. “You’re so pretty! I’ll buy two of these so we can match!” she laughed, talking to the stall owner as she made the purchase.

Suddenly, a gruff voice interrupted our moment. “Who is the pretty blind girl?”

I didn’t answer. My frown instantly deepened. “She looks like a ghost, but she’s quite pretty.”

“Hey, girlie, do you want us to show you around?”

I could already tell they were trouble. I’d met men like this before during the five years I’d spent alone, and the best course of action was to ignore them.

“Huh, she’s ignoring us,” one of them laughed.

I quickly turned my head in their direction before looking back at Eva. “Eva, let’s go back.”

She stopped talking when she noticed the men beside me. She must have realized the situation, because she quickly paid for the hairpins and grabbed my hand, trying to pull me away. But then, she suddenly stopped.

“What are you doing?” she snapped, her voice angry. “Blocking our way like this.”

“Aw, don’t be angry, pretty girl. We just want to show you around town. We’ve been watching you for a while, and it looked like you were having fun. We just want to make sure you girls have even more fun,” the man slurred, his words thick with intoxication. I sighed as Eva immediately shielded me behind her, as if trying to protect me.

From the sound of their footsteps, there were probably three... no, four men. From their heavy breathing and the way they moved, they were probably big men. The fact that no one around us spoke up or tried to intervene told me they were likely the town hooligans.

“It doesn’t concern you whether we’re having fun or not, now leave us be,” Eva snapped, her voice firm. “We are the king’s maids, so mind your next words and actions.”

There was a moment of silence as the man processed her words. I noticed him shift his feet and glance left. I did the same, and that’s when I felt it—the weight of several gazes on me, not just one, but a couple.

“And? We just want to play with you girls. We’re nothing bad,” the man spoke up again, his voice brimming with newfound confidence. His companions laughed, and the tension thickened.

“Don’t be afraid of us. We’re not going to do anything bad,” he added, but I felt Eva flinch, instinctively pulling away from his words as though trying to avoid his touch. I frowned.

“Davina…” she whispered, backing away slightly, her voice trembling. “We need to–”

She didn’t get the chance to finish as one of the men suddenly yanked her away from me. Eva screamed, and just as another hand reached for me, I moved quickly, narrowly avoiding the grip. Without hesitation, I ran toward the sound of Eva’s scream and kicked the man holding her. A loud groan of pain echoed through the street as he staggered back.

I pulled Eva behind me, standing protectively in front of her, my heart racing. The sudden silence around us was deafening as I faced the men, who were now stunned into stillness. I could feel the weight of their shocked stares on me, but I didn’t flinch. I looked at them coldly and muttered one word, my voice low but firm.

“Leave us alone.”