35. Broken but destined.

*That's him*.

Niya was still stuck at those words. Rhythm Cole, Darius Cole's cousin, was dating the man Niya has a crush on. Her heart was drowning in the darkness of the night. Her tears were falling on her beautiful silky pink dress. Suddenly, a giggle broke out in the quiet night and Niya quickly wiped her tears away. Getting up from the bench and adjusting her gown, she followed the sound.

There she was, Rhythm, laughing and holding Marcus’s arm while Darius talked to them. Niya looked at them for a minute and debated whether or not she should leave. But before she could make up her mind, an arrow embedded itself on the wall, inches away from Marcus and Rhythm.

"Zakinga tribe is attacking again. Everyone go inside!" Darius shouted with full strength and Marcus ran towards the Palace with an arm over Rhythm without realizing that Niya was also out there. Darius around to see if anyone else was outside and was shocked to see Niya, standing a few feet ahead of him with a faraway look as arrows flew over her head. She was clearly confused and shocked. Darius ran to her and grab her arm with a jerk. The roughness of his grip made her wince in pain, getting her out of her haze.

"Ow! What the hell, Darius?" she asked, looking at him with a shocked expression. He looked up at the arrows for a second as if he was finding a way out of it. He pushed her towards the ground behind a tree in the garden. She open her mouth to complain but he didn’t give her the chance.

"Yeah, Niya, what the hell? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, crouching above her and ducking every time wood rained on them from the arrows hitting the tree.

"Why are they attacking? Who are they?" she asked, grabbing onto his shirt tightly. Darius looked at her hands on her shirt and smiled, putting his over hers and squeezing them.

"They are a tribe from this province. I'll tell you everything once you are safe, okay?" he explained, looking at the arrows. Niya paused for a second.

*I can't even use my magic in front of him or else he'll know my real identity*, she thought, looking at the arrows flying above her head.

"Let's go. On my count you have to run as fast you can, okay?" Darius asked, looking at her honey brown eyes. She gulped the fear down her throat and nodded. Darius looked around for a second. Holding hands, they both crouched and kept their heads down.

"One, two, three… go!" he said, looking at Niya, squeezing her hand tightly, and running towards the entrance of the castle. They made it to the entrance safely and Niya let out a breath of relief, smiling at Darius. Taking a step, she suddenly winced and leaned her hand on the wall as pain radiated from her calf. Darius was closer to her in a second,

"Are you okay?" He lowered himself, trying to have a better look at her injury. Niya tensed as he looked at the injury in shock. An arrow had nicked her leg and the golden sparkling liquid was dripping down instead of red blood. It wasn't very difficult to guess for Darius who Niya was. He looked at her with shock and then again looked at her injured leg. He was speechless.

"I'm fine. I'll manage. You just go," she said, hoping he will ignore her secret but by the shocked look on his face, she knew he wouldn’t. He paused for a second and his expressions softened up a bit. He looked around to check if someone was watching them but luckily there was nobody on the backside of the palace. He moved a bit closer to her before picking her up in his arms.

"The hell? What are you doing? I said I'm fine," Niya frowned at his action. He looked at her with angry eyes for a second.

"Shh, keep your mouth shut." He took her to his room and put her on his bed.

"What the hell are you doing?" Niya asked, looking at him. She was trying her best not to lose her calm, but her heart was beating hard against her chest. *I’m in a stranger’s room, a stranger who knows my identity*. She exhaled deeply and looked into his blue eyes who connected with her brown ones.

"Look, I can explain." She gulped down her fear before speaking, moving slightly but wincing when she moved her leg. He looked at her with frustration and sighed before searching for something in his cupboard. After a minute he came back with a first aid kit in his hand.

"Stay still. It will hurt," he instructed while putting an antiseptic on her wound.

"It will not work on me. I'm..." she hesitated a bit before saying angel but Darius cut her off.

"I know. But the arrows are covered with venom and this is the only way to remove it from your wound. This antiseptic will work on anyone, trust me," he said, applying it carefully. After bandaging her wound, he sat on the bed along with her, looking at her face, expecting a good explanation. Niya looked at him for a minute, debating whether or not to tell him before sighing.

"It's a long story. Yes, I am an angel, and trust me, I don't mean any kind of harm to your species," she said, fidgeting with the bed cover.

"Does King Archie know about this?" he asked politely. She nodded. He sighed in relief.

"Thank God! It would be disastrous for you if the king wouldn't be aware of this," he said, looking at her face.

"Please don't tell anyone," she said, biting her lower lip nervously. He looked at her with a small smile.

"I won't. I knew it since the award show that you are an angel," he said, chuckling at her innocence softly.
"What?" She raised her eyebrows in shock.

"I followed you to the parking trying to return your handkerchief which you left on the stage. When I got there I saw you covering a cut in your arm but I had already seen the color of your blood," he explained calmly. Niya paused for a second, replaying the moment in her mind.

"Yeah, I remember that. I didn't know you were there." She smiled looking at him.

"It will heal within a few days," he said looking at her injured leg. "You can stay here tonight if you want, I’ll sleep on the couch."

"No. It’s fine, I’ll go back to my room," she said and stood from the bed. Darius hold his arm out in case her leg gave out but seeing as she could manage, he dropped them and smiled.

"At least let me walk you back," he suggested as he watched her walk closer to his door.

"I’ll manage, Darius. Thank you for helping me." She smiled at him and bid him goodnight, closing the door behind her quietly.

Everything that had happened tonight was still running through Darius's mind. He laid down on his bed looking at the ceiling, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. The way Niya looked at him under the tree, the way she held his shirt with her soft little fingers, her shocked face when her blood was revealed because of the wound. Everything seemed like a beautiful fairytale. A charming smile appeared on his face.

On the other side, Niya was a bit confused as she lay in her bed while looking outside the window. She saw Kenneth’s soldiers walking into the woods and she sighed, glad that she had made it out okay. Thanks to Darius.

She wasn't really sure if she could trust him or not. It was obvious she couldn’t let her guard down so soon. Darius could be an enemy for all she knew.

*You are so alone even when you are surrounded by countless stars... just like me. I don't know why it's always me that ends up all alone? This isn't fair. Is it?*, she thought looking at the moon. The last few days had been hectic for her. She was missing her friends, especially Archie. Archie was the one with whom she spent most of her time and right now when she was again in the middle of a mess, she wanted Archie to be with her. She sighed and turned her back to the window.

The next day, Niya woke up early wanting to finish her duties as soon as possible. She hadn’t gotten that much sleep last night. Marcus woke her in the middle of the night letting her know that the attackers were captured and that Kenneth would deal with them accordingly.

But she didn’t let her tiredness deter her. It was the day she was set to go back to North Rose city. She was excited to reunite with her friends. She wore a white crop top with black skinny jeans as the weather was cold outside so she added a light gray furry coat with gray thigh-high boots. She didn't do her makeup as she didn't announce her return to media yet so she wasn't really expecting any paparazzi outside the airport.

Soon enough, she found herself signing all the documents and within the next hour, she was ready to bid goodbye to the Eastern Province.

"Your Majesty, you didn't even have breakfast. I'll be grateful if you'll join us," Kenneth said, looking at Niya.

"Mr.Cole, I'm already late for my departure as you all are well aware of King Samael's arrival. I want to leave immediately because of the ongoing negotiations." She smiled politely, looking at him.

"I understand. Best of luck for the upcoming negotiation rounds with King Samael," he said, nodding a little.

"Thanks, Mr. Cole. And it's my birthday tomorrow, you must be aware of that as the royal invitation was sent a week before to every governor but I want you to invite personally as you helped me a lot with all of the negotiations with villagers. You have to come. I'll be waiting," she said, smiling brightly at him. He nodded in response.

"It's an honor for me to receive a personal invitation from your side. I will definitely be there to celebrate with you." He bowed, kissing her hand affectionately.

"See you soon," Niya said, getting into her car. Her eyes were searching for Darius, wanting to thank him one last time before leaving but he was nowhere in the sight. She couldn't stay there and wait for him as she was already late for her flight.

"General Marcus? Can you do me a favor?" Niya asked Marcus who was sitting in the passenger’s seat.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" He turned his head to see her face.

"Since your girlfriend is Darius’s cousin, can you ask her for his number?" she asked, looking at his face. He flinched a bit at her straightforward nature.

"Darius? I have his number. I'll send it to you," he said, taking out his phone. Within a second a message flashed on her phone. She smiled looking at the number and saving it quickly. Marcus looked at her face through the mirror.

*Smiling? She is interested in Darius? That punk?*,he thought, looking at her smiling face.

Niya typed *Hi* but deleted it before she could hit send. She sighed looking at the screen.

*It won't be appropriate to text him like this. I'm the freaking Queen, not some ordinary girl. Niya, you won't text him. Forget it*, she thought, looking through the window, noticing they were entering the airport. Niya could see her jet from here. Suddenly her phone screen flashed again and she smiled when she saw Darius’s name. She opened the text immediately.

*You didn't even say goodbye before leaving. Rude.*

She smiled looking at the phone.

*I wanted to. You weren’t around though. I couldn’t wait forever, she sent. Her phone buzzed again.*

*How do you know it's me? You have my number already?*, she looked at the text and chuckled.

*Nope. I just guessed*, she sent the text before exiting the car and entering her private jet, switching off her phone when she sat down.

Within some hours, she was at the North Rose Airport and as she got closer to the airport gate, she saw paparazzi. She smiled at them. She wasn't wearing her crown so Emily placed one on her head immediately before nodding at Niya to continue. Niya held her head high, not caring that she didn’t look like the other times. Makeup-free, hair slightly unkempt, and anyone could notice her sleepy eyes, but she smiled brightly anyway as camera flashes surrounded her.

She was so excited to meet her friends so she immediately left for the Palace.