“Yes, my king.”
He finally let go of her hand and stood. With his hands behind his back, he began walking back to the palace. She followed him, only a step behind him. They took the shorter route.
As they arrived, a messenger was waiting for the king in front of the palace. He bowed his head as he saw the king. “I bring a message, my king.”
“A long one?”
“Too long. It’s a matter of the court, Your Highness. They sent me from the kingdom of Navia,” he answered with his head bowed.
“By King Valendy?” he asked with a frown.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“It must have been a long journey. Guards?” He spoke in that usual calm manner of his.
Two guards came out of the palace and knelt. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Escort the messenger to the royal court. I will be with him shortly,” he ordered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” They turned and started doing the king’s bidding.
King Lucien walked past them into the palace while Danika followed closely behind. They walked through the long hallway of the royal quarters before they cut through the hidden wing of the king’s bedroom.
The three guards at the door bowed their heads to him. One of them quickly opened the door.
He strode past them, and Danika followed. The guard locked the door behind them.
Inside his chambers, she stood waiting as he walked towards his desk and held up a large bundle of scrolls. He extracted over five new scrolls and spread them on the desk. He left the desk, strode to the inner room, disappeared inside the library, and came out minutes later with some written parchment.
“I want you to read and translate these words onto the scrolls on my desk. Can you work alone while I’m not here?” He trained his expressionless eyes on her face.
Danika nodded her head, even as she realized he wasn’t dismissing her. He wanted her to stay in his chambers, to work alone while he went to listen to the messenger.
At her nod, the king walked to the desk and kept the parchments beside the scrolls. “Wait for me right here in my chambers.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Another night with him? She swallowed tightly. It filled her with fear and excitement. She welcomed every moment with him. Every moment with him was precious—especially after his kiss. But her body still ached. She hadn’t recovered from the previous night, and so the thought of spending another night in his arms had her filled with trepidation.
The king ordered the guards to bring a smaller desk and chair for Danika. Within minutes, they brought it in and put it beside his desk. The guards left, and they were alone again.
The king took a step to leave and stopped. He turned back to her and kissed her again. This time, the kiss was long and hard. He took her lips like a man would take what belonged to him. He devoured and ravished her mouth so that they shared the same air.
Danika tore her lips away from his and let in a deep gasp of air when all the oxygen in her body disappeared.
He pressed his forehead to hers while she gasped loudly. “You will spend the night in my bed again tonight, Danika. Do not leave.”
“I’ll be here, Your Majesty,” she whispered breathlessly.
Then he turned and walked out of the door.
.
.
.
CHAPTER 6
THE HEAVY WEIGHT OF DUTYC
had entered his bedroom and was most surprised when he saw Sally sitting down on the chair by the side of the bed. His eyes showed his surprise. “Sally?”
Sally’s fingers picked at the seams of her clothes in nervousness. “It’s me,” she whispered.
When Baski told her that her princess would spend the night in the king’s quarters, and Remeta would sleep in her own bedroom, Sally used the opportunity to see Chad. He had been avoiding her, and when they came across each other, he kept his eyes averted, not looking her in the eye. After the things Baski told her about his behaviour the other night, Sally knew she had to make the move, or he’d keep avoiding her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, forcing himself to look away from her. She looked so small and beautiful sitting in that chair. A fierce primitive urge ran through him at the sight of her in his bedroom. He’d often wondered what it would feel like to have her in his personal space.
That was before he assaulted her the other night.
“I came t-to see you,” she said, forcing her tone to be brave.
He averted his eyes. “You shouldn’t be here. A man’s abode was no place for a lady. It will only cause scandal and give you a bad reputation.”
“I’m no lady, sire. I’m a slave. I have no reputation to protect. And b-besides…” She swallowed tightly. “You know more than the others that I’m very soiled.”
Chad flinched and slid fierce eyes at her. “Do not ever say words like that again. The things you went through did not soil you. You’re the purest person I know. Your heart makes you pure.”
Sally didn’t understand why he’d say or think something like that about her. She watched his face hesitantly to know if he meant it. She had never seen a more sincere face before. “T-truly? You mean it?” She ducked her head in shame. “The kings, they… hurt me b-badly.”
Chad didn’t like the pain and shame in Sally’s eyes. He forgot all else, walked closer and held her shoulders. “They are the monsters with impurities. Not you, Sally. You were the victim. They are the monsters. It was not your fault.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Don’t you think it’s time to tell yourself that, Chad?” It was the first time she had ever said his name, without the honorific. His name on her lips had his body reacting, and he cursed himself for it.
“What?” he forced himself to ask, not understanding what she meant.
She looked him in the eyes. “Don’t you think it’s time you tell that to yourself? What happened wasn’t your fault. You aren’t the monster.”
His jaw locked, and he tried to pull away from her, but she held him tight. Her wide, innocent eyes implored him.
“You don’t understand, Sally,” he groaned at last.
“I do. If it’s not my fault, then it’s not your fault either. Please, s-stop avoiding me. It hurts me.” She lowered her head onto his chest and laid her heart bare to him with a few words.
“I don’t ever want to hurt you, Sally. I just---”
“Shhh.” She placed a finger to his mouth. “If you don’t ever want to hurt me, then please stop pushing me away.”
Chad looked down at her helplessly. She deserved so much better than him.
But he didn’t think he could keep pushing her away. May the creator help him with how much he wanted to make this girl his.