Chapter 24 Wicked
Lyriel raised her head, frowning at Eli.
“What were you actually doing on my bed? You scared me!”
“I heard you murmuring in your dream and thought you might be having a nightmare,” Eli replied, standing a few feet away from her, unsure whether to approach her or not. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Lyriel gazed at him for a while, then buried her head into the pillow again, screaming loudly. She needed to burn that scary image of Eli out of her head. Of all dreams to have, why was it of Eli being an evil creature?
The Watchers… of all the creatures she could dream of, why just that one?
“Did you… have a bad dream about me?” Eli furrowed his brows in concern. For her to react so badly upon seeing him, it was possible she had dreamed of him—but what kind of dream?
“You KILLED me!” she stressed. “You sucked my blood by biting my neck.”
Eli swallowed hard upon hearing her words. He knew she had a bad dream, but that was far beyond his imagination. Now he understood why she had called him a demon.
“That wasn’t me! And dreams aren’t real—just fragments of your imagination,” he said as he picked up his jacket from the wall. “Who knows what that little thief may have told you about me!”
Lyriel narrowed her eyes at him as she remembered the little boy she had caught some days ago. His blue eyes still mesmerized her. She couldn’t believe Eli still remembered the boy. She immediately sat up on the bed, watching him slip into his jacket.
He was going to leave her alone at home again. How rude.
“He told me nothing about you, and the boy has nothing to do with this dream.”
That was a fat lie. In fact, the boy had everything to do with it.
He had spoken to her through telepathy that day—something she was still trying to process—and had warned her about Eli. She wondered who the boy was and why he would say such things about a person he didn’t even know.
“Okay, if you say so,” Eli replied casually as he wore his boots.
“Don’t tell me you’re about to leave me again… all alone at home.” Lyriel pouted. She could literally cry out loud like a child if she had to.
“I have to go somewhere very important,” he replied.
Lyriel climbed down from the bed and walked over to him, pulling him into a tight hug—to Eli’s surprise.
“Can’t I go with you?”
“No!” His voice came out hoarse, and he cleared his throat. “No! Have you forgotten the royal bouquet? I promised to take you there.”
“I know… but I don’t want to stay all alone at home today,” she said, pushing him lightly. He fell onto a chair, and that didn’t stop her from straddling him and burying her head into his neck.
“It’s either I go with you or you stay at home with me.”
Eli blinked. He had never expected such an act from her. She had gone from being a crazy dreamer who called him a demon to a child who didn’t want him to leave—and now she was straddling him.
Did she have any idea how intimate the position was?
If he said he didn’t secretly like it, he would be lying. But he was already running late.
He stood up with Lyriel still clinging to him, walked over, and tossed her stubbornly onto the bed. She screamed and tried to stand again, but he shot her a deadly look that kept her in place. She pouted, folding her arms.
“You’re very wicked!”
Eli dusted his jacket. “I’ll return in the evening, so don’t expect me too soon.”
He opened the door and stepped out of the cottage.
Lyriel watched through the window as he disappeared into the forest. Her pout slowly turned into a smile. She sighed in satisfaction and fell dreamily onto the bed.
“Who said I’m not good at the act of seduction?” she cheered to herself.
“Mira thinks I need her stupid lectures, but instead I’ll be the one teaching her.”
She sat up suddenly—then fell back onto the bed again, lost in her delusion.
“His heart was beating so fast!” she squeaked. “Next time, I’ll hold him so tight he won’t be able to breathe.”
She sat up again, a wicked smirk spreading across her face. “It’s time to go pay Mira a visit.”
She jumped off the bed playfully, grabbed one of her new clothes, and ran into the bathroom. After a while, she emerged dressed in her new gown, her hair still dripping wet.
She dried it with a towel and combed it with her new hairbrush, but it was still damp, and she didn’t know how to make it dry properly. Back in Eloria, all she had to do was spin, and her hair would be perfectly dry. Her maids had taken care of everything—she was a princess. Now look how far she had fallen. Anyway, Eli was worth the fall.
Smiling, she dashed out of the cottage—then remembered she was barefoot. She ran back inside, slipped on her shoes, and dashed out again.
She skipped playfully along the forest pathway, humming a happy song to herself. She was, in fact, very happy today for absolutely no reason at all. Still, she was certain of one thing—she would surely light up the market square with her presence. And she would make sure Mira’s jealousy toward her swelled until it finally exploded.
When she reached the village, she branched into the first house she caught sight of and knocked on the door.
“Mr. Clement!” she called out, knocking repeatedly. The door opened abruptly, and an old man smiled warmly at her.
“Oh, Lyriel. I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, gesturing for her to come in.
Lyriel peeped around first, making sure no one was watching, then slipped inside and closed the door quickly behind her.
Fruits were arranged all over the floor, and Lyriel couldn’t help but smile widely.
“You have so much fruit!” she exclaimed in disbelief.
“Enough for the whole village,” Mr. Clement said proudly. “It’s a good thing you offered to work for me.”
“You see these fruits?” Lyriel lifted her chin in pride. “I’m going to sell them all within one week!”
Mr. Clement chuckled at her confidence and handed her a basket.
“Please, take as much as you want,” he said, settling down on an old chair.
Lyriel squatted beside the cherries, carefully picking some into the basket, then added a few red apples. “This is for Mrs. Kate. I’ll deliver them to her and return,” she said before heading out.
Mrs. Kate was so excited to see her that she opened the door immediately at the sound of the knock.
“How much for all these?” she asked.
“Fifty coins,” Lyriel replied.
Mrs. Kate dipped her hand into her small purse and
handed over the money in exchange for the fruits.
“Here—fifty coins, and an extra ten for you.”