Chapter 61 The Seduction Of Time
Chapter 61 The Seduction Of Time
Chapter 61: The Seduction of Time
The coward mare bolted into the woods, entirely missing the palace highway. Neria hauled on the leather reins, her teeth rattled as branches slapped her charcoal cloak.
"Stop, you stupid animal!" Neria yelled, her voice was bouncing off the thick oaks. "The river is the other way!"
The horse reared, throwing Neria into a patch of soft moss.
The ground came up fast, but at least it wasn't the freezing river.
She groaned, checking her chest. The emeralds were still there, clicking together like expensive teeth.
"Great," Neria muttered, wiping dirt from her cheek. "Lost in the woods. This is definitely a new scene."
"Wandering the forest alone, Lady Neria?"
A voice smooth as silk and cold as ice cut through the trees. Neria froze like meat left in the freezer. She knew that voice. She turned slowly, her heart was doing a weird dance against her ribs.
Sebastian stepped out from the shadow of a massive willow tree. He was wearing his dark riding gear, his silver scepter rested casually against his hip.
He looked at her, his sharp eyes narrowed into slits of deep, hidden confusion.
"Sebastian," Neria said, forced a breathless laugh, and stood up. "What a pleasant surprise. Are you hunting for birds or just lurking in the bushes?"
"I was riding," Sebastian replied, making his voice lower as he walked closer to her. "Until I saw a horse from your estate flying down the path. Why are you out here? You look like you just escaped a dungeon."
"I am just enjoying nature," Neria lied, taking a step toward him. "Is it a crime for a lady to like trees?"
Sebastian stopped a foot away from her. His gaze was on her face, searching her green eyes with a strange intensity. He looked almost pale.
Neria noticed the slight twitch in his jaw.
"You should be at your estate," Sebastian whispered. "Preparing for the Saintess. Yet here you are. Covered in mud. Looking at me as if..."
"As if what, Your Highness?" Neria asked, lifting her head.
"As if you know things you shouldn't," Sebastian hissed, his fingers tightened on his scepter. "You look at me with hatred, Neria. But more than that, you look at me as if you survived me."
Neria’s breath hitched. She saw the panic hidden beneath his royal mask.
‘He remembers,’ she thought. ‘Or at least, his soul feels the echo of the blade.’
"Why would I need to survive you, Sebastian?" Neria asked, changing her tone softly with sudden honey. "Are you dangerous?"
"I can be," Sebastian murmured, stepping closer until his chest almost brushed her cloak. "There is a rumor in my mind. A dream. I saw you die, Neria. I saw you fall into the dark. Yet here you stand. How are you alive?"
"Maybe I am a ghost," Neria whispered, her eyes dropped to his lips. "Or maybe you just have a very vivid imagination."
"Do not play with me," Sebastian warned, though his voice lacked its usual royal iron. He looked completely ungrounded by her proximity. "What are you hiding under that cloak? You jingle when you breathe."
"Just my beating heart," Neria purred. She took a deliberate step forward, closing the remaining distance.
She needed to distract him. If he looked too closely at her cloak, he would find her goods.
"You are lying," Sebastian hushed, his eyes tracked her moves.
"Am I?" Neria asked. She reached up, her small hands resting gently against his chest. She could feel his heart beating like a wild horse. "You think too much, Prince. You spend all your time in that dark library, counting your coins and dreaming of blood. Don't you want something real for once?"
Sebastian felt paralysed under her touch. "Neria, what are you doing?"
"Shh," Neria murmured, leaning up on her tiptoes. "You look so tense. Let me help you forget your bad dreams."
Before he could pull away, before his scepter could spark with that dangerous green light, Neria pressed her lips firmly against his.
Sebastian gasped against her mouth, a sudden shock was running through his entire body. He didn't push her away…
Instead, his hands flew to her waist, his hold was so strong and desperate, as if he were trying to hold down a spirit that might vanish into thin air.
The kiss was fierce, hot, and completely chaotic. Neria poured every ounce of her villainess charm into it, letting her fingers slide up into his silver hair.
‘Keep him distracted,’ there was this small goal. ‘Keep him blind.’
Sebastian groaned, pulling her closer, his mind was completely melting under the sudden heat.
He forgot about her assasination, he forgot about the archives, and he forgot about the strange feeling that he had murdered this woman in a previous life almost thrice.
The prince only knew the taste of her, yes…so sharp and sweet like wild berries.
Neria slipped her hand down slowly, reaching behind his back. Her fingers found the silk pouch attached to his belt.
The spare palace key…
She slid it out of the leather loop with the perfect precision of a professional thief.
She broke the kiss slowly, leaving him breathless and completely dazed. Her green eyes sparkled with a dangerous, playful light.
"See?" Neria muttered, her lips brushed his cheek. "No ghosts here. Just me."
Sebastian blinked, his face flushed, his royal dignity completely shattered in the dirt. "Neria... I..."
"I must go," Neria stepped back quickly and threw her hood over her hair. "My horse is waiting, and my dress fitting looms. We wouldn't want the Duke to get angry, would we?"
"Wait," Sebastian called out, reaching for her, but his knees felt strangely weak. "What just happened?"
"A distraction, Your Highness," Neria laughed, sprinting back toward the coward mare.
She leaped onto the saddle, the stolen key was safely hidden in her palm next to the emeralds.
"Try to write some better dreams next time!"
She kicked the mare into a gallop, leaving the Crown Prince standing alone in the woods, looking entirely confused and thoroughly kissed.
Neria looked down at her cloak.
"That is how a professional does it. No blood and dying, and I’ve got the key. Now, let’s go find Alistair.”