Chapter 81 Chapter Eighty-One
The lanternlight flickered across Draevyn’s face.
And Lyressa felt something inside her begin to fracture.
She remained perfectly still in the doorway, the narrow crack of the door the only thing keeping her hidden as the reality of the moment settled slowly, painfully into place.
The man she loved…
was finding pleasure in another woman.
No.
This couldn’t be real.
It had to be some cruel illusion… some trick of the mind brought on by exhaustion and illness.
Draevyn would never—
But then his hands moved.
He gripped the servant’s hips firmly, pulling her closer as she moved against him, urging her faster with a low sound of pleasure that echoed through the room.
His grunts of pleasure made Lyressa’s head spin.
The servant moaned breathlessly as she rode him harder and faster.
And Draevyn—
Draevyn said her name.
Not Lyressa’s.
Hers.
His voice was thick with desire as he murmured words Lyressa knew all too well.
That he loved her.
That he loved the feel of her around him.
Each word struck like a blade sliding deeper into Lyressa’s chest.
Something inside her finally broke.
The last fragile hope that this was a mistake… that she had misunderstood… shattered completely.
Her vision blurred.
Tears spilled down her cheeks in silent streams as she stood frozen in the doorway, too stunned to move, too shattered to breathe.
And in that moment, watching the man she had trusted with her heart give those same words to another woman—
Lyressa felt her world collapse around her.
Kaelani felt it the moment the truth struck Lyressa.
The betrayal didn’t come gently.
It crashed through her like a storm tearing through fragile glass—sharp, sudden, impossible to contain. The pain of it burned through Kaelani’s chest as if the wound belonged to her own heart.
That bastard.
Rage flared inside her.
For a wild moment Kaelani wanted to burst through the door, to storm into that room and rip him away from the woman in his lap—anything to stop what Lyressa was being forced to watch.
And Lyressa almost did.
Her hand twitched against the door as if she might throw it open and confront him.
But then the servant cried out.
Her body trembling as pleasure overtook her.
Lyressa stiffened—
Not because of the sound.
Because of what followed.
The woman’s skin began to glow.
A brilliant golden light spread across her body, pulsing brighter with every passing second. The glow deepened until it shone like molten sunlight beneath her skin.
Kaelani felt Lyressa’s confusion spike.
That wasn’t normal.
Even for the Seelie.
Then Draevyn groaned.
As he reached his climax, his eyes flared open—and gold flooded through them, swirling like liquid fire within the steel-gray depths.
The servant’s expression changed instantly.
Her pleasure twisted into panic.
She began struggling against him, pushing weakly at his chest as if suddenly desperate to pull away.
But Draevyn held her there.
His hands clamped around her hips, forcing her body against his as though he needed them to remain connected.
The woman gasped.
Not with pleasure this time.
With anguish.
Her chest heaved as if the air had been ripped from her lungs.
The golden glow pouring from her skin began to fade.
Slowly at first.
Then rapidly.
As it dimmed around her body, the light in Draevyn’s eyes only grew stronger.
Brighter.
Hungrier.
The servant’s movements became frantic.
Her fingers clawed weakly at his shoulders as she struggled to breathe.
Then her eyes—
They began to bleed.
Thin streams of crimson slipped from the corners as the last remnants of golden light drained from her body.
And suddenly—
It was gone.
The glow vanished entirely.
The servant’s body fell limp in Draevyn’s arms.
Dead.
Without hesitation, Draevyn shoved the lifeless body from his lap.
She hit the stone floor with a sickening thud.
Kaelani felt Lyressa’s horror explode through her, blending with her own.
Draevyn lifted his hand slowly.
Golden currents of energy spiraled from his fingers, crackling faintly in the lanternlight like threads of stolen sunlight.
And in the doorway—
Lyressa gasped.
Draevyn’s head turned slowly toward the door.
Only then did he seem to notice her.
For a moment he simply looked at Lyressa through the narrow crack in the doorway, his expression unreadable beneath the dim light.
Not surprised.
Not panicked.
Almost…
Disappointed.
Lyressa’s breath trembled in her chest as their eyes met.
The golden glow had already faded from his own, the storm-gray color returning as if nothing unnatural had happened at all.
Draevyn rose from the chair with unhurried ease.
The body of the servant lay crumpled on the floor beside him, pale and lifeless, as though discarded without a second thought.
He pulled up his trousers calmly, fastening them as if this were nothing more than an inconvenient interruption.
Then he looked back at her.
“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he said softly.
“My love.”
Lyressa recoiled as if the words themselves had struck her.
“Don’t—” Her voice broke as she shook her head violently. “Don’t you call me that.”
Draevyn sighed, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck as though she were exhausting him.
“Oh, please,” he muttered. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
Lyressa stared at him in disbelief.
“Dramatic?” she whispered.
Her voice rose suddenly, the raw shock and fury finally breaking through.
“Are you serious right now?”
Her hand trembled as she pointed toward the lifeless girl on the floor.
“This whole time… it’s been you.”
The realization hit her again even as she spoke it aloud.
“You killed all those women,” she said, her voice shaking with outrage. “You’ve been stealing their light… using wicked sex magic.”
Lyressa stared at him, the horror of what she had just witnessed still clawing through her chest.
Then the truth struck her.
Hard.
Like a stone dropped into still water, sending shockwaves through every thought in her mind.
Her eyes widened.
“You…” Her voice dropped to a fractured whisper as the realization settled into place. “You’ve been stealing my light.”
Her hand moved instinctively to her chest, fingers pressing against the hollow ache that had been growing there for weeks.
“That’s why I’ve been so ill,” she whispered. “That’s why I’ve been fading.”
Draevyn said nothing at first.
He only began walking toward her.
Slowly.
Each step deliberate, almost unnervingly calm as he closed the distance between them. The light flickered across his face, casting shifting shadows that made his expression feel colder than she had ever seen it.
“You’re still alive, aren’t you?” he said at last.
The casualness of the words made Lyressa’s stomach twist.
“I could have drained you the very first night,” he continued smoothly, his voice lowering as he approached the doorway.
His gaze swept over her, dark and calculating now.
“The moment you so eagerly spread your legs for me.”
Lyressa flinched.
“But I didn’t,” he went on. “Because you were… useful.”
He stopped a few paces away from her.
Close enough now that the air between them felt heavy.
“And if you would like to continue existing,” Draevyn said quietly, “here is what you are going to do.”
His eyes held hers with unsettling certainty.
“You will appoint me Lord of the Realm.”
The words landed like thunder in the silent corridor.
“And you will grant me full reign over both courts.”
Lyressa stared at him as if the words themselves were madness.
Because they were.
“You will reign over nothing,” she said, her voice sharp despite the weakness in her body.
The fury burning in her chest pushed back against the fear clawing through her veins.
“The only thing you’ll be appointed,” she continued, her words splintering in her throat with righteous anger, “is a cell in the dungeon where you will rot for the rest of your abhorrent existence.”
For the first time, something in Draevyn’s expression hardened.
The mask slipped.
In the next instant he moved.
His hand shot forward, closing around her throat before she could react.
Lyressa gasped as her feet left the floor.
Draevyn lifted her effortlessly, holding her suspended in the air as though her weight meant nothing to him.
Her fingers clawed weakly at his wrist as she struggled for breath.
“Just weeks ago,” he said calmly, his voice cold and measured, “you were a powerful fae. Perhaps the most powerful in all the realm.”
His grip tightened slightly.
“A worthy opponent.”
His eyes darkened.
“But now…”
A faint golden glimmer flickered deep within them.
“I possess most of your power.”
Lyressa’s lungs burned as she fought for air.
“And you will submit to me,” Draevyn continued quietly, “or perish like the rest of those whores.”
The words barely left his mouth before he released her.
Lyressa dropped hard to the cold floor.
Air tore back into her lungs as she collapsed, coughing violently, her body shaking as she tried to regain control of her breathing.
Pain rippled through her throat as she forced herself to move.
She couldn’t stay here.
Couldn’t remain within reach of him.
Her fingers scraped against the stone as she dragged herself across the floor, her weakened body struggling toward the open doorway and the safety of the hall beyond.
Draevyn followed her down the corridor at an unhurried pace as Lyressa struggled across the marble floor.
He laughed softly behind her.
The sound echoed through the empty hall.
“Look at you,” he mocked. “The great Seelie Queen, crawling through her own palace.”
Lyressa ignored him.
Every ounce of strength she had left went into forcing her body forward. Her knees dragging against the cold marble as she inched toward the throne room doors at the end of the hall.
With a desperate surge of will, Lyressa pushed herself upright. Her legs shook violently beneath her weight, but she forced them to hold.
“Guards!” she cried.
Her voice came out weak and ragged, barely more than a rasp.
Still she staggered forward.
She reached the towering doors of the throne room and shoved them open, stumbling into the vast chamber beyond.
“Guards!” she shouted again, her voice growing louder now, desperation forcing strength back into it.
Behind her, Draevyn stepped calmly through the doorway.
“It’s a shame it must be this way, Your Majesty,” he said almost regretfully. “Things would be so much easier for you if you simply cooperated.”
Lyressa spun toward him, fury blazing through the weakness in her body.
“I would rather die,” she rasped, “than sell out my own kingdom.”
Her hand shot forward.
Golden light sparked across her palm.
For a moment—
hope flared.
But the energy flickered weakly… then vanished.
Lyressa stared at her hand in horror.
Only a faint ember of power remained.
He really had taken it.
“Guards!” she cried again, louder than before.
From somewhere beyond the great doors at the opposite end of the hall, footsteps began to thunder toward the throne room.
Draevyn tilted his head slightly.
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
The darkness gathered around him.
Not shadow.
Something older.
Something wrong.
Ancient magic spilled from his hand like living night as he struck her with it.
Lyressa gasped as the force seized her body.
Invisible chains wrapped around her limbs, locking her in place. Her feet began sliding backward across the floor, step by unwilling step.
Toward the throne.
“No—” she choked.
Her body continued moving against her will until the back of her legs struck the seat.
Then she was forced down.
Her muscles locked.
Frozen.
She couldn’t move a single finger.
Draevyn extended his hand toward the great doors where the guards were rushing to answer her call.
The magic surged outward.
The pounding footsteps stopped instantly.
Silence fell over the throne room.
Draevyn turned back to Lyressa, amusement glinting in his eyes.
“You look so exhausted, my love.”
His voice was low.
Taunting.
“But don’t worry,” he went on. “You’ll be able to sleep for a very… very long time.”
He laughed quietly as the magic tightened around her, sealing her body in eternal stillness.
A single tear slipped down Lyressa’s cheek.
Then—
Kaelani’s eyes flew open.
The same tear Lyressa had shed slid down her own face.
And in the silence of the chamber, Lyressa’s voice echoed through her mind.
Free me.