Chapter 55 At the Emperor’s Mercy.
Amarien's POV
"Then you will be my queen," Daevir's eyes lightened with pleasure. He leaned and kissed me passionately.
I held his face in my palm, trembling. We are in the Empire's library. A very public place. Anyone can walk in at any moment.
But this didn't stop Daevir. His kiss grew so passionate that I couldn't help but melt into his arms. We both stumbled onto a table nearby, heaving and kissing even more tenderly.
"Your highness…" I said half-pleading as I caught my breath.
"My wife…" Daevir's kiss traveled down to my neck, and then he began to walk his hand through my cloak. Pleasure ran all through my skin. I wanted him. But the nagging thoughts hit harder this time.
"We need to stop…" I gasped, but Daevir barely heard as he buried his head in my neck, muttering passionate "...my wife" into my ears.
His hands clenched strongly on my body like he had full possession of me. I couldn't move from his grip.
I only had to shut my eyes and pray he'd stop, or no one would walk right up to that door.
Daevir's lips travelled back to mine. Heaving passionate, deep breaths. Our eyes met. He smiled.
"We shouldn't be doing this…" I said again.
"You belong to me, and no one is going to change that."
"It could be anywhere else, your highness. We could get in trouble."
"I want you now." He pressed his lips on mine. This time, much more intense, I fought to pull away, but the weight of his passionate held my foot to the ground. There is no running away from Daevir when he gets like this.
Who am I kidding? There's no running away from me when I'm passionately struck with him like this.
I love him. I love that I have his child. I love that he chose me.
Daevir grabbed me and lifted me to the table, spreading my legs. I left the empress's robe meticulously tied on my slip off my shoulder. He grabbed my bare skin, circling as he kissed me.
I need to tell him I have his child. There is no impediment now. He had vowed to end his engagement with Catherine. The Emperor is sick and will probably not last another night.
Maybe I have to give in to all of this and say the gods have favoured me. Maybe indeed they have. My curse is cured, and I can live and be with the man I love with all my heart.
"Amarien…" he breathed. I felt his breath go down my cleavage, his hand clenched to my breast.
"Your highness…" I gasp, finally shut my eyes, letting myself feel his touch all over my body. Letting his touch and every kiss snatch up all the fears in my heart. The fears in my bones. The fears about this promising child in my womb.
This child has started kicking while still being a few weeks old. This child, whom I could tell loves me with everything, and I love it back.
His hand trailed my stomach, caressing it, shifting before resuming to my breast.
I need to tell him. He needs to know. After all, it's his child; he can decide what to do with it however he wants. I know it will only fuel our love and passion for each other. I know it will only bring us together.
His passionately murmur filled the room. Our lips clasped again.
"I need to tell you something, your highness…" I said amid our smushed lips.
"... anything…" he murmured, his tongue sliding down my throat.
I managed to pull away, stammering "I…I…"
I barely moved past the first word when the door slammed open, and a troop of guards marched in, their weapons in hand and their eyes on me, venom in their eyes. They were lead in my Malrick, head of the Emperor's guard, who gazed upon me with even more venom in his eyes.
I pushed Daevir off as he hadn't noticed their presence in the room. He did when I quickly clasped my cloth over my body.
"Treachery!" Malrick screeched.
Daevir stood in their way. "I commanded her to do this. You have no right to cease her." His voice was firm. His tone was commanding.
But Malrick only scoffed at him.
"I've received a direct command from the Emperor to cease her, your highness. You're not Emperor yet, so you'd better think your next actions through, else you'd spit on your father's face."
While Malrick spoke and Daevir had his eyes fixed on him, the guards had already lunged into the room. They snatched me by my hair, pulling me off the table.
I screeched, holding on to the clothing that was sliding off my body.
"Amarien!" Daevir lunged at them, but a troop of guards stood in his way, blocking him.
Malrick's eyes burned with rage as he looked from me to Daevir.
"Do well to forget about her, your highness." He leaned in to Daevir. "She's be dead by tomorrow."
All I heard was Daevir screaming "No!" All I saw was him fighting through a troop of guards who had surrounded him with silver shields. He couldn't shift with silver around him. He is powerless at the smell of silver, not to mention the touch of it.
There was nothing he could do but watch the guards drag me out of the room with my hair as I screeched for help and mercy, as my clothes ripped against the marble floors, and I pleaded for them to spare my life.
But that was all he saw. The door slammed behind me, shutting me out from him for good.
He couldn't see what happened right after.
He couldn't watch in horrors one of the guards called me a whore, spat on me, and slapped my face, making me collapsed into the ground.
He couldn't see as they all surrounded me, poking me with their swords and mocking me to get back up, and satisfying them since I was a whore.
He did see as they took turns, taking a leak on me, laughing with satisfaction as their warm pee ran through my hair, my face, my body.
They stopped when Malrick intervened, grabbed me, and threw me into my cell, locking it up himself and keeping the key.
"You're lucky I still have a shred of humanity in me." He spat, "I should have let those guards take turns, raping you to your death. You will get a dignified died, Concubine Amarien, not because I want it. But because the Emperor commanded it." With this, Malrick stormed out of the cell.
I felt my knee buckled. I collapsed on the floor and cried.