Chapter 164 Aria Assignment

Chapter 164 Aria Assignment


Morning came with winter rain beating against palace windows. Lila woke with the nightmare still clinging to her thoughts. The hunt. The murder. The faceless man whose identity remained locked behind magical barriers.

She dressed quickly. Her body still ached from yesterday's training. Nine warriors taken down without conscious thought. Her muscles remembered what her mind could not access.

A sharp knock interrupted her brooding. The door opened before she could answer. Aria stood there, her expression as cold as the rain outside.

"Lady Lila. How convenient that you have finally returned to the servants' wing. I was beginning to think you had forgotten your actual position in this palace." Aria's smile was razor-sharp. "His Majesty's chambers require immediate cleaning. You will attend to them now."

Lila's stomach dropped. "His Majesty's chambers? Surely there are other servants better suited—"

"I am assigning you. Do you refuse a direct order?" Aria's eyes glittered with malice. "Or perhaps you think yourself too important now? I have heard the whispers. The servant who fights like nobility. Who spends nights in the King's bed. Who has delusions of grandeur."

"I will do it." The words came out flat. Arguing would only make things worse.

"Excellent. His Majesty is in council meetings until noon. You have three hours to complete a thorough cleaning. I will inspect your work personally." Aria stepped aside. "Do try not to embarrass yourself. Or me."

Lila gathered cleaning supplies with shaking hands. Sydney found her in the supply closet, her face worried.

"Lila, what are you doing? You should not be on cleaning rotation. His Majesty specifically—"

"Aria assigned me. I cannot refuse without causing problems." Lila loaded rags and polish into a basket. "It will be fine. He is in council. I will be done before he returns."

Sydney did not look convinced. "Be careful. And if you need anything, send for me immediately."

Lila climbed the stairs to the royal wing. Guards nodded as she passed, recognizing her now. The King's mate. Even if she slept in the servants' quarters instead of his bed.

Adrian's chambers were empty. Silent. The space felt vast without his presence to fill it.

Lila began cleaning mechanically. Dusting surfaces. Sweeping floors. Changing linens. Ordinary tasks made extraordinary by location.

His scent was everywhere. Pine and winter rain and something darker. Male. Powerful. It wrapped around her like invisible hands, making her skin prickle with awareness.

She tried to ignore it. Focused on her tasks. But every surface she touched held traces of him. His desk where he worked late into the night. His chair by the fire where he read. His wardrobe filled with clothes that would carry his warmth.

The bed was worst. Massive. Made for a king. Made for someone she was not allowed to be.

Lila stripped the sheets with efficient movements. Refused to think about how many nights she had slept here. How many times he had held her while nightmares tore through her mind.

She reached for the pillows. Her hand brushed the one he used. The scent intensified. Overwhelming. Intoxicating.

Without thinking, she lifted the pillow to her face. Breathed deep. Let his scent fill her lungs.

The bond roared to life. Raw. Desperate. Demanding.

Her wolf whimpered. Pressed against her skin from the inside. Wanting. Needing. Aching for the mate who was near and yet impossibly far.

"What are you doing?"

Lila froze. The pillow dropped from her hands.

Adrian stood in the doorway. Council meeting clearly ended early. His eyes blazed gold, fixed on her with predatory intensity.

"I was cleaning. Aria assigned me to—" Lila's voice failed. She could not explain why she had been holding his pillow like a lifeline.

"Get out." His voice was rough. Barely controlled.

"Your Majesty, I have not finished—"

"I said get out." Adrian moved into the room. Each step deliberate. Controlled. "Leave. Now. Before I do something we will both regret."

Lila backed toward the door. But she could not look away from his face. From the gold in his eyes. From the tension vibrating through his entire body.

"Adrian, I am sorry. I did not mean—"

"Do not." He stopped several feet away. Close enough that his scent wrapped around her again. "Do not apologize. Do not explain. Just go."

But his eyes. His eyes told a different story. They tracked over her face. Lingered on her lips. Dropped to her throat where her pulse hammered visibly.

The air between them crackled. Electric. Dangerous. One spark would ignite an inferno neither could control.

Lila forced herself to move. To walk past him. To leave before the bond overwhelmed them both.

She made it to the door. Her hand touched the handle.

"Lila."

She stopped. Did not turn around.

"Do not let Aria assign you to my chambers again. I will speak with her. This cannot happen again."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She fled. Down corridors. Past curious servants. Back to the safety of the lower palace.

Behind her, Adrian stood in his chambers surrounded by her scent. Pine and roses and something uniquely hers. It clung to everything she had touched. Marked his space as surely as if she had claimed it deliberately.

He sank into the chair by the fire. Pressed his palms to his eyes. Tried to calm the wolf raging inside his skin.

She had been holding his pillow. Breathing his scent. And for one terrible, wonderful moment, he had seen on her face the same desperate need that consumed him.

The bond was not broken. Not even close. It bled and ached and demanded but it refused to die.

And every day of distance made it worse instead of better.