Chapter 63 063

Chapter 63 063

Rayna
By the time the seventeenth night came, I was already ruined, but in the best way possible. Could you believe that?

I felt it in the way my steps were lighter than they had any right to be. In the way my thoughts refused to stay orderly, looping back again and again to the warmth and the silence, of resting against a shoulder that hadn’t moved away from me.

If someone had whispered the words to me that Zero wouldn't have pulled out a dagger if I dared to go near him, I wouldn't have believed it. Hell, I would have laughed my head off in such a way that they would have to retreat in fear that I'd gone crazy or something.

I tried to get a grip on myself, I tried to stop my mind from traveling back to last night, but it was next to impossible. I’d replayed it all day like a secret pressed to the roof of my mouth.

The way he hadn’t reacted, the way he’d let me stay, and the way the Mistress’s voice had cut in like she’d sensed something slipping through her fingers.

I would be a bloody damn liar if I said her interference wasn't bothering me. Of all ways to announce the end of a night, why did she have to do it that way? There was something in her voice that hinted more at anger than anything else.

I told myself not to expect anything tonight, but I didn’t believe myself for a second.

The corridor leading to Zero’s room felt shorter than usual, or maybe I was walking faster. My pulse beat loud enough that I half expected it to echo off the walls, but surprisingly, it didn't. The closer I inched towards his room, the more I smoothed my hands down my dress once, then again, grounding myself in the familiar ritual.

Control, I reminded myself. I needed to be in control of my emotions if I was going to get through this night.

I knocked once, soft, and deliberate, before stepping inside when the door opened.

The room greeted me with its usual stillness. It had low light, shadows clinging to the corners, and the man of the hour; Zero.

He was already there, seated in his usual composed posture and his expression unreadable. The same as always.

Except… not.

Something sat differently in the air tonight. Whatever it was, felt thicker and charged, like the silence itself remembered last night and was waiting to see what I’d do with it.

“Well,” I said lightly, letting the door close behind me, “if it isn’t my favorite audience of one.”

No response, but I smiled anyway and moved further into the room, my heels clicking softly against the floor.

“You know, Zero .” I drawled, making sure I was on my best behavior, even though I doubted that mattered. “...most people would at least pretend to be excited to see me.”

Zero didn’t look at me. He didn’t speak, because his presence loomed the way it always did, contained, restrained, and dangerous, even in its stillness.

It didn’t discourage me. If anything, it made me bolder.

I circled slowly, my movements unhurried and deliberate as I walked towards him.

“I’ve been thinking about last night,” I continued, voice casual, almost playful. “About how you didn’t push me away.”

Still nothing.

I stopped a few steps in front of him, close enough now that I could feel him again, that familiar, subtle heat radiating beneath the quiet. My stomach fluttered, and it took everything in me not to jump into his arms this time around.

“I think,” I murmured, “you surprised me.”

“Actually…” I leaned closer, just enough to test the space between us. “I think I surprised you.”

My gaze traced his face, searching for cracks, for signs, anything that could betray what he was feeling , but I got none. His expression remained carved from stone, but I was learning that stone could still hold warmth underneath.

“I had the strangest dreams today,” I said softly. “All very innocent, of course. Mostly silence, mostly closeness, but there was one thing constant in them. Should I tell you? You.”

I tilted my head. “Funny how that can feel more dangerous than anything else.”

“Do you know what, Zero?” I took another step closer after that, then another and another. “I came up with a pretty crazy theory today and I think you should hear it.”

My pulse thundered in my ears as I leaned down, my lips near his ear now, my voice dropping until it barely existed at all.

“You want me.” The words slipped out like a secret, like a challenge, like a truth I wasn’t supposed to say out loud, but I didn't regret it, not one bit.

I stayed there, my breath shallow, and my heart racing, waiting. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for, a reaction maybe, or him grabbing my face to kiss me senseless, I had no idea. I just knew I would know what I needed when it happened.

As I waited for the said reaction, the million dollar question that bubbled on the tip of my tongue was …

What was dear zero going to do now that I'd come out clean about my desires?