070

070


Isolde.

“Good morning, my lady…!”

Isolde groaned at the loud voice that resonated in her room, waking her from sleep. She rolled on the bed, hearing the snap of the blinds as whoever it was fluttered them open.

“What?” She groaned again, her head banging.

Carldo pranced to her bedside, looming over her as he declared. “You’ve slept halfway through the morning, my lady.”

At that, she jerked up from the bed, her eyes turning saucer-wide.

“Really? How did I sleep that long?” She blurted, gazing bizarrely at Carldo.

The male shrugged, “I don’t know…” he trailed off a bit when he noticed something. The smell of ale wafting from Isolde’s breath. “Ah, you drank?”

That was when Isolde remembered what occurred last night. Not all. But she remembered enough that she began to blush.

She had asked Draco to be her male?

Oh, no, Isolde. What have you done? You hated that man. She face-palmed, cursing under her breath.

Isolde couldn’t remember what the lord had responded to her with, but currently, she just wanted the bed to part so the ground would swallow her.

She made a mess of herself. Now, the lord was going to start feeling too highly of himself.

“I want a hot bath, Carldo! A scorching hot bath!” She screamed, covering her face with the sheets as she screamed into it.

Carldo watched her with confusion at first before scampering off to do as she commanded.

Of course, he didn’t dare put hot water for Isolde that would burn her skin, but the water was hot enough that it stung.





If Isolde thought the hot water would wash away her shame, she was wrong. She felt more embarrassed now than ever as she read the note the lord sent someone to give to her.

He asked her to meet him.

She slipped the note close, clenching it with her fingers. Her heart was overreacting. Something inside her couldn’t wait to see the lord.

Had he summoned her to embarrass her?

“Sister,” Isolde bristled when she heard Lucinda calling out to her as she walked into the room.

“Lucy,” She beamed manageably. She embraced her sister, looking up at her. “You look…happy. How was your visit to the den of gladiators?”

Lucinda blushed as she ranted about the place.

“They looked so scary, sister. I couldn’t believe my eyes,”

Isolde was worried about her sister rather than sharing in her excitement. Wasn’t she worried about her encounter at the pit anymore?

How Draco linked her with those gladiators?

“Lucy,” She called, looking at Lucinda as she held her hands from where she was seated at the edge of the bed. Lucinda paused her tirade, looking down at Isolde. “I don’t want this life for you.”

Lucinda groaned again. “No one is hurting me here, sister. I’m liking it here, Isolde.”

“It isn’t our permanent place, Lucy. It cannot be. This isn’t what father would want for us. This country, Bloomington, is a world of blood…”

“I love the blood, Lucinda nearly spat, but she held herself back, staring at her sister even though her mind thought about something else.

“I will find a way to buy our freedom, Lucinda, and when I do, we’ll sail far to the west or maybe east. But not here. Not Bloomington…”

The words were heavy as they escaped her mouth. While Isolde was saying this, her heart was humming something different.

The desire to see the lord.

Currently, Isolde’s heart and mind were at odds with each other. One wanted to stay back and enjoy the ride the new life provided, now Edrand wasn’t in the picture any longer, and she was now a recognized figure of authority, while her mind screamed she escaped with her sister and sailed far away so that the male would never see them.

“I know you mean well for me, sister,” Lucinda said, taking a seat beside Isolde. “I’m sorry, I never thought about it like this. No problem, I won’t get carried away, and when you’re ready, we’ll flee together.”

That gave Isolde the reassurance she needed, and she hugged Lucinda one more time.

“Take care. I’ve to leave…”

Lucinda watched her sister exit her chambers with a gaping heart. Her lips pursed.

______

Isolde walked along the bustling walkway that led to the garden that overlooked the lake.

Her foot clomped clumsily over the cobblestone as she fiddled with the long flowing hem of her green dress.

Her long black hair was gathered in a double waterfall braid, making her face pronounced and exquisite.

She strutted into the patio, rounding the table and chair. Isolde’s eyes took the flowers spread out in the garden, sucking it in with a breezy smile on her face.

She tilted and caressed her fingers over the water Lilies, the cool water of the lake drifted through her fingertips.

“You like it?”

She startled at the knee-buckling baritone voice. Panting, she whipped around, swallowing as she focused her blue gaze on the lord.

He wore a very expensive golden armor today. Her heart skipped at how it made him look uncharacteristically breathtaking.

She’d hardly seen any male who looked so beautiful in armor like Draco. As he opened the visor of his helmet, she gasped at the way his rare eye color gleamed under the morning sun.

“You shouldn’t stare too much,” Draco said with a hint of laughter in his voice. Yet he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her.

All through the night, Isolde was all he thought about. The way she sucked his fingers lived rent-free in his mind.

“I wasn’t looking…” Isolde snapped, cutting her eyes away briefly.

“Oh, yeah?” He jokingly cocked a brow at her.

One thing was clear to Draco now: they both had feelings for each other. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

“Yeah. I mean…I was only sneering at you,”

“I highly doubt that,” Draco said, stepping closer to her.

Her heart thundered the more he closed the gap between them. Isolde backed away, hoping Draco would stop coming forward, but he didn’t.

It made her stumble onto the table, sitting on it. Draco stepped in between her legs, looking down at her.

His gloved hand came up to her cheek, caressing it softly. Isolde shut her eyes, feeling and basking in his touch even though it wasn’t skin to skin.

She couldn’t see his complete face because of the helmet, but his eyes told her all she needed to know.

He loved touching her.

“You are…beautiful,”

Her heart skipped several beats at his confession. She wasn’t expecting it at all.

“Draco…” She slowly called, as if she was tasting his name on the seam of her lips.

“Be mine, truly, Isolde. My girlfriend, my true luna. My female. I want you, and not even the gods can stop me this time…”

TBC.