Chapter 185 Chapter 184
She hesitated, then smiled. "Would you like me to make you another one?"
He shifted, resting his head on his hand. "If you want to." Narrowing his gaze, he added with a smirk, "I won’t say no."
She chuckled, the melodic sound filling him with warmth. His beasts purred with satisfaction within him. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "I’ll make you another one. I’m working on a handkerchief right now. When it’s done, it’ll be yours," she announced.
"Thank you," he growled.
Rayena smiled, then went back to stitching. Being with the king like this still felt strange. Kindness wasn’t something she expected from a king as powerful as him, yet it was there. They sat together in comfortable silence, and it didn’t take long for her to become engrossed with her work. When she looked up a while later, she found the king asleep.
The sight addled her, and for a moment she just watched him, enraptured by his sleeping form. Unable to resist the call to him, she stood to her feet, quietly making her way toward him. The frown lines on his face had dissolved thanks to slumber, and he looked mesmerizing—his long, two-toned hair fanning around him like a warm halo. Her breath caught in her throat. For someone who was over a century old, he looked incredibly young.
Her fingers itched to touch him, but they stopped mid-air when he began twitching in his sleep, becoming restless. Distress etched across his face, and his eyelids fluttered vigorously, never truly opening. Rayena's heart lurched. Was he having nightmares?
A soft, pained growl slipped past his lips, quickly followed by an angry snarl as his body jerked violently. It occurred to Rayena that she should run away, but instead, she reached for him, grabbing onto his veined arms. He yanked her toward him, and she toppled on top of him, a strangled gasp escaping her. Instantly, he relaxed, holding her close as he drifted off to sleep.
Caged in his arms, Rayena didn’t know what to do. She froze, holding her breath as Xenon’s own deepened, his grip slackening just enough for her to breathe easily, though not slip away. Yet, as she lay there on top of him, the exhaustion that had eluded her all night finally swamped her, and she yawned, blinking slowly.
She let out a breath, laying her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat as sleep came to carry her away. For the first time in a long while, she felt safe and secure in his embrace.
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Morvan returned to the palace very early in the morning, feeling much better than he had in a long time. Taking time away from work had helped—he was no longer as agitated—but he was still concerned about how the king had fared throughout the night without him. His episodes were usually erratic, and with Rayena now closer than before, it could spell more harm than good.
He hurried to the king’s quarters, just in time to see the door creak open and Rayena slip out, holding a basket to her chest as she hurried away. Freezing in his steps, he watched the scene before him in shock.
Recovering quickly, he waited until she was out of sight before rushing to meet the king in his chambers. Knocking once, he barely waited for an answer before bursting in.
“Your Majesty…” he greeted, bowing his head as his eyes swept around the room, searching for any signs of chaos.
“Morvan, you’re back so early?” Xenon asked instead, donning his robe before running a hand through his hair to smooth it.
“Yes, I am back. If I may ask, Your Majesty, why was Rayena coming out of your chambers?”
“You saw her? Well, she spent the night with me.”
The words didn’t register at first. “She spent the night with you?” Morvan repeated, stunned.
“Don’t worry, we didn’t do anything together. She just sat with me,” Xenon said with a shrug, walking toward him. “I told you, nothing was going to happen if you weren’t around.”
Morvan’s words hung in the air before he bit them back, clamping his mouth shut. In truth, nothing looked out of place—no wreckage, no panic, no signs of unrest. They both seemed fine, so perhaps it was no big deal. He bowed once again.
“I’ll be outside if you need me,” he said and, with steady steps, marched out of the king’s chambers. King Xenon’s voice stopped him just as he reached for the doorknob.
“I’ll be needing you tomorrow, though. Seems like I may have to teach Rayena faster than I’d anticipated,” he admitted with a low groan, his eyes narrowing in thought.
Morvan pursed his lips, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
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The next day, Rayena was summoned to the king’s chambers. However, this time around, she had company. A troop of women had accompanied the guard, and from the way they were dressed, she guessed they were courtesans.
They informed her that they had been sent by the king to prepare her for her first “lesson” with him. Hearing that, Rayena blanched, her heart racing with a mix of trepidation and excitement. This was happening much faster than she had expected, and she was powerless to stop it. Giving her consent, she watched as the women stripped her of her clothes and prepared a warm, luxurious bath for her.
This particular experience was strange to her because, despite the expensive materials that were used, most of them had very little fragrance. She was wondering why when she recalled that the king was averse to other kinds of scents. The women helped her bathe, massaging her body in the process until she felt as smooth as freshly churned butter—her skin supple and radiant.
Her hair was skillfully washed and expertly styled, falling loosely over her shoulders with waves already worked into it. Once they were done with the finishing touches to her appearance, it was time for her to get dressed. She was handed a white, translucent linen gown, so thin it draped over her curves, accentuating her slender yet rounded figure. Finally, she was given a red robe that concealed it all.
“She’s ready!” a woman announced, clapping her hands while the others admired their work, pleased with the transformation. Rayena, on the other hand, was a jumble of nerves as she stared at her reflection in the mirror—shocked at how they had turned her appearance from something innocently delicate into something powerfully seductive.
"You should go meet the king now. He will be waiting for you," one of the women chirped, her tone far too light for the heaviness coiling in Rayena’s chest.