Chapter 265 Chapter 264
“Start by recovering,” Rayena said aloud, and all heads turned towards her. She rose from the bed and gracefully made her way towards Xenon. Seating herself on his stretched legs, her insides warmed as he leaned toward her. “I know you’re eager to get back to work, but you don’t feel your best yet.”
Her eyes took in every line of fatigue etched on his face. Xenon pressed his face against her back, his voice muffled against her skin. “Indeed I don’t. I could use more hours of sleep.”
He glanced at Morvan. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?”
“That’s all for now, Your Majesty,” Morvan said. “Other threats I have contained. Rayena is right—you do need time to recover and get your strength. No one here can possibly imagine what it’s like being stuck in your beast’s form that long.”
“Thank you for telling me this. When I come up with something, I’ll get back to you,” Xenon said, and Morvan nodded, rising to his feet. He gave a short bow and exited the room.
“Wow… I didn’t expect things to be this bad.” A pause, and Xenon frowned. “To be honest, I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this.”
Rayena resumed stroking his hair. A low rumble of pleasure spilled from Xenon’s lips. He definitely liked it when she stroked his hair.
“I was surprised too after I returned to the realm,” she said slowly, adjusting her posture on him. “Apparently, it stopped raining after you were unseated, and the lands dried up. Not to mention the terrible sickness that had been plaguing the land afterwards.”
“Unfortunately, the new king is too interested in making heirs. He doesn’t care about the people he’s forcefully ruling over.” She grimaced in disgust as she remembered the short time in the palace when he’d tried to force himself on her.
Xenon chuckled, looking up at her. “And I thought I was a bad king.”
Rayena scoffed. “Compared to that thing on the throne, you’re an angel. I’m sure the people will appreciate you more after this. You should see the statues they constructed in honor of you while that man kept causing havoc.”
Xenon inhaled deeply, the sweet-warm scent of her skin flooding his senses until his shoulders finally loosened. So incredibly refreshing. “I don’t care if they ever do. As long as I’m never away from you any longer,” he murmured, and her heart skipped a beat. She momentarily stopped touching his hair.
“Those hours with you gone from the palace were the worst times of my life and I’ve gone through a lot of terrible things, Raye. That’s a horror I don’t want to relive,” he admitted softly, his grip on her waist tightening.
Her chest tightened and fluttered simultaneously. “Oh, Xenon.”
“You brought me back, Raye. I don’t know how. But you did.”
“Were you truly not aware of anything in that state? You don’t have a memory of me visiting, crying, watching you?”
Xenon shook his head. “Nothing. It’s all a fog in there. I wasn’t even aware of the passage of time. It was like I lost my soul.”
“So… how did I bring you back?” Rayena asked slowly.
“Your scent,” he said simply.
Rayena froze. “My scent?”
“It’s the only thing that managed to penetrate the haze. And surprisingly, your blood. Every time I tasted it, it felt like it healed something in me, so I just kept digging for more and clawing my way through the fog. And now, I’m here.”
“Wow…” Rayena whispered. “I wasn’t expecting that. No wonder you kept biting into me and scratching me up.”
“I did that?” He winced, eyes clouded in regret. “Raye, I’m—”
“I’m not angry." Rayena quickly cut in, waving him off. "It was just a little uncomfortable when you did it. And honestly, more often than not, I was the one willingly putting myself in harm’s way. You don’t have to apologize.”
“You saved my life by being reckless. Just as you’ve always done.”
Rayena grinned. “I’m glad I didn’t give up. We should also be thankful to Morvan for not throwing in the towel and having you killed. Still can’t believe he let you stay alive with your mind lost for that long.”
“There’s that too,” Xenon conceded.
“So… what about our child?” Xenon asked, and Rayena froze, her entire body turning rigid. Xenon caught the reaction, and the smile on his face disappeared.
A tense silence settled in the room as Rayena avoided his gaze, her lips trembling.
“Rayena, did you hear what I said?” he asked, but her gaze turned inward, the air thickening around her.
Alarm bells started ringing in his head, and he shook her softly to try and bring her back. “Rayena, what’s wrong? What happened? What happened to our child?”
The words clogged in her throat, but she forced them out anyway. “Xenon… we—we lost our baby,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
Xenon stiffened. His eyes narrowed to slits, sharp as a blade.
“What?”
The word caused Rayena's chest to cave in, and she opened her mouth to speak, but no words would leave her throat. She watched as disbelief filled Xenon's eyes—then confusion, and finally horror.
Her heartbeat thudded so hard she heard it in her ears.
She tried pulling away, but his grip held her captive, eyes boring into hers. "What did you say?" he asked in a soft voice. But Rayena flinched like he had screamed it.
"We… we lost our baby, Xenon." She finally muttered after a heavy silence, fraught with tension. "I had him, but he was a stillbirth."
"Him?" Xenon's eyes grew wider, and his grip on her slackened, hands dropping to his sides.
Tears filled her eyes. "Yes, we had a son. A beautiful boy, but he's no longer here with us." She whispered, her voice almost inaudible.
But Xenon heard it.
In that moment, he turned paler than a ghost. His body began trembling, and he jerked away from Rayena as if her touch burned him. It was as if all the strength had left him in a single breath.
A whimper spilled from her lips.
Very slowly, almost haggardly, he rose to his feet, swaying with every step he took as he brought himself to a corner, clutching his chest at the anguish that threatened to pull him under.
Rayena could no longer sit still. She hurried toward him, placing her hands on his shoulders even as his muscles tensed beneath them.
She heard him mutter, "This is all my fault. I should have been there with you. I should have helped you." He repeated it over and over again, his voice cracking with every word.
She could feel the faint tremor in his body as he held back sobs.