The King asked a few maids to bring clothes for Jayden and Mina before ordering everyone to leave Mina's room. Once everyone left, Jayden locked the door and walked up to the bed, and stared at the duvet with hard eyes, his jaw clenched. He looked at his fingers—some blood was on them.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked Mina.
She was still under the duvet, too ashamed to face the world. Maybe she would get out in a year or two, when everyone would have forgotten about this incident. She should find a spell to erase the day from everyone's mind.
"Mina?"
When she didn't reply, Jayden grabbed the duvet and pulled it off her. Mina glared at him, but his eyes were on her thighs and the sheet—more blood was on them.
Jayden swore under his breath. "You are bleeding!" he said, panic lacing his voice. "Let me see!"
Mina was not about to open her legs and let Jayden stare at her cunt, so she tried to grab the duvet and cover herself and hoped Jayden would leave her alone. "Jayden!" she hissed when he threw the duvet on the floor. Mina put the dress on top of her. "I am fine!" she said. Jayden tried to insist, and Mina's cheeks turned pink. She never thought she would have to have such a conversation with her husband. Or any other man. "It's my monthly cycle! It probably came when we were doing things. I only noticed when Hugo and Prince Liam entered..."
Jayden let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the Gods I didn't hurt you! When I first smelled the blood, I thought I had been too rough and done something to you with my fingers, but then I heard the Prince and Hugo down the hall and...." He grinned. "And now everyone thinks we have consummated our marriage!"
"What do you mean you smelled the blood? No normal person would—" Mina stopped speaking and thought. Fragments of prior conversations with Caesar came to her mind. "You made me scream on purpose!" she accused Jayden, and he smirked. "I can't believe you! Asshole!"
Mina showed him her middle finger. He chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Such a naughty little lamb!"
She glared at him. "I hope you are happy knowing that everyone saw us naked!" Mina huffed and puffed while getting up from the bed.
Jayden rubbed the back of his head. "In the Kingdom of Sitia, when a couple has their wedding night, both families assist at their joining, wanting to make sure the man treats his bride with respect. Not that I would ever let anyone see our mating! That is only between you and me! Nor am I happy the Prince saw you naked! I might need to give him an oblivion potion to erase your gorgeous body from his memory!" The corner of Mina's lips twitched. "Also, when I still lived at the brothel, the room I shared with my mother was close to the rooms where clients were taken. Sometimes women or men would enter my room while I was changing my clothes or doing other things. It was embarrassing but over time it stopped affecting me."
Mina wasn't sure she would get used to being seen naked. "No child should grow up in a place like that. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been," her voice cracked a bit as she felt a pang of pain in her chest.
Jayden's eyes turned cold. "If only my father had not left my mother after mating with her. Until the day she died, she hoped he would return. Gods, I hate him so much!" he spat, his hands trembling.
Mina wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his chest. He returned the hug and rested his chin on the top of her head. She barely knew things about his mother. "What was she like?" Mina whispered.
Jayden inhaled deeply, and Mina regretted asking. But then he replied. "Sweet and compassionate but also strong. A little proud. Or stubborn. She was amazing. Like you." Mina stopped breathing for a moment, her heart beating frantically. "What about your parents?"
"They loved each other very much," she replied when she remembered her uncle saying her mother had tricked her father into marrying her. She knew it was not true. "My father could barely keep his hands off my mother. They would kiss and smile at each other all the time. My father wanted more children, but my mother almost died when I was born, and they couldn't have more. As any good gypsy, my mother would read the future in the tea leaves," Mina said and smiled at the memories. "When I turned nine, she read my future. Apparently, the leaves predicted I would be the most powerful woman on the entire continent. Men and women will envy me." She scoffed.
Jayden rolled his shoulders. "I think your mother was right. Your nails are deadly weapons. I am not sure how much more my poor back can take! In a very short time, you have put more scars on me than all the foes I fought in the war!" He chuckled, and Mina huffed.
She decided to change the subject. "What did you say to the King?" She was curious to know why King Baswein said she and Jayden were under his protection and everyone had to leave them alone.
"Who I truly am," replied Jayden.
Mina tilted her head to the side. "You told him you are an ocxoa?"
"Something like that. Where are you going?" asked Jayden when Mina let go of him, put on her robe, and picked up the dress from the bed.
"I need to clean myself and find some clean clothes and undergarments since you ripped the pair I had on," she said before rushing to the bathroom.
"I don't see the purpose in wearing one!" Jayden said while he peeled off the sheet from the bed and followed Mina. "It makes the access to your sweet cunt harder!" Mina could barely hide her smile. He looked at her lips and groaned. "Gods! We need to get out of this Palace as soon as possible. This need I have to be inside you grows with each passing moment. If I am not on Isyleon Island during the Yeltane festival and I claim you before our mating night..." He rubbed his face. "But unless 'the spy' is found, the King refuses to let us go. We need to tell King Baswein and Prince Liam it was Rosalyn who poisoned the tea and be done with it!"
"You don't know Rosalyn, not the way I do." Jayden tried to say something, but Mina kept talking, "Just because you have been with her doesn't mean you know who she truly is. She is cunning, and I am sure she covered her tracks. I was looking for the maid who served the tea to Nolan and me, hoping she could answer some questions for me, but she seems to have disappeared from the Palace," Mina replied.
She tried to take the bed linen away from Jayden, but he nudged her toward the bathtub. She sighed and turned on the water.
"And when we find the maid, and she says Rosalyn did something to the tea or gave her money to poison your cup, then what? No, Mina, we need to be frank about this with the King and the Prince," Jayden said as he starting with rinsing in cold water .
"I know," she whispered. "But if they find out about Rosalyn and you..."
"Beliar take her!" Jayden muttered. "And them! I don't care if the entire kingdom learns what a slut Rosalyn is!"
"But I do because I care about Nolan and Hugo! There must be another way! Please, for my sake?"
Jayden said nothing more and rubbed soap on the sheet before scrubbing it.
While Mina took a quick bath, Jayden cleaned the bed linen, not wanting the others to know Mina's monthly cycle came and to realize she was still a maiden.
A little later, a maid came with clean clothes and a new duvet and took with her the old one.
Once Mina and Jayden were properly dressed, Mina wanted to find the maid who served the tea, but she still felt ashamed of the earlier incident. Jayden assured her there was nothing to be ashamed of, and Mina reluctantly left the room.
They searched room by room, avoiding the royal ones or in which guests were staying. Some time later, they found one of the cook's apprentices who claimed to have seen the maid going into the basement with the trash soon after she served the tea. A door that led to the sewers was in the pantry, and the trash was usually taken there at the end of the day. Mina found it strange that the maid would take it out earlier.
There were two ways to get to the pantry—through the basement or through an old rusty iron door that hadn't been opened in many years that was at the back of the wine cellar. Mina had never been to the basement before but was sure they could find the pantry's door.
It took around ten minutes for Jayden and Mina to locate the pantry. They were about to climb down the stairs leading to the sewers when Jayden said to Mina, "Let me go first. There might be rats or other creatures rummaging through the garbage. I want to be sure it is safe," he said before rushing down the stairs.
Mina waited for about a minute before following Jayden. Not because she wanted to disobey Jayden but because being alone in a pantry brought back bad memories. A few weeks after Mina moved in with her uncle, Rosalyn locked her in the family pantry. Mina stood there, in the darkness, for almost half a day until Hugo found her.
Fortunately, magic crystals illuminated not only the stairs but also part of the towpath. Wooden boxes filled with garbage were stacked on the old towpath, and Jayden was crouched next to them, staring at something.
Jayden stood fast and faced Mina. "Damn it, Mina! What did I tell you?"
But she did not listen as her eyes fell on the thing Jayden was looking at. Her eyes went wide, and she took a step backward. "I panic when I am alone in a pantry for more than a few minutes!" she said, her eyes glued to the trash boxes. "I am sorry," she said in a low tone.
Jayden moved in front of her and pulled her in for a hug. "Don't look!"
It was too late. Mina already saw the maid had been brutally killed. She might not have recognized the maid if not for her copper hair. Her skirts were up, and her undergarments were missing. The maid's legs were opened, and blood had stained the towpath and her thighs . Her chest was exposed, and part of her flesh was gone—rats probably ate from her. Bruises were on her neck, and her mouth was open as if she was screaming silently.
It was not the first time Mina had seen a dead person, but it was the cruelest she had seen. She took a peek, and when a rat came out of the maid's mouth, she felt like vomiting.
"Come on! I will take you to your room before I let the King know what happened," Jayden said as he helped Mina up the stairs. When they were in the room, and Mina was lying in bed, Jayden grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on top of them. "Would you like a cup of warm milk? Or wine?"
"No. Who could have done that to her?" Mina asked, referring to the maid.
Jayden clenched his jaw. "I don't know. Lord Ferry will probably lead an investigation to find out what happened. You should get some rest. It has been a long day, and so much has happened in a short time."
Mina nodded. Jayden kissed her forehead and stood to go and talk with the King, but she grabbed his hand. "Stay with me, at least until I fall asleep."
Jayden got in bed, and Mina put her head on his chest. They stayed like that, in silence, until Mina gradually relaxed and drifted off to sleep. Jayden waited a little longer before moving Mina from his chest onto the bed. He hated leaving her alone since whoever killed the maid could still be in the Palace, but he needed to alert the King. The thought of something happening to her made his chest hurt, and for the thousandth time, he wondered what was so special about her that all he could think about was her. He would lie and cheat and steal and kill for her. She was so sweet and innocent, but there was strength in her as well.
He might be a bastard, but he was one damn lucky bastard to have her as his mate.
He caressed her cheek, marveling at how soft it felt under his calloused fingers. Even in her sleep, she leaned into his touch, a little sigh of contentment leaving her lips. He bent and brushed his lips against her plump mouth. He loved everything about her—from her caramel skin to her mouth-watering scent. And each time he kissed her, she tasted like a ripe watermelon, and he couldn't get enough of her sweet mouth. He kissed her again before leaving the room.
A nightmare about the maid jolted Mina awake. Her eyes searched for Jayden, but he was gone. The bed next to her was still warm. Not wanting to be alone, she got up and decided to look for Jayden.
She was on the same floor as the Royal Rooms when she saw Rosalyn and Jayden entering an empty room. Her stomach dropped, and pain spread inside her chest. She tiptoed to the door, only to hear it getting locked. Next to it was a broom closet and an old register for ventilation was between the walls. Mina slipped inside.
Jayden and Rosalyn were standing in front of the bed, staring at each other.
"Do you prefer the bed or the floor?" he finally asked, and Mina bit her fist.
She could not believe Jayden would do such a thing.
Rosalyn removed her robe in silence, remaining naked before getting on the bed. Jayden observed each movement Rosalyn made. His face gave away no emotions.
A tear rolled down Mina's cheek. She thought Jayden cared for her, but he still loved Rosalyn. She would not let Jayden make a fool of her. And how could Rosalyn do something like that when Prince Liam and Nolan were sleeping close by?
Jayden kept staring at Rosalyn, and when he bent to remove his boots, Mina's hand went to the doorknob. Only Jayden did not reach for his boots but for Rosalyn's robe. He picked it up and threw it at her.
Mina stilled.
"Get dressed!" Jayden spat. "You disgust me!" He sat on a chair while Rosalyn put on the robe, her face red with shame. Or rage.
"I disgust you? Weren't you disgusted when you fucked that half—"
Jayden growled. "Do not insult my wife!"
"Jayden," Rosalyn said, climbed down from the bed and kneeled in front of Jayden.
She was about to place her palms on his thighs when he pushed the chair back and got away from her. "Do not touch me! The only hands I want on me are those of Mina!"
Tears fell from Rosalyn's eyes, and Jayden's gaze turned to ice. "I know I broke your heart, but I had no choice but to marry the Prince. But I don't love him! Each time he is inside me, I lay there hoping it will be over as soon as possible, and all I can think about is you and I together."
Jayden snorted. "Had no choice? Did someone hold a sword to your neck and forced you to say yes?"
"No, but—"
"Did you have no choice when you decided to lie to me each time you sent me letters?"
"No, but—"
"Did I give you no other choice but to accept the cheap silver bracelet I purchased with hard earned money I saved for many months, only to have it replaced by one full of diamonds?" he said, pointing at the bracelet Prince Liam gave her.
"Jayden! Listen! Please! I made a mistake, I know. But if I had known about your mother—"
"Keep my mother out of your filthy mouth!" Jayden growled. Rosalyn tried to get close to him, but he moved out of her reach. "What part of 'I don't want your hands on me' did you not understand?" he asked between gritted teeth.
"Jayden, please, I still love you! We can still have a life together, just like we planned. I sent a—"
"Silence! I only agreed to talk to you so I could tell you to stay away from Mina! If you harm even one strand of her hair, I will tell Prince Liam what class of a woman you are! And I am sure he won't be pleased to know his cousin's scent is all over you!"
Rosalyn paled. "I don't know what you mean!"
"I told you before, my nose works better than those of most men. You reek of other men, not only the Prince and his cousin!" Jayden said.
Mina put a hand against her mouth.
"Liam doesn't satisfy my needs, not the way you did!" Rosalyn explained. "But when you forgive me—"
Jayden laughed. "I think you are delusional. I will never forgive you, nor will I take you back!" He went to the door. “Go to your husband or whichever man you are fucking tonight! I am tired of seeing your face!”
"Mina doesn't love you! Not the way I do!" Rosalyn said.
Jayden turned on his heels. "Thank fuck for that! And even if Mina doesn't love me, what I once felt for you is gone! Dead and buried!"
Rosalyn cried. "I will run away with you!"
Jayden folded his arms. "And give up your spoiled life in the Palace? What about your child?"
"He can stay with his father. We will—"
"We will nothing! The only woman in my life is Mina!"
"You choose her over me?"
"Not even if I turn blind, deaf, or a complete idiot would I choose a slut like you over Mina! Or any other woman. And I will dedicate my entire life to making Mina happy!" he replied and opened the door.
Rosalyn went to him and slapped him before going out.
"This is the last time you touch me!" he said between gritted teeth.
Mina heard Rosalyn walk past the broom closet. She waited for Jayden to leave, and when his steps faded away, she opened the door only to find herself face-to-face with Jayden. His arms were folded over his chest, and his eyes narrowed.
Mina licked her lips. "Hi!" she squeaked.
"You are the naughtiest lamb I have ever met! You might need some punishment!" he said before getting inside the closet and closing the door behind him.
“What you said about Rosalyn is true? That she smells of other men?” Mina asked.
“I don't want to talk about her,” he replied before he kissed her.
Half an hour later, Jayden opened the door, and Mina was first to get out. Her lips were puffy, and her nipples were so sensitive that the smallest brush of her clothes made her moan. A strong pulse beat between her legs; each step she took was agonizing.
"Jayden," she begged him.
He kissed her ear. "You will come only when I let you," he said before grabbing her hand. "Let's talk to the King. I already lost a lot of time because of that slut!"