Episode 18
607 Words
Raina froze for a moment before realizing that he was referring to the wounds on her hands, the marks was from the previous day’s punishment.
It's hard to heal when silver pliers was involved.
She quickly lowered her gaze “Prince veyne.”
Veyne's golden eyes was on Raina's fingers, his frown deepening. “You’re injured again.”
His tone was calm and very cold, as if he had no true concern but just passing a remark.
"It was my carelessness," Raina replied quietly.
“Then why are you here instead of attending to my father?”
"I should leave now..."
She bowed slightly, preparing to step past him when he spoke again.
"Raina."
She stopped, keeping her eyes lowered. “Does the Prince have any commands?”
Veyne stood so close now that Raina could feel the heat coming out from his body.
His scent, Amber musk and a hint of Sandalwood was too strong for Raina not to perceive them.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
“In this world, those who don’t bow… break.” Veyne suddenly said. His voice so low. It was nearly a whisper.
Raina swallowed hard.
There was silence between them. Then, slowly, Raina lowered her head and murmured, “Thank you for your wisdom, my Prince.”
She stepped aside to leave.
Just then a voice sounded toward them. “Here you are, Prince Veyne."
The voice alone was enough to calm a racing heart.
Raina lifted her head slightly as a slender figure walk out from the garden, the golden sunlight casting a halo around her.
Her skin was flawless. Spotless.
She smiled as she approached,
“River?” Veyne tone softened, his usual icy expression softing. The corner of his lips even twitched into something close to a smile.
Raina remained silent, though she know who it was.
River, the daughter of a high ranking noble, had been selected by the late Alpha King as the intended mate of Crown Prince Kai.
She was, in a sense, Raina’s rival.
Not that River would know it. They had never spoken, only glimpsed each other at formal events.
Even now, she barely spared Raina a glance before turning her attention back to Prince veyne.
“Who was that maid you were speaking with?” she asked, her voice lace with curiosity.
"It’s nothing," Prince veyne replied. "I was only advising her."
Raina smirked faintly as she watched both of them walk away.
The guard who had been by the side watching the show all this while suddenly cleared his throat.
Raina suddenly let out a low soft breath as she left without another word.
The scent of fresh soil and cold stone replaced the fragrant gardens as they walk closer to a building.
The small, windowless building sat near the outer walls, the door was slightly ajar.
The guard step forward as Raina shifted back, giving him space to push open the door.
Raina hesitated before entering the building.
Inside, the air was thick with the metallic tang of old blood. Shackles hung from the walls, next to whips lined with silver barbs and sharpened claws meant to dig into flesh.
Seeing the shackles and silver barbs, a shiver ran down Raina’s spine.
The room was empty.
Her pulse quickened.
Cautiously, she took few more steps into the chamber, the wooden floor creaking under her. Just as she reached the center of the room,
SLAM.
The door behind her shut with force.
Her heart pounded as footsteps sounded from the next room, slow and deliberate. A shadow moved behind the thin curtain.
And then, a figure walk out.
- Writer
