Chapter 14
941 Words
DIANA
By the time we reached the Central Palace, night had already fallen.
I stared through the carriage window as enormous towers rose into the darkness ahead. Lights glowed from thousands of windows, turning the palace into something almost unreal.
Aeris had gone back to Volkar, saying his duty was there but he'd appear anytime I needed him, just like he had.
The palace was beautiful.
Last time, I had been too anxious to notice. Then I remembered who lived inside it and my stomach churned.
The carriage rolled through the gates and came to a stop. Outside, servants and guards were already waiting.
The moment the door opened, cold evening air rushed inside.
"Your Highness," one of the attendants greeted with a bow.
Everything happened so quickly after that.
Servants took my luggage. Maids gathered around me while Sarah and Mina stayed close as we were escorted through what felt like endless hallways with gold, crystal, and marble.
The Central Palace was completely different from Volkar. Volkar looked gothic while this place had exquisite decor.
Eventually, the attendants stopped before a pair of doors.
"Her Majesty has prepared this chamber for you, Your Highness."
The doors opened and I stepped inside.
The room was larger than my suite back in Oakhaven.
A big bed was placed at the center. A fire crackled softly in a fireplace while moonlight spilled through tall windows overlooking the palace gardens.
"Creator," Mina breathed."This is beautiful."
I silently agreed.
"Your bath is prepared, Your Highness," one of the maids informed me.
I nodded tiredly because at this point, all I wanted was sleep.
The maids attended to everything while Sarah and Mina unpacked some of our things.
Not long afterward, I sank into the steaming bath and nearly groaned in relief. For the first time since the attack, I felt some of the tension leave my body.
By the time I changed into a nightgown, I could barely keep my eyes open. Tomorrow, I would meet the woman who had tried to have me killed. The thought should have terrified me, but I was too exhausted to think.
I climbed into the bed and pulled the blankets up to my chin. Within minutes, sleep claimed me.
Tomorrow could wait.
..........................
Something woke me.
At first, I thought it was a dream.
The room was silent save for the soft crackle of embers in the fireplace.
Everything was still, yet my eyes snapped open.
A familiar sensation stirred in my chest. That strange pull, the same one that had haunted me since arriving in the North.
Slowly, I pushed myself up against the silk pillows. Then I saw a figure standing near the doors, far from the bed, watching me.
My breath caught.
The moonlight caught the lines of his attire. He wore a dark leather tunic that split down the center to reveal the broad and defined muscles of his chest.
I should have screamed. A man was standing inside my chambers in the middle of the night. Yet for some reason, I wasn't frightened.
My heart was beating too fast, sending a strange heat rushing through my veins.
For several moments, neither of us spoke.
"Who is there?" I whispered finally.
Silence lingered for an agonizing beat.
"How are you?" The deep voice rolled through the darkness, vibrating straight through my chest.
Draven.
I sat up straighter, my mind scrambling to process his sudden presence.
The last time I had seen him was beside the roaring waterfall, a month ago. And now he was standing in my chamber in the middle of the night, as though appearing out of thin air was perfectly normal.
"Your Highness?"
He didn't answer. Instead, his piercing white eyes moved slowly over me. It didn't make me uncomfortable, but it made me hyper aware of the thin fabric of my nightgown.
It felt like he was checking something.
"You were attacked." He finally said.
My stomach tightened into a painful knot. So he knew about the attack.
For reasons I couldn't explain, that realization didn't comfort me. It made me furious.
"You knew?"
His expression remained blank. "Yes."
I stared at him, my fury growing rapidly.
"You knew," I repeated, my fingers tightening around the blankets. "And yet you never came."
He still didn't say anything.
I swung my legs down the bed and stood up on the cold floor. The moment my feet touched the ground, he went completely rigid. His reaction was so abrupt that I noticed it across the dark room.
Why did he always do that? Why did he always react as though my physical presence was somehow unbearable to his senses?
"You disappeared for a month," I said, taking a bold step towards him.
"I had responsibilities."
I let out a short laugh. "Of course."
His eyes narrowed, but I ignored the silent warning and took another step. "You left without a single word."
"Diana."
The way he growled my name made a shiver run straight down my spine.
"Now you appear in my room after someone tries to kill me, and casually ask how I am?"
"You were injured?" he asked suddenly.
The question caught me off guard. "What?"
"Were you injured?" He repeated as though the answer genuinely mattered to him.
"No," I whispered.
The tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. That subtle relief made me even angrier, because if he cared, why act like this? Why leave me locked away?
Why keep looking at me as though I was a burden he couldn't stand to be near?
I took another step closer.
Immediately, the air in the chamber chilled.
"Stop."
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