When the morning ca, Evelyn stirred under the cover and slowly opened her clear blue eyes. She lay there for a mont, staring at the ceiling, then stretched like a lazy cat before sitting up. The mont she sat, she felt a sudden dull throbbing pain hit her temples.
"Ugh...my head" she mumbled while pressing her hands to either side of it. "Feels like I was hit by a carriage.."
As she gently rubbed her head, scattered mories from the previous night crept back in, first the ball, then the garden....the scandalous couple...and then her breath caught.
Her hands went still, her heart began to beat faster as the mories flooded back, behind the tree, Ivan, her hands touching his face, his neck, his hair...his voice..and then her own voice echoed in her mind: ’Touch ...Ivan.’
She felt like her world was crumbling, piece by piece. A soft gasp escaped her lips "Oh Goddess," she whispered, mortified "I have sinned!"
Then she froze, as she felt that unmistakable presence in her room, one that she recognised far too well. Slowly, almost dreading what she’d see, she lifted her head and turned to her left. "No way...this isn’t happening," she breathed.
Evelyn had gone positively pale, a stark contrast to her flushed appearance the night before.
There he sat on her sofa with a lazy grace, one arm propped up to rest his cheek on, his legs crossed, looking very much like the gorgeous prince that he was. His expression was unreadable, but there was sothing in his eyes she couldn’t quite place. All in all his face gave nothing away.
He watched her quietly as she stretched like a cat, with her hair splayed beautifully around her, her satin robe slipping halfway off her shoulder, revealing the soft skin beneath her delicate spaghetti-strap satin nightgown. He heard her mumble, then noticed the rise in her heartbeat and understood that she was slowly recalling the event of the previous night.
Now she sat on her bed and looked at him with an incredulous look on her face, one he found rather adorable. A streak of possessiveness surged through him for this beautiful, innocent princess sitting in front of him. At that mont, all he wanted was to keep this view to himself, not share it with anyone else.
He hadn’t slept much after hearing her utter another man’s na so tenderly. The mory of it made his jaw clench, even though he had stayed by her side all night because she begged him to, yet her lips called out to soone else. The thought alone was enough to darken his features.
While he was lost in his thoughts he heard her ask, "This isn’t a dream..is it?" She gave him a small, sheepish smile.
He finally decided to speak and replied, "No."
At his answer, her smile vanished. Her eyes slowly widened and a blush blood on her face. Without another word, she buried her face in her hands, started to shake her head and mumbled, "No, no, no...this isn’t happening. This has to be a nightmare...Oh gods, kill !"
Before she could spiral further, Ivan slowly got up and walked over to her. He sat down in front of her on the bed and gently held both of hands and at his touch she stilled.
"Look at , Evelyn," he said softly.
At the sound of her na on his lips, she slowly lifted her crimson face. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, but sohow, she was holding herself back.
Still holding her wrists lightly, he said in a calm voice, "Whatever happened last night, whatever you think you did with , didn’t happen. Nothing happened."
But she shook her head again, as if unable to believe him, her mories were still scattered and whatever fragnts she recalled seed to suggest otherwise. So tears slowly began to fill her clear blue eyes as she spoke in a quivering tone, "I..." she gulped, "..I offered myself to you...didn’t I?," she whispered.
"How..how can I.." she whispered, then looked down in sha, refusing to et his eyes.
Ivan let go of her hands and her heart sank further under the weight of guilt. But before she could spiral deeper in self-loathing, she felt his warm palms gently cup her cheeks, guiding her face up to et his gaze.
When her eyes t his intense molten red ones, he spoke in a calm, unwavering voice. "Didn’t I tell you, never lower your gaze when you’ve done nothing wrong?" His voice was firm but comforting. "When I say nothing happened, I an it, I’m not soone who sugarcoats the truth. I believe in speaking it honestly and that’s exactly what I’m giving you now."
He paused, letting his words sink in so that she wouldn’t feel too overwheld and then continued, "The truth is...you were drugged last night, with a very potent aphrodisiac. I found you after you suddenly ran away from the ball. After that whatever you did...or thought you did, none of it was your fault. Nothing happened between us. That drug is powerful enough to cloud judgent and twist reality, to make soone say and want things they wouldn’t otherwise."
His voice dropped slightly, more serious. "I would never touch you under that kind of influence. It’s against my principles and it is a cri and that’s why that drug is banned in this kingdom."
As Eve sat there listening to him, she noticed there was no judgent in his voice, just calmness. A strange mix of fear and calmness washed over her at the sa ti.
Her eyes searched his as she slowly asked, "Who? Who did this to ?"
Ivan’s jaw clenched at her question and she saw his eyes montarily flash molten orange as he tried to rein in his anger. "I’ll find out who it was," he said, voice low and deadly calm. "Whoever it is... they will not go unpunished."
When she saw his resolute fire in his eyes, she slowly nodded. The realisation that soone had done sothing so vile to her left her horrified. A cold shiver ran down her spine at the thought, what if soone else found her instead of Ivan?
Ivan could feel the fear radiating off her, and said softly, "You’re safe, Evelyn."
When she refocused on him, he said firmly, "I will catch everyone responsible...so you have nothing to fear."
"Bu..But they failed yesterday," she whispered. "They’ll co after again."
At her words, his lips curled ever so slightly, "Have you forgotten that you are no weak princess?" he asked, rubbing his thumb lightly over her cheek. "You have the power to lt a darkrot into nothingness. You are not to fear, you are to be feared, princess."
He continued, "You’ll start your training to control your powers soon, then you won’t need this locket to hide you. Besides, you have three pure-blooded, powerful vampires on your side until then." At his words, her heart skipped a beat.
"Let that filthy rat co out," he added darkly. "I’ll be there to burn him. No one gets away with foul play under my nose."
Again, she felt exhilarated by his encouraging words and she finally spoke softly, "Thank you for everything...and please forgive if I have unintentionally crossed any lines I shouldn’t have, Your Highness." This ti, she didn’t look away, she t his gaze with quiet courage.
He gave her a slight nod and finally let go of her cheeks, though she still felt the burn of his touch lingering there.
"You should drink plenty of water and get so more rest. The side effects of that kind of drug are headaches and dehydration." he said.
Then he stood and stepped back, regaining his usual composed distance. "Rest a little more, then get ready. Cece will probably barge in the mont she wakes up."
"She must be really worried.." she gave him an apologetic smile.
"She’s fine, I inford them yesterday." He turned to leave, only to pause.
"Evelyn."
"Yes?" she asked, wondering why he suddenly called her na.
He turned and asked, "What did that guy say to you when he approached you? Did he hand you the glass of wine?"
She thought for a second, then her eyes widened, "Yes, he did. He called over a server, picked a glass from the tray and handed it to . Now that I recall, even though I didn’t take a proper sip, I did let it touch my lips, so I must’ve gulped a couple of drops. I rember it leaving a bitter and thick aftertaste."
"Do you...think it is him?" she asked as her brows furrowed.
"Hm, it could’ve been his doing or maybe soone else used him as a scapegoat."
He went silent for a second, then said, "Don’t consu anything given to you by anyone from now on. Sotis just a few drops are enough, whether it is a potion or poison. Trust no one and stay alert."
She pursed her lips in regret that sohow she was also not careful enough and responded softly, "Yes, I’ll keep that in mind."
"Good." He then turned around and finally left.
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