Oriana slipped into the chamber, her mood soured by the shaless antics of the man who relished teasing her at every turn. She went to the bed and sat at the headboard, her face red with anger.
As she glanced down at herself, her eyes scanning her chest. mories of their first encounter in the forest flooded back. ’I took such care to bind my chest tightly, layer upon layer, to mimic the firmness of a man’s physique. How could he still feel.....?’ Her expressions turned sour, ’He seems so experienced with won that nothing can miss him. That pervert, he really played for a fool for months.’
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her thoughts, signaling Arlan’s return. Oriana swiftly reclined on the bed, turning her back to the door and shutting her eyes tight.
’I can’t endure his teasing or his proximity any longer. It’s as though he’s determined to erode my resolve to keep my distance from him, to prevent myself from becoming entangled with him. I can’t let it happen. He deserves to find his mate, and I won’t stand in the way of his only chance at happiness, especially when it’s my own family who took away all of his happiness and left him to suffer. If I let him close to , he might not seek the only happiness he can get- his mate.’
Arlan entered the room and spotted Oriana feigning sleep. A smirk danced across his lips as he approached the bed. Sensing his presence, Oriana tensed, squeezing her eyes shut to maintain her facade.
Drawing nearer, Arlan enveloped her in a back hug. He felt her body stiffened, making the smirk on his lips to widen. "Feeling tired?" his voice laced with amusent.
Silence t his question. Unfazed, Arlan buried his face in her hair, "Glad you’re tired. It ans I can keep you close to for longer."
Oriana, who had been holding back her frustration, finally opened her eyes with a quiet sigh. "Can you not be so close all the ti? I want to sleep."
"You might sleep better this way. Don’t you know, nothing can be more comfortable than the warmth of your husband in such cold weather," Arlan countered, his tone light but insistent.
"I am used to sleeping alone even in the deadly cold. You don’t have to...."
"I won’t let you endure that anymore. I’ll always be here to keep you warm," he interjected firmly.
"I didn’t an I’m suffering," Oriana attempted to clarify.
"Rest now. Your body needs ti to heal," Arlan murmured, spooning her and indicating his intention to remain close. "I need healing too."
Ready to protest once more, Oriana swallowed her words and instead inquired, "Haven’t you healed yet?" Her concern was evident in her voice.
"My heart still needs nding," he teased lightly. "And you, my dear, are the cure."
Frowning at his persistent playfulness, Oriana fell silent, her thoughts swirling with conflicting emotions.
’He won’t answer . Once he sleeps, I will scry through his body and see how gravely he is hurt.’
She knew she had hurt him that night, yet he had not protested. She was angry, hurt and despised him for trying to sacrifice his life for her sake. He tricked her and left her helpless. So much bitterness she had felt and even if she didn’t want to hurt him, the darkness inside her was overpowering, the demoness inside her was unforgiving, wanting to destroy not just him but everything in existence.
Resigned, she allowed him to hold her, anticipating that he would soon drift off to sleep. Soon after Oriana felt his steady breathing against her back. Slow, ever so slow she moved her hand to his hand which was wrapped around her stomach. She checked his pulse and closed her eyes while trying to scrying through his body.
After a while, she opened her eyes with a deliberate shock. He was weak, so weak that he must not be able to use his powers at all. His vitality was poor and not even once he showed it on his face. How could he hold back for so long.
Her eyes turned moist. ’I am the one who hurt him when he was already weak. That damn Demoness, why did she have to ss up with my mind. She made hurt him, I can’t help but despise her. I don’t want to be Demoness, I want to be Oriana, an ordinary physician.’
Her hand caressed his hand gently in hers, trying to comfort him but more to herself. ’I shall ask King Drayce to heal him even if he doesn’t want it. He has declined King Drayce before so I have to force him to accept the help. I need to find a way.’
----
As evening descended, it was ti for the couple to honor an invitation from the Queen of garis. Arlan and Oriana had donned the attire of ordinary nobles, with Oriana disguising herself as a man as she often did. Exiting the manor, they found two horses awaiting them.
Oriana gazed at the imposing stallions, her brow furrowed in bewildernt. She scanned their surroundings but found no sign of a carriage.
"Shall we?" Arlan prompted, striding toward the waiting horses.
"Wait, are we riding these horses?" Oriana hesitated, her surprise evident.
Arlan turned to her, his expression implying her question was nonsensical. "We can’t walk there, can we? The journey is quite a distance."
"But why not take a carriage?" Oriana persisted.
"We can’t risk using a royal carriage; it would attract unwanted attention. And we don’t have an ordinary carriage available, as we’ve never needed one before here in wildridge manor," Arlan explained in serious manner.
"But... I can’t ride a horse," Oriana admitted, her anxiety mounting. She couldn’t decline the Queen’s invitation, yet the thought of riding a horse was daunting.
"Then ride with ," Arlan offered.
"Ride with you?" Oriana echoed, uncertainty coloring her tone.
"Yes, on my horse. You’ll sit with ," Arlan clarified, his deanour serious, as if anymore question from her would make her look like a fool in front of him.
Oriana could already envision the scenario: riding the horse ant unavoidable closeness, a prospect that made her uneasy. Yet, she found herself without any other viable option.
"Is there truly no alternative?" she inquired, her hope flickering.
"We do have another option," Arlan replied, montarily raising her hopes before dashing them. "You could ride the other horse alone."
The urge to curse surged within Oriana, but she swallowed it back with a resigned sigh.
"We’re running out of ti. Her Majesty awaits," Arlan reminded her, striding toward his horse. Pausing beside it, he fixed her with a serious gaze. "Will you join , or do you prefer to learn horseback riding tonight on your own?"
The re thought of riding alone filled Oriana with dread. Silently, she followed Arlan. With his assistance, she mounted the horse effortlessly, and in one fluid motion, he settled behind her.
As soon as his chest pressed firmly against her back and his hands enclosed hers on the reins, Oriana’s body tensed. Despite having shared a bed with him and been in close proximity before, this felt unnervingly intimate. Her palms grew clammy, and her heart raced with an unfamiliar intensity.
"Relax, Oriana. Don’t tense up or you’ll regret it with a sore back later," Arlan’s voice drifted over her head as he guided the horse. "Try to move with the horse’s rhythm."
She offered a slight nod, though every fiber of her being urged her to lean forward, to create so distance between them. The warmth of his chest against her back sent heat flushing to her cheeks.
anwhile, Imbert and Rafal, also in disguise, mounted their horses and trailed behind their liege.
Observing the scene, Kerry, the knight, remarked, "I never imagined His Highness would resort to this. We have plenty of ordinary carriages available, yet he concocted such a swift lie for his wife."
The butler, standing nearby, chuckled in response. "You’ll understand once you have a woman in your life," he quipped before retreating into the manor with a pleasant smile adorning his lips.
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