Klevon lays me on my bed. My bed, because he enters my room instead of the King. Two guards are behind him, hesitating about what to do. They are given orders to guard me in the King's room, not in my room.
"The King… the attack…" I start.
He pushes on my forehead, which forces me back to the bed. "Stay with your guards, Kaiya. You're not in a position to worry about someone. You look sick."
"I am not sick! I still go about my daily duties!"
"Fine. Not sick, but weak. You won't be able to call up your magic and help in this state."
"But the King!"
"Sense that?" he asks. "It's Brandon and Lorant's magic. They are winning. There's no need for me either," he says and sits beside my bed.
As instructed, I relax on the bed and calm myself. I close my eyes and lay my hands on my stomach. I ‌sense the surrounding magic. It is minuscule now. I can only feel Brandon's magic, maybe because I am familiar with him. The unfamiliar magic also disappeared, which means the battle is finished too quickly.
I feel my bed shift. I open my eyes, and instead of the ceiling, I see Klevon's face, which is so close to me. As if he is about to lay a kiss on my lips.
He grins. "Too bad. You open your eyes too quickly."
I am about to use my magic when I feel the air shift. The two guards have their knives situated in Klevon's neck. I sit up at the same time that Klevon raises his arms in defeat.
"Kaiya, your guards are too strict this time," he jests.
"Captain Klevon, please leave. You are not allowed in Miss Kaiya's room."
Klevon slowly turns his attention toward the voice. "Miss Meeghan. So, the King assigned you as the new handmaid. A great choice, I must say."
The four people in my room continue to discuss me. Klevon retreats from my room while the other three threaten him. But my focus is on my magic. I called it earlier, but it did not respond to my call. Am I too weak to use it? Is it because of my pregnancy?
I shift my attention back to Klevon, Meeghan, and my two guards. They are pushing Klevon out of the room. Despite the scene, there is a smile on his face, as if he is teasing the other three.
Sensing my eyes on him, he waves. "Hey, cursed witch! Let's talk sometime." And then, he disappears from the room. Too much for knowing how to treat a woman. Ain't he just a thug?
The two guards also disappear from my room while Meeghan returns to my side. She's wiping some sweat due to the stress caused by Klevon's appearance, as well as the effect of magic on her. She's only able to move when the magic becomes negligible.
"She didn't touch you, right?" she asks. She looks exasperated.
"Cursed witch?" I whisper. "Is that what I am called now? Not a whore?"
Meeghan pauses. It's obvious on her face that she's thinking of a good answer. She is looking at me, but her eyes are narrowed and unfocused. And then, she makes a heavy sigh. She turns towards the door and then to me.
"You are also called like that," she finally answers.
I frown? Not understanding her.
"You are also called the King's cursed whore. But those who call you that are just jealous of the affection the King has for you. They want him for themselves."
Affections to make love, she means? But I keep that to myself.
"I think the same way. But looking at you now, I think it's not such a great thing to have the King's affection after all."
"How do I look now?" I ask, grateful for her honesty. Or is this really honesty?
"Take a good look at the mirror sometimes."
I am about to retort when the door to my room opened. Theo comes in. There is a worried look on his face and when he sees me, relief passes over his features.
"Kaiya!" Theo screams. "Why are you here?! I specifically ordered for you to stay in my room!"
Then he pulls me into his embrace. "My room has protection spells, you should be there. Not here," he whispers. I can sense him kissing my head.
Suddenly, he picks me up from my bed. Meeghan and the two guards follow, but when we enter the King's room, they stay outside.
Being back in his room, with me in his arms, I know what he wants again. But instead of going directly to his bed, he sits on the divan with me on his lap. He tightens his arms around me as he buries his face in my chest.
With nowhere to go, I let my arm wrap around his neck. He purrs in satisfaction, but I don't share the same sensation as him. I can smell magic on him, but more than that, there is still the smell of women.
I snort. I even stopped asking when his duty to his country will end. Documents in the day, the women at night, and he says his life is boring. Such a liar of a man.
He draws back from me and looks at my face. "You are angry about something," he comments, his brows knitted.
Right, I forgot. I marked him, so even if he is a human, somehow he will sense my emotions.
"It's nothing," I whisper.
"If it's about the assault, it's not an issue. General Brandon, Waluyo, and Lorant are there. General Lorant specifically is very passionate about protecting me. He didn't even allow me to use my magic."
"Hmm…" I mutter.
"Don't tell me you've heard that you are being called the Cursed Witch, a Dark Lord's spawn?"
I didn't respond again. He's stalling, I know. And this silence, he is just filling it up with words and myths. Besides, the witch term is no longer used. Witches are actually female mages. The wizards are the male mages, like Klevon and Brandon, and a lot of other humans.
"Don't worry about it. I am being attacked because I am a King and the Kingdom is getting stronger. It has nothing to do with your luck and mine. Besides, the Dark Lord is just a myth and I don't believe that you are a cursed witch or a cursed mage."
Too much talking. Is he making a point? Maybe he is just trying to confuse me again. I love him, but he doesn't have the mate bond, so I doubt his feelings for me are real.
So, I go away from his embrace and stand before him. I start to undress. It's better to get this over with. Besides, this is what he came for. The sooner, the better. And the less damage to my heart.
He catches my arm as I undress. "What are you doing?" he asks.
I slap his hand away. "I miss you, my King. I want you now," I say.
I let my dress crumple on my feet and, fully naked in front of him; I watch how his eyes travel from my eyes to my face, to my lips, neck, and down to my toes.
"Kaiya…" he whispers. "We can't do this. Harbin says you're weak because of the pregnancy."
I straddle him and touch his jaws. "You don't want me, my King?"
His face darkens in desire, just as I expected. He wraps his arms around my hips and lifts me. I wind my legs around his waist and my arms interlace around his neck. We gaze into each other's eyes and how I wish this adoring gaze is real. We didn't even break the connection when he stands and gently places me on the soft mattress.
"Are you sure about this, Kaiya? I won't hurt you?"
I want to laugh in his face. Hurt me by having sex with me? His worries are misplaced. Him, having a harem of women that he needs to impregnate, hurts me more than having rough sex with him. Rather, sex with him makes me delude myself that my mate really loves me, as much as I love him.
"You won't hurt me, my King," I answer.
For a time now, he didn't even notice that I was not calling him 'Theo' as he asked me to. He's too focused on sex that he forgets everything.
The thought makes me whimper. Theo shifts his attention back to my face, as if deciding whether he will continue.
To help him decide, I pull his face towards me and I kiss him full in the mouth. I sense his surprise, but it didn't take long before he is kissing me back. His response has so much more passion than I initially have done. This love is exhausting, confusing, and painful... I hope I didn't mate with him.
Abruptly, Theo pulls back from the kiss. He is frowning as he stares into my face. There is pain in his expression, and he is breathing hard.
"What did you just think about, Kaiya?" he asks. His voice is cold and even. My heart takes a jump. I've seen him mad before, but this, he is enraged at something.
"What?"
"You," he clenches his jaws. "It feels like you…" He sits up. He is studying my face. "Are you…" he swallows hard.
"What is it, my King?" I ask.
"Remember that you marked me," he whispers. "Even if I am a human, I can sense some of your emotions."
I purse my lips. Should I stop thinking when I am together with him? Else he will sense my pain every time I smell the other women in him?
"Damn it!" he curses. He crawls towards me, and then, "You-" he pauses midway again as if he wants to ask me something, yet afraid that once it comes out of his mouth, it will come true.
He gets off the bed and runs his fingers through his hair. He keeps on glancing at me and he is turning red. I don't get it. This is the first time he pulls back from my kiss. Does he think that I am no longer desirable because I am pregnant? But the bump on my belly is still not showing. It's just a few weeks!
Theo rushes towards me and then whispers, "Let's continue this some other day. I need to leave."
When I am left alone on his bed, naked and staring at the door-My mind is shouting at him with a resentful, 'Liar!'
And then tears fall because I know where he is heading next.