Yue-Senn POV

The memory of her lips was a burning, agonizing brand against my own.

By the time I slipped out of the palace and made it back to my room at the Spring Inn, I was completely consumed by a raging, maddening wave of sexual frustration. I was furious with myself. I was a king in all but name, a man who prided himself on absolute, cold-blooded control, yet a single, shy taste of my future queen had completely unraveled me. I could still feel the desperate squeeze of her fingers on my shoulders, still hear the faint, breathless moan that had escaped her when my teeth grazed her neck.

I didn’t even give my men a second glance as I stormed past them. I stripped off and shoved myself straight into a freezing, unforgiving bath. The icy water shocked my skin, but it did nothing to quench the dark, possessive heat clawing at my chest. She was my wife now. Bound wearing my ring, yet she was still miles away.

After freezing the edge off my temper, I stepped out, wrapping a light blue towel around my waist. I sat heavily on the edge of the mattress, my skin still slick with cold moisture.

"Ki-ri," I called out, my voice a low, vibrating in the quiet room.

The door opened instantly, and Ki-ri stepped inside, his hazel eyes alert, his posture as stiff and immaculate as ever.

I looked up at him through the damp strands of my dark hair. "Is it done? Did you kill the priest?"

Ki-ri gave a single, firm nod. There was no hesitation, no remorse. The elderly man who had just bound us was dead. It was a cold necessity.

"Good," I muttered, running a hand over my face.

Before Ki-ri could step back into the hall, a soft knock rattled the outer door. He slipped out to check, only to return a moment later with a deeply perplexed expression cutting across his features.

"My lord," Ki-ri whispered, lowering his head. "Princess Aiyolistra is here to see you."

An incredulous laugh nearly escaped my throat. I couldn’t believe the sheer audacity of the woman. To risk coming to my room at this late hour, right when the palace alarms had just been resetting? It was a reckless, desperate play.

"Let her in," I commanded coldly.

I stood up, pulling on a pair of dark trousers, but I didn’t bother with a shirt. Let her be uncomfortable. Ki-ri turned, sweeping the door open, and Princess Aiyolistra glided into the room, flanked closely by two of her personal royal guards.

Her long, chaotic curls of blazing, vibrant red hair fell around her shoulders like wildfire, contrasting sharply against her sun-kissed skin and the delicate, pale purple silk of her gown. Her pointed elven ears caught the candlelight, adorned with heavy dangling crystal earrings. But her deep purple eyes were frantic, burning with hidden intent as she stepped onto my floorboards.

"What do you want at this hour, Princess Aiyolistra?" I asked, my voice dripping with dangerous indifference.

"I am just here to talk," she replied, her gaze instantly dropping. Her purple eyes trailed deliberately across my bare chest, my tattoo, lingering on the traces of water clinging to my skin, before rising to take in my wet, pitch-black hair and the faint, glowing emerald of my eyes. She cleared her throat, trying to regain her royal composure. "I saw you leaving her room."

I stayed sitting on the edge of my bed, completely unfazed by her gaze. I took the discarded towel, tossing it over my head to casually start drying my wet hair, letting the shadow of the fabric obscure the dark irritation across my face.

"A husband can’t visit his wife?" I countered smoothly, the words sliding like silk from my tongue.

"You two aren’t married yet," her tone sharp with a sudden, bitter edge. "And last I checked, my father explicitly said you weren’t allowed any contact with her until the ceremony."

I didn’t care to even look at her. I completely ignored her gaze, letting the towel drop around my neck. Instead, I lifted my hand, looking down at the heavy gold and emerald crescent-moon ring gleaming on my finger. A slow, mocking smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I idly played with the band, rotating the foliage-etched metal against my skin.

"What is it that you want?" I asked again, my patience wearing thin.

Aiyolistra took a step forward, her guards shifting behind her. She looked at me with an intensity "I am here to ask you to stick to the original arrangements... and marry me instead."

I paused, my fingers freezing on the emerald ring. Slowly, I tilted my head, finally fixing my glowing green eyes on her desperate face.

"No."

The rejection was absolute, cold enough to freeze the blood in her veins.

"My future sister-in-law should not be here this late asking me to marry her," I said. I looked past her to the two men at her flanks. "Guards, take her back to the palace."

Before she could storm away, I leaned forward, ensuring my voice carried the full weight of a king’s warning. "And please know, Princess Aiyolistra... there are ears and eyes watching this inn. So do watch what you say. When your father asks, I would strongly advise you to be entirely truthful about this little midnight meeting." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Aiyolistra’s face contorted with a mixture of rage and profound humiliation. Looking completely upset, she whipped around, her heavy purple skirts flaring as she stormed out of my room, her guards quickly scrambling to follow her.

The heavy door slammed shut, leaving nothing but the echo of her frantic steps behind.

A wave of intense irritation washed over me, the lingering scent of her roses making the air feel foul.

I snapped my gaze to my servant, my jaw tight.

"Ki-ri," I growled, tossing the towel aside. "Get me a different room."