Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress-Chapter 87: Finding A Balance Between Duty And Understanding The Devil

Chapter 87: Finding A Balance Between Duty And Understanding The Devil

Highly Recommended Listening: Evenstar—By Howard Shore]

Why was the lady so concerned with him in the first place? Was it because she believed there was good in darkness just like her mother did?

Orpheus still believed it was a naive take on life, and he wasn’t quite sure whether he liked that she pitied him or whether it angered him because it was a sign of his weakness.

"Do not pity me," Orpheus said, his voice softer than before. Never in his life did he ever think that a woman would shed tears for him. "I should have died that day, but something in me burnt too strong for me to let go of the world."

Lady Karina was even more in a dilemma than she had ever been. This man, this beast of a conqueror who pillaged and destroyed as he pleased, led such a terrible life.

It was the opposite of everything she had ever known, the other side of the coin of everything she had ever been taught.

Their worlds were far apart, too different, too conflicting. She despised the things he did; she had come to breed hate for him because that was how she should have felt.

It was only right to hate one’s enemy, to loathe them and wish for revenge. But now? Where did that leave her standing? She shouldn’t have been swayed by his past, by the cruelties he endured, yet she was.

That wasn’t to say that Lady Karina would forget and forgive everything Orpheus had done, all that he had taken from her, but was there a chance she could set aside revenge and try to understand what was hidden behind his actions?

Surely, there must have been a reason behind such rage and such an appetite for bloodshed. Perhaps it was his curse; perhaps it was something more. She didn’t need him to tell her that the Pale Beast was now inhabiting his body.

That red glimmer she’d been seeing, like a second pair of eyes, was enough to confirm that suspicion. Was it the creature that was controlling his actions? Or was it his ambitions to prove that he would become the most feared in the world?

Lady Karina needed to know. It was a difficult decision, since she wanted to regain her homeland, to protect her people and the beasts, and to drive the Van Merikh army away.

So what should she have done?

"Whether you should have died that day or not, you should not have been alone to bear something like that," Lady Karina uttered with a shaky breath.

She lifted her head, cupping his face between her warm hands.

"If there was a way to turn back time, I wish I could take it away from you," she confessed. Orpheus was surprised by the sincerity in her eyes, but he didn’t doubt it one bit. "I am so sorry...truly."

Again. The lady had apologised. For something that wasn’t even her fault, yet she held the courage to say she was sorry for all the cruelty he faced when she wasn’t even a part of it or had no hand in it.

"It is not for you to apologise." Orpheus slipped his arms around her waist and tugged her against his sturdy body, burying his face in her neck. "Do not speak of this to anyone. My weaknesses and shortcomings...must never be known."

Here the man was, vulnerable and pleading not to be exposed; it was a contrast to the beast she first knew. It was as if she could feel the unhealed parts of his inner child clinging to her, asking to be saved, to be heard, to be loved.

Lady Karina chose not to let her heart blind her, but neither would she turn it to stone.

She decided that understanding Orpheus didn’t mean excusing his actions. And if anything, it made her more dangerous to him because now she could speak to the tender man in him and not just the warlord that the world knew.

If she wanted to uncover every part of him, then she would need to begin asking questions, precise ones, not to comfort him but to peel back the layers he hid behind.

Lady Karina couldn’t afford to be soft, not when her people and homeland remained lost, but she could be clever.

The more she understood Orpheus, the better her chances were of finding the cracks in his armour—whether to save him or strike him down when the time came.

Lady Karina let a silence hang between them before she finally spoke.

"You said something inside you burned too strong to die," she spoke calmly, steadily as her fingers tangled in his hair. "What was it? Was it vengeance? Or pride? Or..." She paused, her gaze holding his. "Was it fear?"

Orpheus didn’t answer right away. He pulled back slightly, his expression unreadable, but she didn’t allow him to turn away from her. Her hands came up to his face again, as if to make sure his eyes remained on hers.

"You carry so much rage, Orpheus," Lady Karina stated, her eyes softening with something he’d seen before. It wasn’t quite pity, but something more. "So much need to conquer and prove yourself. But to whom? The world already fears your name."

It was something she had asked him before, the first time when he spoke about his father. Why was she asking again? Was his answer not clear enough?

"What is it that you’re still chasing, my pet?" Her eyes crinkled at the corner when a soft smile surfaced.

He couldn’t tell her it was the beast inside him. He couldn’t tell her that it was the creature’s bloodlust because it fed on his violence and his rage. And if he didn’t keep it fed, it would eventually devour him whole.

Orpheus opened his mouth as if to speak but closed it again, his jaw clenched. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"You were cursed," Lady Karina continued, watching as he moved away and sat down on one of the wooden chairs. "Branded a second time. That’s not something done lightly, so what did you sacrifice in order to earn it?"

She was not easy to fool. She could tell he lied when he claimed he had no memory of what happened in the space between life and death.

For the first time in his life, Orpheus had been at a loss for words. He wasn’t a man who revealed anything about himself, much less his curse.

And what the lady did next was even more bewildering. He wasn’t sure when she had found such boldness, aside from her sharp tongue, but she casually placed herself on his lap as if she belonged there.

And she did. That is where his future wife belonged, but the more he thought on that prospect, the more foolish it had begun to sound. Lady Karina was so far out of his reach, slipping between his fingers every time he tried to reach for her.

Instinctively, Orpheus let his hands perch on her waist, soft and curvy just the way he appreciated it. She was somewhat self-conscious, clearing her throat while that sweet colour he always knew had risen in her cheeks.

"Will you not answer me?" Lady Karina pressed gently, tracing the scar on his chest with her fingers. "What did the beast take from you?"

Orpheus finally looked at her-really looked—and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if she saw the man or the beast staring back since the crimson glimmer was faint.

But she didn’t flinch. Instead, she took initiative. One hand cradled the back of his head, and the other rested on his shoulder when she brought her lips to his.

It was yet another surprise to Orpheus, for all his will and resistance had crumbled in a single moment. Greedily, his tongue swept through her lips to taste the sweet caverns of her mouth.

He could feel her fast-paced breath against his cheek while his fingers dug into the softness of her waist. She had kissed him willingly, and that had meant more to him than he would ever admit.

As always, her lips were so soft, so plump, so succulent that he could drown in their taste. Her small moans that slipped from the back of her throat as he deepened the kiss were driving him mad, more insane than he’d ever been.

Lady Karina could feel herself being devoured, like the man was eating her rather than kissing her. It was she who initiated it, but that didn’t stop Orpheus from showing that he was the one in charge.

His kiss was ravenous, hot, and demanding. Enough that it made her thoughts deter and her mind swirl. She had missed such kisses, wanting them more than anything even though it was forbidden and wrong.

It was so wrong and yet felt so right, so right that she was willing to let him wander a little further if he wanted.

And by the time their lips disconnected, they were both panting, short of breath, foreheads pressed together.

"Please, Karina," Orpheus all but pleaded, his eyes holding desperation that she’d never seen before. "Do not ask me what I traded for it." His voice dropped. "It was a cost no man should ever pay."