novelnext Chapter 14: A Mystery
Chapter 14: A Mystery
Chapter 14: A Mystery
"You're shivering already," Nikolai noted with a frown. "Winter is coming. You shouldn't stay in the water too long given how weak your body is."
"I'm not that weak like they all to say," she said in a confident tone, defending herself from the rumors that had long circulated.
"Maybe in different aspects, but not with your physical body," he noted.
She couldn't help but lift an eyebrow at him.
"I can already feel and hear your heart's weakening rhythm. It's getting rather... erratic." he teased.
His words make Mineah gulp despite her dry throat. Right... A powerful vampire like him would obviously have exceptionally heightened senses, meaning he could hear as her heart quickened when she saw him.
"Can you blame me? I'm a maiden who just had her first bath with a man," she murmured with a pout. She wouldn't let him get to her that easily. "My heart behaving as you described is to be expected. It's normal."
She leveled her gaze with his. Despite her efforts, he maintained steady eye contact with her and it was really starting to make her feel weird. Sure, she was used to looking people in the eye, but Nikolai's stare was just nerve-wracking, leaving her breathless.
"What?" she scoffed.
He suddenly smirked as his lips stretched themselves into a very seductive smile, one that quickly faded as his face turned dimmer than the night sky outside.
"I'll be going out for a while," he tersely stated. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
Mineah instinctively closed her eyes the moment Nikolai moved to stand up. Hearing him leave, she did her best not to steal even a peek of what she could assume to be his naked self before she let out a relieved sigh.
Slowly opening her eyes, she was once again alone in the bath. He had left without her even feeling a thing, and seeing the opportunity, she didn't waste any time in quickly wrapping up her bath.
After all, who knew when that husband of hers would return without so much as a warning? As such, it would be best that she was in her proper clothes already before such a thing even happened in the first place.
"I wonder what happened..."
Mineah didn't know whether to cry or laugh at what she just heard.
Her Shadow Maidens were with her all the time, as such, they knew all about her research including how she brazenly asked some... experienced women about their relationships and how to capture the heart of a man.
She did all of this in order to gain more knowledge about what she was about to do.
As if that wasn't enough, Zaila bluntly added, "The wedding ceremony was already disappointing enough. I mean, it was so rushed that the two of you didn't even get a proper kiss like at a traditional wedding!"
Shrugging despite how deep the blush on her face had turned, Mineah murmured, "Kissing in a wedding ceremony at this time is inappropriate, it was a business deal, a treaty to protect our people. I want to eat. Come and join me."
Brushing away the topic, Mineah was relieved that Zaila didn't bother pursuing her line of questioning.
A few moments later, Krisha came back without finding a single thing about whatever it was that led the King to leave. She could not even find out where he was at the time.
Mineah was disappointed but there was nothing she could do, she simply dismissed the three after dinner before going to the balcony and looking up at the crescent moon in the night sky.
Staring at the bright moon, Mineah knitted her brows as she squinted at the vultures rasping and hissing as they flew around the area of the inn where they were staying. It was dark, but she could still see quite well due to her gifted eyes.
"Condors," she hummed with a sigh. Those three condors were the same ones hovering over their castle just a while ago. "Probably Lai's pets..."
She let out another absent minded sigh as she thought about what she needed to accomplish. She honestly needed to learn a lot more about Nikolai, but apparently, he wasn't called the recluse king for nothing. A vast majority of information about him still remained a mystery.
Mineah yawned, and she soon went back inside and climbed onto the bed to get the rest she needed. It would be best if she was already sleeping when Nikolai came back. It would prevent him from giving her these weird feelings again.
***
However, unknown to Mineah, two pairs of curious eyes stood at a distance below her balcony as she turned around and went back inside.
"Looks like King Nikolai is very attentive to his new bride," an unknown person commented. "He put up tight security around her. How long do you think she'll last?"
"Hmm, we'll see," a woman with a vile smirk maliciously and confidently stated. "But one thing's for sure, she'll soon disappear from Nikolai's side regardless of what she might feel about it."