Chapter 3: The King

Elysia

I had no idea when the laughter started, and I wasn’t even sure what the hell I was laughing about. My cheeks burned, and my stomach ached from how hard I’d been laughing.

As I leaned against the wooden table, the man across from me—who I had forgotten the name of—was talking, trembling over his words, and it all sounded like gibberish to me.

But he was funny… I think. I wasn’t sure. I was way too drunk, and everything sounded funny to me.

I laughed again, louder this time, at something random he’d just said.

I was drunk… but not that drunk not to notice what he started doing.

The alcohol dulled the ache in my chest, and it made me forget about everything. But I wasn’t so lost in the alcohol enough to miss the way his hand lingered too long on my arm, or how he leaned closer with every laugh, his knees slowly brushing mine, his fingers sliding everywhere they had no right to be.

I frowned, and instantly the haze in my head cleared just enough for me to put him in his place.

“Hey,” I said, pushing his hand away violently. “That’s enough.”

He laughed it off, and his hand returned, holding me by the hand. It was firmer this time around, like I was something he owned.

“Come on, baby,” he said, voice slurred. “Don’t be like that.”

My smile vanished.

I shoved him harder this time. I was completely disgusted and irritated. I stood up abruptly. “I said stop.”

The smile I had not too long ago was long gone now.

Instead of backing off, he stepped closer, his hand sliding to my waist, his breath hitting against my neck as he spoke. “Come on, beautiful. Don’t pretend you don’t want me.”

Anger spread through my chest like fire.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could even get a word out, a voice cut through the noise of the pub.

“Let her go.”

The music did not stop, neither did the laughter, but I definitely felt the air shift.

The voice wasn’t loud, but it commanded so much power and respect.

The man holding me froze in place.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

He was standing just a few steps away, and staring at him felt like… staring at a god. He was like no one I’d ever seen before, and he took my breath away.

He had dark hair, a face that looked like it was molded by the Moon Goddess herself. His sky-blue eyes were sharp, locked on the man who was touching me, and there was so much anger in them.

The random man didn’t argue or hesitate. He quickly let go of me and muttered something under his breath before disappearing into the crowd.

I swayed slightly because of how unsteady I was.

But his strong arms caught me before I could fall.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

The softness of his voice terrified me more than when it was commanding. It was so careful, as if he was afraid of frightening me.

I nodded, even though my heart was still racing.

“Ye… yes.”

His gaze searched my face like he was making sure I meant every word I said. Then slowly, he stepped back, giving me space to breathe.

“Thank you,” I said, but it came out so low I wasn’t even sure he heard.

He inclined his head slightly, as if it was nothing. Goddess, he was breathtaking. My mind was foggy, but I was curious about who he was. “Who… who are you?”

And surprisingly, I saw something like amusement on his face.

“My name is Gabriel LaBête, King of Elyndor.”

I blinked and paused for a moment before I burst out laughing.

It was soft at first, but the more I thought about it, the louder it grew.

“Right… of course you are,” I said in the most sarcastic tone ever.

He didn’t look offended. No, he smiled like he had expected me not to believe him.

I squinted, still smiling like his words were the best joke I’d heard all day. “So tell me, Your Majesty,” I said, taking a sip from my glass. “What is a king doing in a pub like this?”

I took another sip of my drink before he could start talking.

He watched me over the rim of his glass. “You do know that kings are allowed to step outside their palaces, right? And I needed some quiet.”

I laughed out loud. “Quiet? Really?” Looking around, I gestured to the crowd and the music. “You picked the wrong place for quiet.”

I drank again and again.

He frowned slightly. “You are really drunk. I think you’ve had enough drinks.”

“No,” I said immediately, pointing the rim of my glass at his face. “You have no right to tell me if I’ve had enough. And what even gives you the impression that I was going to listen to a man like you who pretends to be the king?”

His lips twisted in amusement. “I am the King of Elyndor.”

“Yeah, whatever you say. Everyone here who has had one too many believes that too. Maybe next you’ll tell me the Moon Goddess herself is coming to buy us all drinks.”

That got a soft laugh out of him. The sound was sweet and gentle.

I leaned closer, lowering my voice. “You’re very convincing, you know that, right? If I were any drunker, I might have actually believed all your lies about being king.”

His eyes dropped to my lips as I spoke.

The air between us shifted again, this time warmer.

I wasn’t sure who moved first, but I could swear it felt like a magnet was pulling me toward him. One moment I was laughing and swaying slightly on my stool, and the next I was close enough to breathe him in. And damn me, he smelled so good.

He looked breathtakingly handsome, and his scent intoxicated me more than the alcohol ever did.

I shouldn’t have done it. I knew that. It was stupid.

But Goddess help me, I was losing control, and I did something I never thought I would do.

I kissed him.

I kissed a total stranger.

It was meant to be quick and thoughtless, a drunken mistake.

It wasn’t.

His breath hitched just barely before his hand found my waist and steadied me. For a moment, he didn’t respond, as if afraid of something.

Then he kissed me back.

It was slow, gentle, and controlled, as if he was using everything in him not to lose himself.

It only made me want him more.

I didn’t care who was looking. The way his lips pressed against mine, the way he kissed me—it was nothing like anything I’d ever experienced before. I forgot about the entire pub completely… and in that moment, I actually forgot why I was hurting.

When he pulled back, there was a look of guilt on his face.

“I’m sorry… that was a mistake.”

“Then stop me,” I whispered as I leaned in again.

He didn’t.

Instead, he took my hand and led me away from the noise, up the narrow staircase tucked into the corner of the pub. The room upstairs was dim and completely quiet. There wasn’t a single sound coming from below.

When the door closed behind us, his hands found mine, pulling me toward him. His lips captured mine in another kiss, and this one wasn’t gentle—it was hungry.

Without hesitation, I started to undress him, but he caught my hand. He carried me to the bed, slowly placing me on it, then started undressing himself.

My eyes widened because he was built like a god.

Within moments, my clothes were on the floor, and when he started placing kisses on my body, I begged him not to stop.

And he didn’t.