Chapter 1

Once my lover was done tying my robes, I left the palace chambers and went to the front hall.

Xena Lane had fainted from exhaustion. Abyron was massaging her legs. His touch was gentle, and his eyes were fixed on her. He looked at her as if she were a priceless treasure.

I seized the Oath Stone and cut to the chase, “Let’s divorce, Abyron. Channel your spiritual energy into the Oath Stone. In three days, the bond will end. We’ll no longer be bound to each other.”

Without even looking at me, Abyron poured his energy into the Oath Stone. The two streams of energy merged, and a crack appeared across the artifact.

I was on my way to leave when I heard him say, “You should come here less often. Xena gets frightened when she sees you.”

I nodded. “I won’t come again.”

Noticing something unusual in my words, Abyron finally looked at me. He studied me for a long moment, and his tone softened slightly. “What did you want me to do with my energy just now? Are you feeling unwell again?”

No wonder he agreed so readily. He had not heard me clearly.

I smiled slightly. “The Stone—”

“Your Majesty!” Xena woke up just then. The instant she saw me, she dropped to her knees in fright. Her whole body was trembling. “I won’t do it again!”

Her sudden kneeling pained Abyron. He quickly gathered her in his arms and snapped at me, “Hurry up and leave!”

I walked out. When I closed the door, I met the human’s eyes.

There was no fear left in Xena’s dark eyes. She looked at me defiantly, clearly pleased with herself.

On my way back to the chambers, I overheard two servants talking.

“Xena has been with the king for six months. I heard he’s going to dismiss the harem and make her a consort.”

“Do you think the queen will tolerate that? Won’t she tear Xena apart?”

“The king clearly cares more about Xena. Even if Her Majesty can’t stand it, she won’t dare act rashly. After all, without the king, the queen is nothing.”

There was no doubt. They were talking about me.

Their words finally got me to understand why Abyron had been so indifferent when I asked him for his spiritual energy.

I was a princess of the Deer Clan.

When I came of age, my father took me to the Beast King’s gathering. At that time, Abyron was still the crown prince, and he fell in love with me at first sight. The next day, he came to the Deer Clan to ask for my hand.

I had already heard that the Snake Clan crown prince was a notorious womanizer, so I refused him without a second thought.

Who would have imagined that Abyron had fallen so hard for me? He came to the Deer Clan every day, defied his father, and even stole spiritual elixirs to be with me.

I was touched and formed a bond with him.

After we poured our spiritual energy into the Oath Stone, Abyron pulled me into his arms and placed my hand over his heart. “Yoelle, from now on, we’ve formed an empathic bond as husband and wife. Do you believe that I love you now?”

I believed him.

I could truly feel the fierce love burning in his heart for me.

I thought Abyron had truly changed for me. But after we formed an empathic bond, I could feel not only his overwhelming love but also his endless desire.

People said passion faded after seven years; however, the truth was that Abyron had not even waited seven days.

The first time I felt pleasure, I thought I was dreaming.

At that moment, Abyron was not with me.

I followed the pull of the bond and found him in bed with two rabbit girls.