CHAPTER 6

King Lucius seems to conclude his discussion with his aide and turns to look straight at me and walks towards me.

He doesn't take his eyes off me and I do the same to him, the room fading away with the intensity of his glare until he is about two feet in front of me.

I don't know if it's my shitty luck or the moon gods know of my plan to annihilate their favorite creation but the King suddenly taking interest in me cannot be a coincidence.

On the other hand, this can work in my favor and bring me a step closer to my purpose but then if something happens to him, I would be the number one suspect since everyone has already seen us together.

During the night of the festival of seasons when the king takes a maiden into his chambers, their faces are covered so that they wouldn't find some fairytale status out of bedding the king. I was counting on that but this unexpected turn has thrown it all to hell.

"Hello beautiful," He says, looking so deeply into my eyes I fear he could see my soul filled with hate for him.

The husky candescence of his voice causes a slight shiver down my spine but outwardly, I don't falter.

"Good day, your Majesty." I bow from my waist and bend my knees slightly, all the while keeping my eyes on his. Looking him in the eye like this is very disrespectful but taking one's eyes off the enemy is not wise.

He smirks and holds out a perfectly shaped hand to me. Big palms and long fingers, the stuff dreams.

"May I have this dance?" He asks, his voice taking a seductive lilt and I have to clench every bone in my body. Why does he have to be so damningly gorgeous?!

Without speaking I place my hand in his warm ones, it completely covers mine and still looking into my eyes, he leads me to the dance floor.

The contrast in our attires is cringe worthy but I refuse to let any form of embarrassment show. It shouldn't matter.

He gently places his free hand on my waist and presses down a bit causing me to take a deep breath which I hope he didn't notice.

I place mine on his shoulder, we fall into the rhythm of the music quite easily.

The dancers around us give us a wide berth and if you clearly haven't guessed, all eyes are on us.

We sway in silence, our bodies nearly touching and i can feel his body heat as if pulling me in. The intensity of his gaze doesn't falter and I have to look away once I notice that my breathing is getting heavy.

He leans down to place his mouth close to my ear. "You're quite skilled in your steps," he comments, his hot breath traveling through every nerve in my body, short circuiting my brain for a second.

"Um..," I clear my throat. "Thank you. My parents made sure we learnt how to so we wouldn't embarrass ourselves and them in the process."

He hums, a strand of hair loosens from the tight ponytail and my hand twitches to put it back in it's place. "Well extend my thanks to them. They taught you well," he smiles warmly but instead of butterflies I feel a dull ache in my chest.

"I would but I don't think the dead can understand much," I retort blandly and fix my eyes on his shoulder, lest he see how much I want to smack his perfect face.

I miss the look of sympathy and sadness on his face. "I'm sorry for your loss."

I take a deep breath, his scent rushes through, calming me in a way I will never acknowledge and I nod, my hand unconsciously tightens in his. Two-faced murderer.

We continue in silence and I use the opportunity to look around for my siblings. I see a lot of glares and scowls but I ignore them until I find what I'm looking for, causing me to smile.

At the other end of the dance floor, Sarah is dancing with the king's aide, Xavier. At least one of us is happy.

"I didn't think it was possible," Lucius's voice brings my attention back to him, "but you look even more beautiful when you smile," he rasps and to my utter horror, I feel my cheeks start to warm.

"Thank you," I duck my head a bit, internally cursing my fair skin.

He hums again. "I see that I'm making you uncomfortable so I'll leave you be." He slides the hand on my waist to my back and closes the distance between us, pressing me completely to him. "For now," he whispers, looking me in the eye with a gaze filled with a promise of something more to come and I shiver all the way to my toes.

He doesn't release me and just keeps staring, giving me no choice but to meet his gaze. The feel of his hard warm body against mine is enough to send me into overdrive and it isn't long before I start to take deep breaths in order not to melt into his arms.

Slowly, he pulls away from me and leans down with a smirk. "I look forward to our next meeting," he places a lingering kiss on the back of my palm and swiftly turns and walks out of the hall.

I stand frozen, staring at his retreating back, trying to make sense of the turmoil happening in my body.

"May!"

I turn to face my brother who has a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asks as he pulls me by the hand, away from the dance floor and the prying eyes of everyone else.

I nod, finally taking in my surroundings. We're back at our table and I sit down with a sigh. "I need something to drink. Something cold please," I tell him and he goes to get it, leaving me to sort out my thoughts.

I'm supposed to be the one seducing him without gaining too much attention but the exact opposite is happening.

If I can't get it together now then how will I control the situation when I finally get him in bed. The look in his eyes earlier says he'll devour me before I can string a thought.