Chapter 8

It was too much coldness that made Kaleen thoroughly awaken from the deep sleep. When she stirred, she felt her body sinking into the water. Her hands flailed, in a desperate hope to hold onto something.

Her feet even kicked up as her face submerged completely in the water with softened rocks of ices. She gasped for an air as she was able to pull her head up the water's surface.

Blinking her eyes rapidly, people registered her vision. Three stood still beside the marble tub while a man, Marcus, leaned lazily on the door’s frame, directing his eyes in her direction.

Kaleen didn’t pay much attention to him and let a wondering gazes around. The three people, mostly elderly women straightened up and gazed at her down in the same blank expression as their king by the door.

“It seemed that the flower cured her, your majesty.” One woman among the three, wearing a dark violet turtle neck dress, addressed Marcus with a bowed head.

Marcus didn’t say any word to that, flickered his eyes to the three women and they all left at once.

Kaleen furrowed at that. Either he gave them an order mentally or he controlled them mentally, there was no way they would move in swift motion at once. When the room was empty except for her and Marcus, her eyes finally met his studying gaze.

Never mind that she was utterly naked in that iced clear water, there was nothing she can do t cover herself. She refused to even squirm before her enemy. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction that he was effectively affecting her for some reason.

If Dahlia would be in her situation, that sister of hers, who was secretly obsessed with this man, would certainly swoon at his mere gaze., She would suspect any woman in his presence would be surely fainting.

Not her. Thank goodness.

She’d been in a fight countless times to be thinking of his superficial appearance no matter how insanely handsome he appeared to be.

“Welcome to the waking world.” he finally voiced out, albeit with his sarcastic tone still. “Here I thought you’d succumbed to your demise easily.”

“You could have left me in the forest,” Kaleen said, thankful that there was a towel just not far from her reach on the right side.

Marcus didn’t say any words to that and observed her movements.

Kaleen was cold and had no idea why she must be laid on an iced tub. But her question can wait for later., Although there was no way she can ask those women who exited the room a while ago.

Her feet landed on the comfortable warmness of the carpeted floor after she covered herself with the towel. She walked to the bed, not really knowing what to do next since she had no idea where her dresses went. She hesitantly turned to Marcus.

“I’m changing.”

“Be my guest. This is my room,” he said.

Kaleen then realized the hint in the room which indicate that such space certainly didn’t belong to a woman at all.

“Well then…I’ll be in my room,” she said in hesitation.

Marcus only snorted when she started to sway on her left side with a few steps.

“You can’t leave the water just yet. The Manik’s poison still runs your blood and the coldness slows down your death,” he said.

Kaleen looked back at the tub and didn’t even once tempted to jump there again. However, having her question answered by him, she now understands why she had to be soaked there.

“I might not die in poison but in too much coldness.” She said.

“You could have for two days you’ve been in there,” he said.

“Two days? That long?” there was astonishment in her voice since she thought she was just out for an hour tops.

“Get back to the water. The flower’s a test and it seems your body’s responding to it.” He commanded and Kaleen couldn’t find any reason to protest at all. Like her mind clouded to only do nothing but follow him.

Noticing how she was being controlled by him, she shook her head and snapped her head in his direction. An amused expression played on his face.

“Stop doing that,” she said.

“To the water, woman. We still have a deal,” he said.

“I thought it was off the plate once you made me a bait to the Manik.” She hissed, discarded the towel on the ground, and got on the tub again. She shivered at the extreme coldness but it did level her mind again. She thought she can’t possibly stand that too much cold but her body strangely adjusted.

When she looked up, she thought Marcus’ eyes turned scarlet for a brief moment as his lips moved into a soundless whisper. But then, she might be imagining things when she blinked and his eyes were gray again and his lips pinned together.

“Did you kill it?” she can’t help but ask.

“Yes.”

“How. It’s a vampire hunter.”

“Until it became your hunter,” Marcus said vaguely.

Kaleen knew she won’t be getting any answer from him about the Manik. Probably someday, she will be able to uncover how he made the Manik hunt for her and not any of the vampires present in the forest. Perhaps the grand king made a loophole in summoning the beast.

Finally, Marcus admitted himself fully in the room, grabbed the wooden bowl from the table, and brought it towards her.

“Finish this.” He said.

Kaleen saw a dark liquid in the bowl, a hint of aroma of a crushed herbal, and something else she can’t point out. But then, she drank it without question. She failed to notice the gaze that Marcus gave her while doing so.

“Sleep,” he commanded.

“I can’t sleep in this-,” Kaleen’s next words left unsaid as her eyes fluttered closed.

Like a floating object in a tub, Marcus left the room and came in greeting with the bloodied hallway leading to his room. The only living vampires left standing there were the three elder women who brought the Moonflower to cure the king’s bride. The rest healer who failed faced the wrath of the king and had their blood spilled in the hallway.

“Bring me the rest of the cure before sundown tomorrow,” Marcus ordered.

“Yes, your highness.” the three elderly women answered with bowed heads.