23 The Mysterious Lake

“Yafi! Yaro!” I called to the guards in surprise, but they didn’t even turn, as if they hadn’t heard me at all.

“It seems those sentries forgot why they’re here, what they’re supposed to be doing, and whose direction they should never be looking in,” Kays’s voice echoed sharply, his lips pressed in anger.

“They were only showing me where I could wash up,” I tried to defend the twins—after all, they hadn’t done anything wrong to me.

“And why are you defending them so much?” Kays’s brow arched in furious disbelief. “Your mind should be focused solely on how to please the king right now, not on flirting with his subjects.”

“You’re such an ass!” I hissed at the rude bastard. “I never asked to be anyone’s bride! And if your king wanted a wife, he could get off his royal backside and go look for a woman he actually likes, court her like normal men do, instead of waiting for girls to be dragged to him like sheep to the slaughter for some very questionable fate! Or is the crown squeezing his head so hard—and his ass to the throne—that he doesn’t even have the strength to stand up?!”

Righteous anger burst out of me; this whole situation pissed me off—this world, this fate, and Kays most of all!

“And why would you even care? Or what was it you said earlier… oh, right! Perhaps you wanted to be in their place?” I asked with venom.

I saw his jaw tighten with fury, muscles twitching, his brows drawing together. Looks like I’d finally gotten under his skin. Good. He’d better get used to it—there’s more coming.

Slowly, this devil began to emerge from the water, never breaking eye contact with me. And somehow, impossibly, his body dried the moment it left the lake. My heart was pounding so loudly he could probably hear it, but I stood still, refusing to look away from this infuriating man.

I wasn’t one of those submissive little doormats who lower their gaze and silently march toward their execution. I could and would say what I thought. And I would figure out how to rid myself of all the troubles that had landed on me after that cursed subscription!

Coming up close to me, Kays loomed over me with his devilishly sexy body, radiating heat that I could feel even from a short distance. There was a strange energy about him, as if an endless power emanated from him. And the power… it was over me.

Images from that old p**n site I once watched with one of my exes suddenly popped into my mind. In fact, we broke up because he liked that site far more than he liked me.

But now, looking at this living demon of temptation, all those images didn’t seem like such bad ideas—as long as the brunette was the main star.

Alright, woman, calm down! What’s wrong with me? It’s not like I’ve never seen attractive men in real life. Maybe it’s just… ovulation talking.

“Don’t make me angry, prepedollie,” Kays growled softly, leaning close to my ear, his breath tickling my skin in a way that made my brain short-circuit. “Or else… this is exactly what will happen.”

He quickly stepped back and looked at my flushed face with that teasing, smug expression. If only he knew my panties were practically soaked right now, he’d probably burst out laughing.

“Go refresh yourself. I’ll turn away, and then we’ll go back,” the mage said calmly, as if we hadn’t just been ready to tear each other apart a minute ago. His mood swings… you never know what to expect.

I glanced at the broad back of the man who had turned away and realized it would be awkward to shoo him off—after all, we’d have to walk back in the dark, and I wasn’t eager to bang myself against some random boulder. So, stripping down to my underwear, I stepped into the cool water and quickly began washing off the dust and sweat.

Finishing my wash in record time, I stepped out onto the shore and wrapped myself in a sheet. Without turning toward me, Kays snapped his fingers, and my underwear dried instantly.

How practical.

“Get dressed. I’m going to show you something,” the brunette said, a sly smile playing on his lips, full of intrigue.