5. Chapter

Eira

The darkness was not friendly. It felt as if heavy weights pressed down on my chest while the walls moved closer inch by inch, ready to crush me completely.

Then suddenly there was air.

Cold, clean air filled my lungs, carrying the scent of mint and pine.

My eyelids trembled.

The first thing I noticed was the softness beneath me. Not the cold stone of the cavern and not the hard ground of the street. I was lying in a bed. It was small and narrow, clearly placed quickly in the corner of a large room made of dark oak.

This was not a guest room.

This was his room.

I slowly opened my eyes and tried to focus. Dark wooden beams crossed the ceiling and the walls were covered with heavy crimson tapestries. In the corner a fireplace crackled quietly, casting red light over the furniture.

Then I heard a soft metallic sound.

Shhht. Shhht.

I turned my head to the side and my breath caught.

Zade sat in a carved chair in the middle of the room with the fireplace behind him. He was not wearing his coat. He sat there bare chested, his trousers resting low on his hips, revealing everything I had only guessed at beneath his clothing.

His chest was broad and his muscles moved beneath his skin like carved marble. There was not a single unnecessary ounce of fat on him. Every line of his body spoke of battle and discipline.

Several scars crossed his skin. A long cut near his ribs and a small mark below his collarbone. But the strangest thing was the dark tattoo that began on his back and twisted along his arm as if the shadow of Noctis itself wrapped around him.

An old servant stood behind him, his hands trembling but steady as he drew a razor along the prince's jaw.

Zade's head was tilted slightly back, exposing his throat. In that moment he looked almost vulnerable beneath the blade, yet he still radiated the rawest power in the room.

"You are awake," he said without opening his eyes or moving.

His voice sounded deeper and richer in the quiet room. The servant paused for a moment before continuing his work.

"Where am I?" I asked. My own voice sounded strange to my ears. I tried to sit up but my head ached.

"In the safest place in the empire. My bedroom," Zade replied.

Now he opened his eyes. That icy blue gaze found me immediately in the shadows.

"For someone who had such a big mouth in the square, you collapsed rather quickly. My dragon only wanted to touch you and you fell like a sack of flour."

The mockery in his voice brought life back into me instantly. Shame flushed my face red.

"It was not because of your dragon," I muttered, managing to sit on the edge of the bed. "The walls. We were too deep."

Zade gestured to the servant who quickly wiped the remaining foam from his face, bowed, and left the room almost silently.

We were alone again.

Zade slowly rose from the chair. As he straightened he seemed even more intimidating. The firelight reflected on his skin, highlighting every line of muscle. He began walking toward me. With each step I felt that wild suffocating tension surrounding him.

"Claustrophobia," he said, as if diagnosing an illness.

He stopped in front of the bed and looked down at me.

"A street fighter who fears closed spaces. That is an interesting weakness, little girl. How have you survived until now?"

"By avoiding monsters like you," I shot back.

But my eyes betrayed me as they moved across his bare chest. The closeness of his muscles, the heat radiating from him and the raw masculinity surrounding him made me almost dizzy.

Zade noticed the glance.

A slow shameless smile appeared on his face. He leaned down and placed his hands on both sides of the bed, blocking any path of escape. His face was only inches from mine. I could smell his cologne and the clean scent of freshly shaved skin.

"Look at that," he whispered, his gaze drifting to my lips. "You think I am the monster? You have seen nothing yet. But I will tell you a secret."

He raised one hand and ran his fingers across his freshly shaved jaw before touching my face. His thumb brushed my lips and my body betrayed me again as my pulse pounded in my throat.

"Noctis does not understand why you fainted," he continued softly. "He thinks he did something wrong. And if my dragon wants you alive then you will have to tolerate my presence here in this room. Day and night."

"I will sleep here?" My throat went dry. "In the same room with you?"

"That was not a request, little girl. It is for your safety. And for mine. I want to know what you are doing every minute."

Zade leaned even closer until his nose almost touched mine.

"But do not worry. I will not hurt you. At least not unless you ask."

"I would never ask!" I hissed, though my face burned from his closeness.

Zade laughed, a dark deep sound that ran down my spine. He straightened and walked back to the center of the room where he put on a silk robe but did not tie it.

"That remains to be seen. Now sleep. Your training begins at dawn tomorrow. And believe me, you will wish Noctis had burned you in the cavern instead."

He walked to the massive canopy bed at the far end of the room and blew out the candle beside it.

I sat there on the small unfamiliar bed in the darkness listening to the steady rhythm of the prince's breathing. My heart was still racing.

I was trapped.

Not in a cell but in the presence of a prince who knew exactly that there was only one thing stronger in me than hatred.

The burning forbidden desire he had awakened with a single touch.