Chapter 4

ASHER’S POV

I spun around, my heart slamming so hard it hurt. “How the hell did you know that?” I whispered, fear crawling up my spine, because in that moment I knew something far worse than being trapped had just begun.

And whatever Kaffe knew… could destroy me.

“First of all,” Kaffe said, his voice serious, “your disguise is a mess.”

I stared at him, my head spinning.

“Your scent blocker is too strong, so strong it’s noticeable,” he continued quickly, counting on his fingers like he had thought about this before. “Your hair looks like it was just chopped today. Your chest isn’t bound properly. Anyone looking twice will notice.”

And finally, you arrived today, you are new, you are asking about Danny, who happens to be Councilman Tyrell’s son.”

He stopped and looked at me hard.

“Does that click now?”

The room tilted. My legs gave out. I fell hard onto the cold floor as fear crushed down on me.

“Am I… am I going to die?” I whispered, my voice small, my body shaking as tears filled my eyes.

Kaffe crouched in front of me, his face calm but serious.

“No,” he said firmly. “You won’t.”

I looked up at him.

“Not if you let me help you,” he said quietly.

But,” he added, “you don’t get my help for free, and your first step in repaying me is staying alive.”

“The first two warnings I’m giving you,” Kaffe said quickly, “are that you stay far away from Lord Draven, and even farther away from Morgan.”

“Who is Morgan?” I asked, confused and afraid all at once.

Kaffe looked around the room once, then leaned closer.

“Morgan is like you.” He said as he lowered his voice

“A woman. Disguised as a man. And if anyone else finds out… she dies.”

My mouth fell open. “What the hell,” I whispered, shock running through me.

“You can call me a smart mouth if you want,” Kaffe went on, speaking fast, “but I watch things, and I notice what others don’t. That is my gift.”

He shook his head slightly. “I’m still surprised Lord Draven hasn’t noticed you yet,” he said. “Either he wasn’t paying attention, or his thoughts were somewhere else, because normally, nothing slips past him.”

My stomach tightened instantly.

“So listen to me,” Kaffe said firmly. “Stay away from both of them. That is all I can say.”

Then he glanced at me from head to toe and frowned. “But first,” he added, “you need to get out of that messy outfit, and let me trim your hair before someone else notices and asks questions.”

He reached for a small pair of scissors, and my heart started racing again, because even though he was helping me, I knew one wrong move in this place could still cost me my life.

~~~~~~~~~

“Tonight’s mission has been canceled,” the man Leon in charge announced loudly, his voice echoing through the hall, “our spy sent word that the enemy has moved their guards into the Druss garden, doubling their numbers and setting traps, so we wait until he tells us it is safe to move.”

A low sound of relief and worry spread through the men, and slowly they began to leave, talking quietly among themselves, their boots scraping against the stone floor.

When the hall was almost empty, I turned to Kaffe, my stomach twisting painfully.

“I’m hungry,” I said softly. “I haven’t eaten anything real food in days.”

He looked at me like I was wasting his time. “Then find the kitchen,” he said. “Food has already been served. Ask for some.”

“How did I even miss that?” I asked weakly, but he was already turning away.

“Just go,” he said. “I have something urgent to take care of.”

And just like that, he left.

I stood there alone, my legs weak, not knowing where the kitchen was or who to ask, wondering how someone who promised to help me could leave me like this, helpless and shaking.

So I did what I had learned to do fast, I asked small questions, simple ones, careful not to sound new, careful not to sound lost, and somehow, after many turns and long halls, I found the kitchen.

The smell of food hit me hard, making my stomach ache even more, and I walked up to one of the men working there and asked for food.

He shook his head. “No. Food has already been served.”

My vision blurred. I felt like I might die right there.

“Please,” I said, my voice weak, begging now, trying to convince him, my pride gone.

He sighed and pointed to a tray. “Only if you take this to Lord Draven’s chamber,” he said. “Serve him, then come back.”

“Avoid that man,” my mind screamed.

“I’ve had a long day,” the man added, “and if you serve him, you eat.”

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me, because the last thing I wanted was to be noticed, to be seen, to be exposed, but hunger was stronger than fear, and survival meant eating.

So I took the tray.

On it was a dark glass bottle of wine, a plate of roasted chicken still warm, bread neatly stacked at the side, and silver cups that clinked softly as my hands shook.

I walked, asking just enough questions to seem normal, until I reached his door.

It was golden.

Every other door was plain or dark wood, but this one shone softly in the torchlight, proud and different, and I knew without being told that this was his.

I knocked. No answer.

I knocked again. Still nothing.

I knocked a third time, then a fourth, my body swaying as weakness pulled at me, and I thought maybe I could leave the tray and run back for food before I collapsed.

I stepped inside.

The room was quiet. A large round table stood in the center, empty, and I moved toward it, ready to drop the tray and flee.

“Bring it here,” a voice said.

My heart jumped into my throat.

I turned and saw an open balcony, moonlight pouring in, a small pool beside it, the water glowing softly under the night sky.

I had no choice but to walk closer. “Where should I place it, my lord?” I asked quickly, my mind racing through every possible way to escape.

Then he stepped out of the water. Naked.

My breath left my body. My legs went weak. He reached for a towel, pulling it around his waist, and looked at me calmly.

“Why are you shaking?” he asked. “Never seen a naked man before?”

I had, but never like this. His body was... stunning. Muscles sculpted, skin smooth, a sight to behold.

I was wet just from the sight of him, between my legs a throbbing heat I couldn't ignore. I was slick, sweating, regretting coming here. I wasn't sure I'd make it through the night feeling like this. I needed to escape.

The tray slipped from my hand. Glass shattered. I tried to move back, to avoid the mess, but my foot slipped, and I fell into the pool with a splash.

The worst thing that could happen, I realized, was getting out of the pool with my scent blocker ruined, my messy outfit soaked, and Draven knowing I was a girl, but the absolute worst… I couldn’t swim.

My arms flailed, my legs kicked, and I splashed water everywhere, swallowing some of it, coughing and choking as my lungs burned as panic filled me. I kicked harder, tried to grab the edge, but it was too far, and I felt myself sinking, my body trembling from hunger and fear all at once.

He just stood there, watching, calm as ever, his sharp eyes staying on me longer than necessary like I was some problem to solve.

Then, when he saw that I truly couldn’t swim, he moved quickly. One hand reached into the water, grabbed me under my arms, and pulled me out, my body flopping onto the floor while I gasped and coughed.

“So you can’t swim…and you can’t hold a tray?” he asked, his voice calm but teasing, and my cheeks burned with shame. “What else can’t you do, Asher?”

“Please… can I go, my lord, so I can dry off?” I whispered, my voice small.

I was trembling, my teeth chattering.

“No, Asher,” he said, sharp and commanding. “You dry off here.”

He walked back into his room and came out a few moments later with a robe and a towel. Without a word, he threw them at me. “Put these on. Dry yourself. Then come out back,” he said.

I caught the robe and towel, my mind racing, thinking about how to cover myself, thinking about my chest and how exposed I was, but I knew I had no choice. I had to do exactly as he said.

I quickly shut the door and leaned against it, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I was so turned on. The heat was burning through me, making me restless, making me ache. I knew I should wait, and should be patient, but I couldn't. Not like this.

I opened the door a crack, just enough to see Draven. He was standing by the window, his back to me, the moonlight casting shadows on his bare skin. He was so close, yet so far. I wanted to touch him, to feel him, but I wouldn’t dare.

I shouldn’t have been here.

My fingers tightened against the edge of the door as I tried to steady myself, but something inside me was already slipping, quietly, dangerously, like a lock breaking one pin at a time.

“No…” I whispered under my breath, though I wasn’t even sure what I was refusing anymore.

Heat spread through me again, stronger this time, swallowing my thoughts before I could hold onto them. I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying to breathe through it, trying to think, but my body wasn’t listening.

It was like I was standing inside myself, watching someone else take over.

“I can’t…” My voice cracked. Tears blurred my vision before I even realized I was crying.

I tried to step back, to close the door, to leave, anything but my body didn’t move the way I told it to. My breathing turned uneven, like the air itself was slipping away from me.

Something in me was breaking.

Not pain.

Not fear.

Something deeper… like instinct overriding thought.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I reached up, cupping my breast, my fingers finding my hard nipple. I gasped, my head falling back as I closed my eyes. It felt so good, so right. I pinched and rolled the sensitive bud, sending jolts of pleasure straight to my core.