All Chapters of The King’s Relentless Desire : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter Twenty-One Liana’s POV The whispers did not fade. They thickened, pressing close like smoke, each one wrapping me tighter in the net Kael had cast over me. I tried to step back, but his grip on my wrist held me in place. He wanted me here, displayed, half-trembling and half-burning, while their eyes devoured every flicker of weakness. From the cluster of nobles, Lady Marcelline stepped forward. Her gown was pale gold, her hair coiled like fire, her smile a blade disguised as sweetness. She curtsied, but her eyes never left me. “Your Majesty,” she said smoothly. “You speak of bleeding, but do you not fear that some creatures bleed too easily? One must take care not to waste one’s time on fragile things.” The court tittered, cruel little sounds hidden behind jewelled hands. My chest tightened. The words were not only meant to wound me but to test him, to see how far his favour truly stretched. Kael’s thumb pressed harder into my skin. “You think her fragile?” he asked,

Chapter Twenty-ThreeLiana’s POVThe corridors were quieter than I remembered.Servants who once brushed past me with little care now lowered their heads when I walked through. Their eyes flicked away quickly, as though even a glance might earn them punishment.I should have felt relief.Instead, something darker coiled inside me.Kael’s claim had done this. His mouth on my skin. His voice declared me his before the court. His hands were gripping me so tightly that my bruises still throbbed beneath my gown.He had marked me in ways no soap or gown could erase. And because of it, the entire palace now looked at me differently.I moved carefully, each step heavy with awareness. Every whisper I caught behind me seemed to carry my name. Every silence felt sharper, like a blade waiting to cut.The gown I wore clung to my body as though mocking me. I tugged it higher on my shoulder, but it slipped again, teasing the memory of his hands pulling fabric from me in his chambers. My skin flushed

Chapter Twenty-Five Liana’s POV The sun had barely risen when the whispers began. I heard them before I even left my chambers. The maids moved more carefully, their eyes averted, their curtsies sharper, their silence filled with meaning. One dropped a hairpin while brushing my hair and went pale as though I might strike her. I did not. But I watched the way her hands shook when she picked it up, and something inside me twisted with dark satisfaction. Kael had been right. They had seen me. And they would not forget. When the summons came, I almost refused it. The King requests your presence at the morning meal. Request. The word was a lie. It was a command, and I obeyed it. The great hall shimmered with light as I entered. Tall windows spilt golden rays over polished tables lined with nobles. Silver platters gleamed with fruits and meats, wine glistened in crystal goblets though the day had barely begun. Yet the room felt heavier than the feasts I had known. Because ever

Chapter Twenty-SevenLiana’s POVHis fingers stayed at my throat.The hall was silent now, only the echo of my own pulse thundering in my ears.I could taste the wine and smoke of his breath.I could taste my own defiance still on my tongue.Kael’s thumb traced slowly along my skin, down to the hollow at the base of my neck.His eyes never left mine.“You think you’ve learned the game,” he murmured, voice low and intimate.“You’ve only learned how to kneel prettier.”My lips parted but no sound came out.His grip loosened just enough to let me breathe.He tilted his head, studying me the way one might study a blade.“Tell me,” he said, “do you want the court to see you kneel again?”“No,” I whispered.“Then you will come when I call,” he said. “You will smile when I command. You will stay silent when I speak.”His mouth brushed my ear, hot and cruel.“And when I decide to touch you, you will not pretend it is your choice.”My knees trembled.Part of me wanted to slap him.Part of me w

Chapter Twenty-Nine Liana’s POV The feast ended like the dying of a storm. Music faded, laughter thinned, and one by one the nobles drifted away, trailing whispers and perfume behind them. I sat still at Kael’s side, chains biting softly into my skin, the silk gown clinging damply to me with heat and wine. My hands trembled in my lap, but I forced them still. He did not look at me. He had not touched me again after the threat he whispered. But his silence was heavier than his grip had ever been. When the last noble had left the hall, Kael stood, his cloak swirling around him like a living shadow. “Come.” The single word dropped into the empty air like a stone. I rose, my legs weak beneath me, and followed him out of the hall. We walked in silence through the long corridors, torches flickering low, servants melting into doorways to avoid our path. The chains jingled softly with each step, a whisper of gold against marble, a sound that made my heart hammer harder. I didn’t