Chapter 47
I wait at the ship’s exit, my finger tapping against my arm.
It’s cold tonight compared to the other nights, as if the brisk wind wants to freeze my bones, shuddering them to the core.
It sends an unsettling edge of irritation through me.
I know the cause. My life isn’t the only one in jeopardy for the first time.
I’m taking another, causing me to be consciously aware of my surroundings for her.
“Prince Reen,” she says, and it bothers me. When it comes out of her mouth, I hate the damn fucking title.
Pandora takes the steps down to meet me. Her blood-red dress flows, and I know that when I touch it, the fabric will slide across my fingertips, smooth like water.
Her hair moves down her right shoulder, pushed away from her face and elegantly spins into curls. Alad, from behind, beams a smile, proud of himself and the work he’s done for her.
But it’s not what she’s wearing that catches my attention.
My focus settles on her face and the look in her eyes.
They flutter, and a hint of blush creeps across her cheeks, pinching a rose red when her soft brown eyes lock onto me.
All her traits resemble those of a succubus.
Lethal. Deadly. Sexy. And the thing is, she knows it.
“You better be careful,” she says as she takes my hand. “Your dick is so huge that if you get hard, everyone will see it.”
And then she fucking speaks, losing all innocence and making it known that she’s vulgar to the bone.
Alad has a car for us when we leave the Tumul Hall Entrance—a slim, black Mercedes. There is no flashy powerhouse of a car I miss from Senri Toshiharu. Simple, elegant, and something that doesn’t stand out to the naked eye.
I open the door and follow Pandora as she shuffles into the car. It’s then that I notice her dress has a cut, revealing her knees and slender legs, which shine. In this confined space, she smells of coconut butter.
Her hands move over the dress, tugging it to conceal her skin. Noticing what she’s doing, I place my hand on hers to keep it steady while I stare out the window. Her jittery movements ease, and the sharp, erratic breaths slow with every passing minute.
“Are they aware of our arrival?” I ask Alad.
“Yes, Prince Reen. They assume you’re here for business, so they’ll watch you all night.”
“How many more couples?”
“Twenty-three. All of them awakened.”
As I turn away from the window, I see Pandora looking at our hands before I quickly avert my gaze. “So, she’s the only unawakened one?”
“Yes.”
I grimace. “You would think it would be better for them to contain someone without abilities.”
“Unless they’re using drugs.” Alad looks in the mirror, directing his attention to her. “Pandora, ensure you do not drink or eat anything there. If you’re hungry, I can get you whatever you want after the mission.”
She smiles. “I’ve done this kind of thing before, Alad. You don’t have to tell me twice. Unlike the missions my dad assigned me, this one seems the easiest. I’m nothing but a fawning, ignorant woman who wants Prince Reen’s dick.”
“It’s not too far from the truth,” I say, earning me a dagger of a look that could slit my throat.
Alad arrives at an estate behind golden gates. He tells the water elemny man at the gate who we are, and after a quick look inside the car, the gate opens, and he drives inside.
It’s a nice place. Something I could glance at once, admire, and move on. They likely conduct business here with no sentimental attachment. Alad and Astin might have difficulty finding information about whether this is a hired two-storey house.
Guards stand at the entrance to the open doors. Yellow light seeps out from inside, and murmured voices accompany it. Alad drives off, and Pandora and I move up the curved, black brick stairs. Both guards eye us, showing that they are watching me the most.
When we enter the house with golden finishes, large crystal chandeliers, and marble tables, the man gestures to the first door ahead. Elemny of all races, colours, and abilities mingle in a grand hall dipped in black and white.
Three men and a woman stroke the strings of musical instruments atop the lifted stand overlooking the hall.
Music and murmured conversations fill the room, and the smell of warm food fills the air.
A table with quiches, soft bread rolls, canapes, shrimp cocktails, champagne, and wine is set aside for all to enjoy freely.
“Two exits, so far, and I think a broom closet,” Pandora whispers, nudging her head towards the door without a sign.
I huff a breath. As I admired the food and surroundings, Pandora searched for an exit in case of emergency. She may have done this when she entered the castle to kill King Ragan. Every entry was mapped out in her brain and engraved.
“What do we do?” she says. “Should we explore?”
“Not yet,” I say. “Let’s give Alad and Astin time before we do our own thing. For now, we should blend in.”
Pandora grins, steps away from me, and grabs my hands. “Care for a dance, then?”
I eye the thirteen couples swaying to slow music and sigh. “Fuck it.”
There’s no use talking to anyone at the party. With a face like mine and a title floating about my fucking head, if one couple were in on it, they would be smart enough to keep their mouth shut. It’s like Alad said earlier. My only option in this situation is to have fun.
Pandora moves her arms over my shoulders, and I place mine on her hips when her body tightens. The hands on her hips move lower, resting on the curve of her arse instead. She is so desperate to keep me away from the scars that she’s willing for me to grope her instead.
“How many times did that peanut-butter fucker touch you without consent?” I ask her.
Her focus shifts away, and her hands tighten on my shoulder. “Uh…why does it matter?”
My eyes narrow. “I want to torture him. Rip off body parts for how many times he touched you when you never wanted it. Then, I will put him back together with the help of my knights, wait until he heals, and do it again and a-fucking-gain. He won’t die until I want him dead.
Not a second earlier and not a second later. He will feel every moment of it.”
She sighs. “At first, he pushed me to touch and jerk him off. It didn’t matter to me for a while.
Not until he wanted sex. No matter how often I told him I wasn’t feeling it, he ignored me and said I was only ‘roleplaying’ and ‘playing hard to get’.
And so, I went into my head to escape whenever he touched me.
But, uh…” She blinks to remove the watery eyes. “Three times.”
“I like the number thirty. So, thirty years of torture sounds good to me,” I say. “And I am also sorry, Pandora. No one should ever have to go through what you went through. Even if your mind went elsewhere to escape.”
“It’s okay.” Her brown eyes waver when she looks at me. “If you could escape this life, where would you go?”
She wants to change subjects. I will bite. What she told me must have been hard for her to say.
“I wouldn’t mind going home to Eden Island,” I say. “There’s family there I’ve never met before. I vaguely remember my grandparents, but not a lot. I was young when I moved here.”
“How come you never went to see them?”
“King’s orders. He promised to slaughter our entire bloodline if they ever contacted us or if we contacted them. We became distant after that, and I don’t recall my mother telling me they went to the wedding. She likely advised them not to come. It would have ended in a bloodbath.”
Pandora’s arms tighten around me, and she steps closer to me. When I look down, my nose grazes against hers. “What was Eden Island like?”
I smile. No one has ever asked about my life before the Kingdom of Flesh.
Decades have passed since I vividly recalled the fish market, the furniture store, or the pretty dream catchers I could never touch but admired when Dad created them.
And so, my mouth moves without warning, explaining a life before Flesh.
The streets had a warmth and heart that set them apart from any other place for me.
Everything pours out, and Pandora hangs on every word, her eyes glimmering when I mention staring at the colourful fish.
“Do you know why they called the island that?” Pandora asks, curious about every detail of a place I longed to return to but never could. King Ragan clarified that if I ever went back there, the island would turn ablaze with ash, wailing screams, crimson, and bones.
“My mother told me that a very long time ago, there was a fire elemny woman named Eden. At the academy where she was, she and her four friends had to create an island for an assignment. They didn’t know what to call it, so they left it nameless.
Years later, she returned to the island after she realised the world was filled with corruption, and with hands meant to burn things, she created life. ”
“And she named it after herself?”
I shake my head. “No. The elemny who came there loved and cherished her. And when she died, they buried her in the island's heart and called it Eden.”
Pandora groans, her body pressing against me. “I want to see it! It sounds so full of life. Do you think we can see it before one of us dies?”
My hands grip her arse, my mouth inching close to her when I say, “You make it so hard to kill you.”
Her breath hitches when her mouth grazes against mine. “Maybe that’s the plan all along, Prince Reen.”
I breathe a laugh. “What? You’re making constant plans until I finally give up.”
Pandora’s tongue swipes across my lips. “What if it were a hunt? You let me go; while I travel through all these places, you can hunt me down in them. Doesn’t that sound fun, Reen?”
My cock throbs at the prospect of hunting her all over Eraminia. It causes frustration. Taking a step away from her, I take her hand and lure her out of the hall.
“Where are we going?” she says breathlessly.
“We can’t even last a fucking hour before I want to sink my claws into you, so…” When we leave the hall, I let go of her, fold my arms across my chest and let a smirk settle across my face. “Let’s play a game, Pandora Hart.”