Chapter 12 Jane #2
The heavy wooden door to my chambers swung open with a force that nearly ripped it off its hinges. Jion rushed into the room and threw himself at my bedside.
“Oh my Goddess, Jane! Are you alright?” Jion gasped, grasping my cheeks in his hands and scanning my body for injuries. His eyes were filled with genuine concern.
“Yes,” I replied, shrugging him off, still uncomfortable with being touched by my soon-to-be husband. “I’m fine. I’m totally fine, thanks to Kaiyah. She used her healing powers on me, and I’m as good as new.” I smiled, eager to show him just how fine I truly was.
“Oh, thank the Goddess!” he breathed, enveloping me in a tender bear hug. “I was so worried. What were you doing out in the forest? Where were the guards?” He glanced around the room as if expecting them to manifest at any moment.
Carefully, I moved Jion away from me and calmly admitted, “I was with Glade, actually.”
At the mention of Glade, Jion’s jaw tightened, and his brows furrowed. “Glade? What on Ornath were you two doing in the woods?”
Something within my instincts stirred, and I found myself unable to share the whole truth with him, despite having nothing to hide.
“We were training. Glade thought it would be important to change the scenery, to practice in a different layout of battlegrounds. I accidentally stepped on a hole covered with sticks and leaves and fell through. But I’m totally fine. Not a scratch on me!” I added confidently, winking at Kaiyah.
Despite Jion’s skeptical expression, his chin followed my line of vision. The heir pivoted towards Kaiyah, acknowledging her for the first time since arriving. A spark, one that had not been there before, ignited in his eyes.
Jion took a deep breath inward as if the air had been forcefully knocked from his lungs before introducing himself. “Kaiyah, is it?” he asked, extending his hand for a shake.
She nodded, wide-eyed and clearly captivated by the foretold “saviour of the universe.”
“I’m Prince Jion Everkain,” he said, a warm smile breaking through the admiration plastered on his face. “Thank you so much for helping Jane heal. You possess such a remarkable gift.”
Kaiyah awkwardly giggled but returned his handshake as her eyelids fluttered. “You’re welcome, Your Highness. It’s been my pleasure,” she sweetly said, never breaking her gaze from his.
Jion held her hand for a moment too long, staring deeply into her eyes with a dumbfounded grin on his face.
But he regained his composure and turned back to me.
“Well, Jane, I’m so glad you’re alright.
Those woods can be treacherous. I wouldn’t recommend going out there again…
at least not alone. Please let me know if you ever need a companion. ”
He stood tall, his posture regal, with his hands clasped behind his back as he addressed Kaiyah and me in turn. “Ladies,” he said, parting with a polite nod as he excused himself from the room.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Kaiyah sighed absentmindedly. “Goddess, you are one lucky lady,” she confided, pouting as she scanned the entryway, visibly hoping he would return.
“Will you keep it in your pants?” I joked, tossing a pillow at her. “Down, girl!”
“I don’t know how you can,” she teased. “You’re constantly surrounded by the kingdom’s most handsome and powerful men. Say what you want about the king, but he sure knows how to make gorgeous babies.” She waggled her eyebrows, emphasizing her point.
A hard laugh escaped me, and I nodded in agreement. “Yes, the brothers are stunning. But they’re so different. Have you noticed how they contrast each other? They’re total opposites.”
Kaiyah shrugged. “I suppose that’s what happens when one child is put on a pedestal his whole life, told he’s destined to be an amazing king and saviour, while the other is just there as a backup in case the first one dies. It must do strange things to a relationship.”
The last thing I wanted to feel at that moment was empathy for Glade, yet the emotion crept in despite my best efforts to suppress it.
The giggling ceased as Kaiyah studied me, concern etching her brow.
“How are you feeling? You know, about the arranged marriage and the Tenebranian attack? I heard about what happened last night. Thank Goddess you’re alright.
I should have been here to help. I should have been here to heal your bruises, but most nights I…
” She trailed off, lost in thought. With a shake of her head she continued, “How do those demons keep finding their way into the castle? I’ve never felt unsafe here before, but I fear things are getting out of control. ”
“Honestly?” My smile faltered. “I’m not doing well.
Everyone thinks I’m the ‘Last Daughter of Domus’ and that I’m supposed to solve all the universe’s problems, but I don’t even know where to start.
And how does my marriage to Jion fit into that, anyway?
” I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger.
“None of it makes sense, and I just want to go home.”
There it was. I finally admitted I missed my miserable, blissfully ignorant life on Earth, where my problems—although terrible—only affected me and not billions of others across the cosmos.
Kaiyah frowned and grasped my hands in an affectionate gesture. I flinched, having not been so accustomed to so much physical affection. I doubted I had ever experienced this kind of love in my life. Though, I relaxed and welcomed her soothing touch.
“Just take it one day at a time, Jane,” she assured me.
“Eventually, everything will make sense. But for now, take a deep breath and focus on the next step…and think about that stunning man you’ll get to share a bed with,” she teased, nudging my shoulder with her own, though a hint of jealousy flared in her eyes.
I tried my best to raise the corners of my mouth into a smile, but they stubbornly stayed put. “Thanks,” I sheepishly replied, still feeling unheard and discouraged.
Just then, a loud knock reverberated against the door.
Kaiyah rose and shuffled to answer it. Outside stood a guard holding an envelope. He murmured something to her, and moments later, she closed the door in his face. Opening the envelope, she glanced back at me, her eyes wide with apprehension.
“It’s Her Majesty, the Queen,” she said. “She would like to have tea with you tomorrow morning.”