Chapter 92: In The Dragon’s Den
She narrowed her beautiful eyes at him and added, "You even missed the entire last week of classes. I wonder who would be affected by whose grade in the end." She crossed her arms across her chest and raised a brow at him.
They both fell silent, locked in a staredown, until he bounced the book on the sofa, to pull Eve towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist. She let out a gasp and heard him ask in a sultry voice, "If I fall behind, what are you going to do about it?"
Her heart shuddered but she responded, "I’ll..I’ll punish you."
Ivan’s eyes widened for a split second before it registered to him what exactly she uttered.
He tightened his grip on her and he drawled, "And how will you punish me, princess?"
She swallowed hard at his closeness and thought for a second. Before she realised what she was saying, she blurted, "You’ll...you’ll have to do whatever I want then."
Ivan’s eyes gleamed with amusement, and a low chuckle escaped his lips. Then he leaned in on her and, smiling, he murmured, "Deal." Then pressed a brief, lingering kiss on her lips, making butterflies flutter in Eve’s stomach.
He pulled away, still wearing a devastating smile on his face, and said, "I’ll quiz you once I’m back."
She pursed her lips, "But I don’t know when you’ll be back, I’ll need some time to cover everything."
"Fine, you have until five in the evening today. I’ll be away for sometime so you can use this time to cover everything I have given you. If not....you know what will happen."
"I’m not a child," she looked at him exasperatedly at his constant threat.
"I know," he gave her an unbridled smile, as he leaned in to kiss her nose and continued, "Arthur will bring your meal during lunch time. Don’t accept anything from anyone apart from Arthur, and don’t let anyone else inside apart from Arthur. I’ll try to come back early, and my father will be expecting us for dinner, so be ready by six, alright?" He looked at her, waiting for her response after giving her a long to-do list.
When she gave him a nod, he prompted, "Use these pretty lips of yours."
"Yes," she whispered softly.
"Be good." He tightened his hold on her waist before almost reluctantly released her and turned to step out of the room.
Once he left, Eve turned around to see her books and notebook on the table and let out a soft sigh before settling herself on the sofa and opened her history book.
As she did, she felt something in between the pages. When she opened one of the pages, a letter slipped through and fell on her lap.
She froze for a second at the sight of another letter, before her heart began to hammer against her chest as she remembered the last time she received one. With shaky hands, she picked up the letter and saw another familiar handwriting. It read:
"Too Evelyn."
Eve whispered, "Oh god, please don’t let it be another plot. I think I’ve had enough adventure in my life for a while."
As she said it out loud, she realised how good this period felt for her to actually unwind, without worrying about the villains lurking around the corner to get her. Maybe because she was with Ivan. She looked around the room and realised this was his place, the den of the most dangerous man alive, where only someone suicidal would dare to enter.
Comforting her with that thought alone, she gently opened the letter and read:
"Dear Evelyn,
I received your letter that you had left for me in your room. Damien told me everything you went through, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am to know that you’re safe. I wanted to come see you right away, but Damien and Ivan stopped me so as not to raise any suspicion about your whereabouts. This was the only means I could think of to reach out to you.
I look forward to spending time with you once you return to the academy. Till then, please be safe and take care of yourself.
Love,
Cece
Also, don’t reply to this letter; I’ll speak to you directly once you are here."
Eve exhaled in relief once she realised it was a letter from her friend. She smiled softly as she re-read it, letting the warm feeling of being cared for sink in. That was when it dawned on her that she wasn’t alone anymore, that people were out there to care and look after her, who waited for her return.
And out of all the people, the one who made the biggest impact on her life was Ivan. With him she felt safe and protected. It was an exciting new journey to be on with him, yet she couldn’t deny that it was extremely daunting at the same time. No matter how optimistic she tried to be...the fear of abandonment was still very much there. She couldn’t help but think...what if she became too attached to him... that when the time comes to end their relationship, she may not be able to come out of it. That it might end up destroying her completely.
Evelyn knew those sweet, reassuring words spoken by Ivan were sincere ...but she was still painfully aware that he was still the crown prince of a kingdom of vampires, while she was merely a jilted Lumen princess who would one day be required to go back to her kingdom. Yet she couldn’t help but be drawn to him so completely, to lean on his strong shoulders, to hold on to his warmth that he gave her. She smiled at the irony of how much she hand dreaded coming to this kingdom in the first place.
Dreaded the possibility of meeting the infamous, ruthless pure-blooded vampire. Yet here she was, in his innermost sanctuary, one place she felt the safest in the entire kingdom, with him guarding her like a colossal dragon. For her to be able to sit in his den so leisurely with a history book in her hand. "How the times have changed," she whispered to herself.
She glanced at her empty locket and caressed it, "Mother, I guess I am not alone anymore." A soft smile came to her lips.
After staring at it a moment longer, she finally got back to her studies.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the palace, firm and purposeful footsteps echoed through the corridor as Ivan made his way to his father’s study. Every staff bowed down deeply to him, not only out of respect to their crown prince but also as a sign of them yielding to the most powerful being in their kingdom.
The maids couldn’t resist but steal sneaky glances at him, eager for a glimpse of his utterly gorgeous features. They could only sigh as they envied the lucky stars of the mysterious woman who was getting to stay next to this godly man. Although they were dying of curiosity to see the lucky woman who was able to move such a formidable man, they also valued their heads attached to their body. Especially after Royal Butler Arthur gave them a stern warning to conduct themselves properly, unless they wanted to end up in the dungeon with the other two audacious maids who dared to snoop around before.
Soon, Ivan reached the intricately carved dark double doors. He knocked once before marching in, not bothering to wait for a reply from his father like always.
He stood before another man who looked to be in his late thirties, King Iskara Ignia De Ashen. He was handsome, with dark brown hair and the same dark blood-red eyes as his son, though Iskara’s gaze carried a wisdom that spoke of having seen and endured everything life had to offer. Ivan inherited his father’s tall, commanding physique, but his beautiful features and raven black hair came from his late mother.
As soon as Iskara saw his son, his face lit up with a warm smile, "You are here, son! I have been expecting you. Though I must say I thought you’d come to meet yesterday itself."
"Apologies, Father, for not coming to meet you sooner. I was dealing with a situation. I hope you can overlook it?’ Ivan replied politely.
"So I heard about this situation of yours," Iskara responded, his wise eyes gleaming with curiosity, and added, "I believe she is doing better now?"
"Yes, Father. You will see her tonight," Ivan replied flatly, ignoring his father’s probing stare.
King Iskara chuckled at his son’s attempt to feign indifference, but he could see the light in his eyes at the mention of the Lumen Princess he had brought with him. He gave his son an approving nod and replied gently, "I look forward to meeting her."
He then gestured toward the seat in front of his desk and prompted, "Why don’t you take a seat and take me through everything that unfolded in the past couple of days. I need to know everything for the upcoming court hearing and everything related to Marquess Lester Viremont." As he uttered his name, the king’s eyes became colder, the warmth vanishing as he took on the air of a ruthless ruler ready to pass judgment on those who had sinned.
