5

"She will ride with me" Lucian said suddenly standing next to me and taking my hand in his. Oliver smiled a smile that reached his eyes. What was he so happy about? "Fine" he said shrugging his shoulders. I placed my arms around Lucians waist as we rode off. "Hold on tight we will ride fast" he had told me but I didn't expect it would be this fast. Even though I thought this was too fast many soldiers were riding faster than us slowing down now and then for Lucian to catch up. That's when I realized he was actually riding slow compared to how fast he usually rides. "You don't have to slow down because of me" I said "I am fine." He chuckled "are you sure?" "Yes" I replied. "Fine then" he said in a challenging way and suddenly it felt as if I was flying away. The air whipping my face and hair and I got really scared holding onto Lucian even more. My grip was so hard around his waist I wondered if he could breath but he wasn't complaining. Trees, houses, cliffs and lakes were passing by quickly before my eyes and I felt dizzy and sick. I tried to close my eyes and ignore the dizziness and the urge to vomit but I couldn't fight it for long. "Please stop" I whispered clatching onto Lucian wondering if he even heard what I said. Abruptly he stopped " are you alright?" he asked. I climbed down from the horse fast without any help and ran to the nearest tree throwing up everything in my stomach. Lucian was already beside me and held my hair away. "Don't.." I began before throwing up again. I didn't want him to see me like this. "It's alright" he said massaging my back with one hand as he still held my hair with the other. I was so embarrassed when I turned around and found that all the soldiers stood there looking at me. Lucian gave me a handkerchief as one of the guards handed him a bottle of water which he gave to me as well. "Drink" he said as I wiped my mouth still embarrassed "you should have told me to slow down." I took sips of the water while Lucian watched me intently as if I would collapse anytime. "I'm fine, let's continue " I smiled. I didn't want the journey to take longer than usual because of me.

We sat leaning against a tree after Lucian told his men that we should rest for a while. I knew he was doing it for me. "Where are we going?" I asked. "To Maebeth. To your family." He was going to ask my father to help in this war between brothers. "Will you really kill your brothers?" I asked carefully. "Yes" he said without hesitation. I shivered at the thought. "Even your nephews?" he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes then opened them again. "I won't have to kill them because my brothers will." Why? They are just kids. Why kill your family for the throne? That's something I could never understand. Standing up "we should continue" he said. We continued our journey and I was thankful that Maebeth wasn't far away from Decresh so we reached there at night, after riding the whole day. My three brothers were the ones to welcome us. They spoke mostly to Lucian ignoring me totally. I wasn't expecting more, we were never close. Our family always separated men and women. While men were respected, almost worshipped women were mostly a property that belonged to the men or ready to be sold anytime. "The king is busy right now but will meet you tomorrow morning. You should eat and rest for now" my brother Harris said as he led us to the guest quarters. Looking at him and the rest of my brothers I couldn't help but wonder if they would kill each other when father dies. "What a rude brother you have.It seems you are not close with your brothers either" he said as we entered the guest room. "True" I said as my gaze landed on the table next to the bed were several food dishes were served covered with white food cover. I thought I would be hungry but my stomach was still upset from the ride so I didn't feel like eating anything. "Are you hungry?" I asked my eyes traveling toward Lucian. He had already taken off his military attire and was left wearing a loose shirt that showed of his chest with a pair of pants. It has been three nights since we slept in the same room so I felt nervousness take over my senses as I remembered what he had told me last night. He wanted to do wicked things to me. Wicked? I had asked Ylva what wicked means and she had told me it means devilish, sinful. "What are you thinking about?" Lucian asked laying on the bed leaning his head on his hand, watching me with those captivating eyes. "Nothing" I said shaking my head standing stiffly on the same spot. "Come here" he said patting next to him on the bed. He wants to do sinful things to me. I urged myself to move and took my cloak off walking to the bed. I lay down on my back next to him hesitantly looking up the sealing to avoid his intense gaze. From the corner of my eyes I could still see that he was staring at me in a silence that became unbearable. "Lucian?" He took a deep breath. "I never liked my name. My brothers used to tease me with it calling me Lucifer, making my name sound like a curse. Now when you say my name I like it. You make it sound like a beautiful prayer." I turned to look at him. He had a faint smile on his face but there was sadness in his golden eyes. "Your name is beautiful and it's not a curse. Lucian means ‘Man of light'." He looked at me surprised but then his face became serious. "I am no man of light" he said " there is darkness inside of me." "Everyone has a bit of darkness inside of them, that's ok because darkness and light can't exist without each other." "Are you trying to comfort me?" he asked with a smile. "I am just speaking the truth" I said. It became silent again even though I had a thousand questions on my mind. Will you really kill your brothers? What about the note written in blood? Do you like me? But the question that came out of my mouth was "Why did you agree on waiting to consume the wedding?" "You were scared of me and you still are sometimes." "I don't want to be" I admitted. "I would never hurt you.. but sometimes…I am not myself." "What do you mean?" He lay on his back with a sigh "I am tired, let's sleep. I will tell you some other time" he said. I wanted to know but I was really tired myself as I found it hard to keep my eyes open. Closing my eyes I let the darkness take over. I woke up in the morning with Lucian next to me. He was still sleeping on his back, but shirtless. The sheets covered his stomach but his strong chest and arms were bare. His raven black hair was spread across the pillow looking soft and shiny like silk. I took some of his hair in my hand and inhaled his spicy scent that did things to my body I couldn't explain. My eyes traveled to his face, his eyebrows were thick and perfectly shaped and his eyelashes long and shiny. Now with his eyes closed they almost brushed his impressive cheekbones. His nose sharp and hooked cast a shadow on lips that spoke of sensuality. While his hair was dark as the night his skin was pale as the moon, so smooth it made my fingers itch for a touch. I ran my fingers along the edge of his sharp jawline up to the curve of his lips admiring his good looks when his eyes fluttered open and I stared into them unable to remove my gaze. That's when I realized why I had never studied his face before. His eyes were too captivating to make me notice the rest of his face.They held power and passion but they also spoke of secrets and pain. He smiled with his eyes. I removed my hand and quickly looked away blushing hard. Even though I couldn't see him I could feel his smile widen at my reaction. "No need to shy away wife I am all yours. You can stare and touch however much you want." When I didn't say anything because I was so embarrassed he got up from bed and walked toward the table. My eyes landed on his broad muscular drawn-back shoulders as he walked gracefully. He wasn't too muscular but well built and lean. As he walked he ran his hand through his hair and my heart skipped a beat. Something with the way he walked and moved did strange things to my body. No wonder the maids drooled over him. I had seen his bare upper body before but he had been soaked in blood back then. Now…wait! The scars! Even though some of his hair was covering his back but I could still see most of it and there was no scars. It's not possible. His wounds were very deep and I am sure they would leave scars but there was none. "Wait!" I said before he could slide into his robe. I got up and walked over to him. "Wait" I repeated grabbing his arm and making him turn around. I removed the rest of his hair, no scars, not even a tiny one. His skin looked so smooth as if he never got whipped, not even once. It's not possible I thought shaking my head. "What is it?" he asked confused turning around. "There are..no scars. No scars on your back" I breathed in shock "How?"

"Ah, the scars? They healed" he said simply pulling the robe over his shoulders. "That's impossible, They can't heal that fast and even if they did they would leave scars" I said still trying to make sense of everything. "Well they healed and they didn't leave any scars" was all he said,"now, your father is waiting I need to get going." I was still confused as he walked to the bathroom. Not possible was all my brain was telling me. After taking a bath, dressing up and making my hair with the help of some maids I was on my way to the dining room. Lucian had already left to not make my father wait. I opened the door to the dining room and walked inside. Father was sitting on the short side of the table as mother and Lucian were sitting opposite each other on the long side of it. As I walked closer I noticed that no one was eating and the atmosphere was tense. Lucian's hands were clenched under the table and father expression told me he was displeased. They didn't even notice that I had walked into the room. Mother was the first to notice me, so she stood up from her seat and came over to me. "Darling I missed you so much" she said hugging me but got cut off by father. "Teresa! Behave yourself" he said and mother tensed and walked back to her seat. I hated this, they could never act as parents. Father loved to show off his power and mother was too scared of him to do anything she wanted. "Hazel! The queen and I need to speak with you alone" he said as he and mother stood up from their seats and started walking to the door that led to the next room. I glanced over at Lucian who was still sitting as a statue. He looked up and the expression on his face made my heart clench. "Hurry!" father said who had already walked into the room. I hurried inside and the door got closed leaving Lucian alone in the dining room. What was happening? What did he do to Lucian? Father walked to the center of the room and turned around with his arms crossed over his chest. "Your husband is asking for my help" he started with a frown "but I can't invest in a war I am going to lose." I couldn't believe my ears. I knew that the kingdom was always his priority but I thought if his child was in danger he would at least help a little. "What makes you so sure we are going to lose?" I asked. "Your husband has no allies because of the rumors about him, thus his brothers are stronger now" he explained. "So you are not going to help even if it means I can die?" I asked slowly becoming impatient. "That's why you can stay here with us if you want?" mother said. "Are you telling me to leave my husband?" "He can't protect you, you don't need someone who can't protect you" father insisted. I can't believe this! He was the one who made me get married to Lucian even though he knew of his reputation and without considering my feelings just for power, and now he was telling me to come back. "And you can't throw me away and take me back whenever you want" I spat. "Hazel!" mother said with a warning. "Be careful! You cannot speak to your king like that" father yelled. "You are not my king anymore. Remember you sold me to another kingdom for power" I snapped "I am leaving with my husband now. If I die it's fine I will die with him. I was never treated like a living person here anyways" I said. I never defied my parents. I don't know where I the courage from this time. Turning my back I strode out of the room. Lucian was nowhere in the dining room. Where did he go? "Seems your husband thinks it's a good idea to leave you here as well" father voice came from behind. I clenched my fists to control the anger that was building up inside of me. How could Lucian leave me here without asking me if I wanted to stay? Ignoring my father I ran out of the dining room through the halls to the main garden. Everyone was staring at me in shock because it was unladylike to run, but I didn't care. I just hoped that Lucian hadn't left yet and was relieved when I found him outside with his men.