The Sun's Shadow

Chapter Twenty-Five

What really happened last night...

Her hand stilled and she looked at the small piece of parchment he provided and thought of everything she had to tell him. Until now, only gossip filled his ears and he needed to know if certain pieces were true.

So she scribbled everything down without leaving out the harsh details. The fact that it was his father that came to escort her and that Kaanan unleashed his fury upon the King to put an end to the madness and never completed the public mating.

When he read that as she wrote it down, he sighed. Apparently, that was all he wanted to know in the first place. She mentioned being locked up with the satyroid and that got his attention.

"What do you mean... Locked up? That beast locked you in a cell with him? What did he do-"

Now he noticed how her hand trembled, unable to write down what truly conspired.

"Did he..." He inhaled deeply, noting that her scent hadn't changed. Even if he didn't fulfill what he set out to do, how close had he come? But she shook her head, and that puzzled him more. It wasn't the satyroid she feared.

He didn't want to leave her only for her to slip into nightmares, so he placed the flowers in an empty vase beside her bed and tucked her back into the comforter that drowned her.

"Let's not think about that then. Instead, think about tomorrow. It's supposed to be really sunny. Do you want to escape the castle and go to the gorge for the day? A little past it is a trail that has some awesome views of the waterfalls. You can ride on my back." He winked, and she looked down to move her ankle side to side, wishing it to be healed already.

Finally- Plans that didn't involve putting her life on the line. She jumped at the opportunity and didn't even need the paper to express her excitement.

"I can't take all the credit. Sandros thought it'd be good for you too." He smirked, admiring the way the light danced on her skin once more before he retired for the night. "If you do that tomorrow, I'll have a hard time keeping you to myself. And I really don't feel like sharing your company."

He left her with that admittance and a soft goodnight.

Although he wasn't the only one looking to pay her a visit that evening. Hiding in the shadows around the corner from her room, the Prince awaited his turn. It took all his strength to hold back the urge to leap at his cousin's throat and end him where he stood. The only reason he allowed him to leave with his life was due to him not exiting her chambers with a mating scent.

Kaanan inhaled acutely, tasting every scent in the air, and came up with nothing that signified they had just mated. Pleased with this, he turned away from causing a scene that would prolong his faenix's inevitable nightmares.

.

.

.

They never came. Ele awoke more refreshed than ever, loving the wonders of the IV Charles had her on throughout the night. She pulled it from her vein and placed a cotton ball against it to cease any bleeding. Tossing it into the trash beside her bed, she paused to admire the flowers with a fresh mindset.

Today would be a perfect day.

Even with the curtains closed, sunlight peaked through with its powerful rays. She opened them up to allow more light to pour in and realized this only wasted her precious time beneath the unhindered sun itself- Without glass preventing it from absorbing into her skin.

She hurried to get ready; tucking her hair into a neat ponytail so she could get away with only brushing it and not styling it. When she entered the kitchen early that morning, Armida noted how the early bird gets the worm then slid a fresh plate of blueberry pancakes down the counter.