As the Demon Demands ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Three

Evangeline couldn't believe Marak had followed through with his order. She had hoped that he would have cooled after suppertime, but when she attempted to head to the dining hall, the guards told her that she would be eating in one of the drawing rooms. Marak had been waiting for her there as well, informing her that all of their meals would be served in that room from now on.

It continued for the next several days. She had thought that perhaps he would recant or that they could talk about it, but any time she tried, he would shut her down. It was maddening, and every day that passed, she would get more and more frustrated with his stubbornness. It didn't help that she was still mad at her ladies-in-waiting, who apparently all knew but couldn't tell her. While she could understand they had orders, she would have thought that perhaps they would include something like this in her many lessons to help her prepare for something like an assassination attack.

And by the fifth day, she was done. Perhaps the graceful and mature thing would have been to just accept her new circumstances, but she felt like a caged bird. So, shortly after Marak had left to attend to work, she told the maids to bring her things to another bedroom, one that was far from her and Marak's shared chambers.

The maids had been reluctant and tried to reason with her, but Evangeline refused. If he was going to act like her jailor, then she wouldn't share a bed with him. Besides, these past few days had already been tense enough in the bedroom. She refused to let him touch her, putting a pillow between the two of them while she slept. Sometimes she could barely look at him. Now she was definitely over trying to sleep next to him.

So, despite their unwillingness, they moved her things to the new room. It was smaller than the one she shared with Marak, but it was still bigger than her room back in Oakenfort. She didn't tell anyone but the maids, and she knew Marak wouldn't hear about it until he came to the bedroom to find her missing. The maids were probably too afraid of what might happen if he learned from one of them.

Then night finally came. While two maids organized her things, a third maid helped her in the bath. It was a quick soak, just a gentle hair and face wash. Soon, she was out of the tub and dried and dressed before heading to bed. Her maids seemed nervous, looking at the door as if something bad was about to happen.

But she merely dismissed them for the evening. If something was going to happen, she would deal with it when the time came. There were two guards stationed at her door, as Marak had ordered, so she felt safe snuggling into the unfamiliar bed. She knew that Marak would probably be upset, but she genuinely didn't care how he felt. He certainly didn't seem to care about her own feelings.

Maybe he was just trying to keep her safe. After all, she was only a human without any magical capabilities. She didn't even know to perform any self-defense moves. If someone were to give her a weapon, she would never be able to use it properly. She knew better than anyone else that she was defenseless in an attack. That didn't give Marak the right to lock her up like this though.

She turned on her side to look out the window with a heavy sigh. Maybe they could have another conversation tomorrow. He certainly didn't seem rash enough to think clearly at the moment either. But he should get the hint that she wasn't accepting this when he realized she had moved out of his bedroom. By tomorrow, surely he would see how ridiculous he was being.

That logic immediately flew out the window when the bedroom doors burst open. She nearly jumped out of bed, a gasp escaping her lips. Sitting up on her hands, she looked to the now open door with wide eyes. With light illuminating behind him, Marak stood there menacingly, his eyes wild with rage and locked on her.

Despite the chill that went down her spine, she managed to give him a small frown before slumping back onto the bed, keeping her back to him.

That only infuriated him more, and he slammed the door behind him. "What do you think you're doing, Eve?"