Prince of Dragons

Chapter Sixteen

I couldn't even begin to describe the emotions that slammed into me after the last remnants of Alaban's spell faded. Annoyance. Awkardness. Embarrassment. Shame. Anger. Fear. There was just so much happening at once, all I could do was back against a wall and slide down it—though, still being mindful to keep the towel...well...covering my bits.

When Alaban saw me slide down the wall, his eyes glazed over with worry, and he hesitantly approached me, a frown on his full lips. "A-Are you alright? I understand it's a lot to take in at once..."

I leaned my head back against the wall and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm alright. I'm just...I don't know, there's a lot of mixed emotions right now."

Alaban nodded as if he personally knew what I was going through. "This spell does have that little side effect. I...admit, I probably should have informed you before going through with the spell. Those emotions you're feeling, and the remnants of the night prior. When I helped you regain those lost moments, the emotions also caught up, if that makes any sense to you. I...could bring you some water if that would help."

I nodded my head and Alaban moved to grab the glass on my nightstand. While he did that, all I could do was mull over the images from last night—from my unsightly display of me stumbling everywhere in front of all those noble families, to me being tossed onto the bed by Cayden and having such...gods, such lewd, shameful thoughts—which was probably where the shameful feeling was coming from. Then the whole thing with Alaban, then the incident with Lumerian and how forceful he was, and how Alaban saved my dignity by magically causing Lumerian to fall unconscious.

Wait...what happened to said Elven prince after I fell asleep?

"Lumerian...w-what did you do with him after I passed out?" I asked the sun dragon as he walked back to me—my glass of water in his hands.

"Even though I wished to drop that little rat off into a dirty latrine...I had one of your staff return him to his chambers." He replied nonchalantly, amber gaze flickering to me.

My gut dropped, and my anxiety began to fester. "W-What did they say when they saw him unconscious? They didn't think that I did that to him, did they?"

Alaban immediately shook his head. "What? No, no. I ah..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "I may have...magically altered myself to look like you, and told them he had one too many drinks, and that he would be better off in his own chambers."

I stared at him with a peculiar mix of awe, and "what the hell". He...impersonated me? Like, did he, I don't know, change his physical being to my image? Or was it more of an illusionary affect?

There was a strange feeling that blossomed within me, as well as a thought that made me question why the hell it even popped into my head, and immediately shunted all that to the furthest parts of my mind.

Alaban tilted his head at the look that crossed my face. "I...thought impersonating you would be a better option than if I, a stranger, handed over an unconscious prince. I...hope you are not offput by that."

I shook my head. "No, I was just...magic is so interesting. It's a foreign concept to me that you can even do such immaculate things." I took the glass of water from him and guzzled the rest of it down, feeling the other man's gaze on me. "So, no questions were asked? When they saw Lumerian, I mean?"

"No. All they asked me was if I was alright and needed medicinal herbs for any "hangovers" I may have come morning. Probably under the assumption that I had been drinking as well. Which," his gaze lit up with amusement, "isn't too far from the truth."

My cheeks burned and I turned my attention elsewhere. "I-I don't normally drink like that, I just...there was a lot going on for me yesterday, and I...indulged a little bit."