The King’s Tainted Mate
Chapter 44

How did one escape or hide from a person they did not wish to see? I stared out of my bed chamber's window and into the dense forest below, wondering. It is not that I did not know how. Once upon a time I was so good at it. I would even dare consider myself a master. Back in the forgotten village, it was as a game for me when I was younger. Well, not as young as I ought to have been when playing such games. That I could admit. But never the less, one could never deny how good I was. Disappearing in plain sight, hiding in the most unusual places and crevices, never to be found unless I wished it so. The palace had a lot of those. I had no doubt that even if one could sniff out my wolf scent, I could still earn myself enough time before they found me after I hid and yet I could use none of them as the person I sought to escape resided in places I could not run away from even if I wished to.

Elian... The mere thought of his name sent my belly fluttering so much I had to hold my breath while I waited for the wave to fade away. My hands clutched to the edges of the large window as I rode the current wave that was mightier than the last. It was as if the more he invaded my thoughts the more difficult ignoring the king of Xatis became. Against my wishes, he'd slipped into the innermost parts of me, leaving me yearning for him than escaping.

Revenge...that is what it was supposed to be about, but one night... one hot night filled with untold pleasures had reduced my brave self into a maiden that was always longing, yearning and yet never brave enough to claim what she desired the most. I had no doubt he'd be more than glad to satiate my lingering thirst, but one night of shameless indulgence had left me too embarrassed to even face the king of Xatis. My every action that was driven by my own thirst that night had come to bite me in my behind. I could not even behold my own reflection without my face blooming with colour. How then would I be able to face him? How would I be able to show my face in the very hallways where I'd made it clear what his majesty and I had been up to.

Not that that fear had done anything to dissuade my own heart from longing. Days and nights had come and gone. Faithful as they were meant to do by the gods and yet here I was as though today was the very day I had escaped his chambers as Gol had put it. I wished my own growing need to seek him out had been fashioned after the pattern of the rising and setting of the sun. The heavens knew I could do with moments filled without all the longing, but as I had learned earlier on, this was the curse of the mate bond and I sure as hell knew the moon goddess spent her current days wearing a pleased smile.

"How long will you remain hidden behind these doors, my lady?"

Astryn's accusatory tone jolted me out of my thoughts, keeping me from letting out a curse at the moon goddess. "I am doing no such thing." Letting go of the window's edges, I swung around to face the maid. Partly because I wished to convince her of my innocence even when I was as guilty as hell. My attempt was as futile as my own attempts at keeping my mind from dwelling on nothing but thoughts of my mate.

Astryn studied me before she made it oh so clear that even if what I'd said was not true, she was going to agree with me. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. I was afraid I might have to drag you for your first engagement this morning."

"My first what?" I frowned at the maid's beaming face. I knew not of any engagement and neither did I wish for one. In its entirety, I did not wish for anything that would deprive me of the faux comfort and privacy that came with staying behind my chamber's closed doors.

"I was not going to say anything, but..." Astryn suddenly collapsed on my bed and lay there hands and feet sprawled in all directions while a contented sigh escaped her lips. "I knew my king was many things, but a romantic? That was a total surprise."

I should have reprimanded her. Saying such a thing about the king was not proper, but the maiden had already asked for forgiveness and I was no proper lady to care about her speaking her mind. Besides that, I did agree with her as I was just as surprised too. My eyes fell on his little note, heart skipping beats. It was peeking from under my pillow where I'd placed it reluctantly after reading it for what would make it a thousand times. The moment my eyes had fallen on it, I knew his words would remain timeless and I? I would forever be smitten.

"I can still not get over the fact that the stone that had the noble maiden's wish to claw each other's eyes out whenever they were invited to the palace now rests on your finger. But I must say, it's perfect. You two are perfect." A dreamy sigh escaped Astryn's mouth, making me blush and regret letting her speak freely at all. Because now I had been plunged deeper in the sea of longing.

I cleared my throat, seeking to get the maid focused again. "What am I to do over this engagement?"

"Oh, only lady Liira knows that. She awaits your presence in her private gardens."

Private gardens, I had come to understand, were not just places where the royals enjoyed tea or the smell of flowers. Despite their location being on the outer walls of the bed chambers, they happened to be the safest place for important conversations to be had. I, however, could not think of anything of importance that Liira would need to speak to me about. But knowing my mate's grandmother, mine was not the duty to question why, but to grace the matriarch with my presence. And perhaps if I was lucky, our conversation would give me that long overdue distraction.

I followed Astryn's lead out of my bed chambers, but our journey was interrupted right at the open doors. Guards were busy hauling furniture along the hallway and disappearing with it into a room a few doors from mine. "What in god's name is going on?" "Oh, his highness has decided to move his study on this floor."

"He what? Why?" I couldn't hide my surprise. Had he done this because I had been avoiding him and he was looking to make sure I couldn't?

"Something about being close to lady Liira, now that the matriarch has chosen to return to the palace. Did you know that he was always close to her?" Astryn kept casually speaking of my mate's and Liira's relationship, but I was no longer listening, my mind stuck on something she'd said.

"He'd moved in..." That was all I'd heard. And my stupid heart...that piece of me that I was sure was not a part of me at times, was both fluttering and hammering in my chest at the mere thought that he would be spending days and nights just a few doors down from mine. Would he sneak out in the middle of night and seek me out? Would he even need to sneak out? Or perhaps...

"Come, I do not wish to keep Liira waiting." I tugged on Astryn's arm and dragged her away much to her surprise. "Is everything okay, my lady? You look-"

"Everything's fine Astryn." I mumbled even when I knew that nothing was. So much for wishing to hide and escape from him