"Come on, Elon... now is not the time to get lost in the sight of his dangerously attractive body—damn it."
Elon swallowed hard, forcing her gaze upward, only to meet eyes that made her feel stripped bare. It was as if he wasn't just looking at her—but into her soul. A shiver laced down her spine. He wasn't from this kingdom. Not from any land she had ever set foot in.
"You've stolen the most precious thing I own, my lady," he said, voice low, laced with threat and promise.
His words dragged her out of the storm of desire swirling within her. He was still holding her hand—no, he dared to lift her chin, brushing his thumb ever so lightly against her lips. Startled, Elon stumbled back, covering her mouth with both hands. Her eyes flared with restrained fury.
'She's attractive in a stunning way,'
He thought running his fingers through his long black hair.
"What are you still doing here? Get out of my room," she hissed, feeling uncharacteristically unmoored in his presence. His smirk curled, daring her to repeat herself.
"Your brother gave me permission to stay. Only he can revoke it. You, my lady, don't have the right. Since when did women make decisions in these lands?"
Crack!
The slap echoed through the room. His smug words died on his lips. For a man who wore arrogance like a crown, he hadn't expected that. She hadn't expected herself to do it either.
"I said get out."
Her voice shook with rage. She loathed men who belittled women. That belief—that disease—had to be purged from this world. Yet he simply raised an eyebrow, not even touching the spot she struck.
"Wow," he said slowly. "No one's ever hit me and lived to tell the tale. Congratulations, darling. You're now my number one target."
He lounged back on her bed, shameless, crossing one leg over the other as his eyes traced every inch of her flustered, furious form.
"Calm down, Elon. He's just a bastard trying to pull out your worst self," she muttered to herself, massaging her temples.'William better come and throw this bastard out.'
She turned to open the door—only to feel his hand slam it shut. The tension in the room thickened, palpable like thunderclouds.
"You need me," he murmured. "Your brother does. So does your sick father. I'm offering help—for free. I'm from the Shadow Continent. I know things no one else here does. Think before you make any rash decisions, princess."
Elon turned to him slowly, face carved in stone. Her silence was louder than a scream.
"Step back."
She met his eyes without a flinch. For the first time, he lowered his hand from the door. She's not just beautiful, he thought, she's something else entirely...
He blinked—and she was gone.
A deep breath. Then his fist smashed into the wall, a wall covered in markings, reminders of plans meticulously crafted. Blood bloomed across his knuckles.
"I am the King of the Shadow Continent. I swear to this empty room and this stone wall—I will make her mine."
His heart pounded like war drums at a masquerade of chaos and lust. It wasn't the confusion he despised. It was new. Addictive.
---
Downstairs, Elon gasped for clean air—air without a single trace of the man's intoxicating breath. She practically flew down the steps. Damn William, always creating trouble. He still hadn't accepted that he'd lost his title as a prince.
A harsh cough sliced through the air. Her sister Harvey rushed past. "What's happening to him?" Elon burst into her father's room, heart clutched in her chest. He was coughing blood. William stood at his side, pale.
"He won't survive without surgery. We need to move him to a facility with advanced care," William said grimly.
Elon froze. There was only one place with such medical capability.
"The Shadow Continent..."
She bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. "With their insane border control, not even dust gets through. You know it's impossible, William. Even for me."
She sank to the bed beside her father, holding his frail hand. His body was wasting away. Her heart was being carved in slow agony. This was her father. Her everything.
"That man upstairs... he's a noble from the Shadow Continent. His convoy was attacked. He claims he can help," William said carefully.
Before he could say more, Elon shot to her feet, ready to scream—but he cut her off:
"We don't have another choice, Elon. We need him."
She looked at her brother, then her father. Her foot stamped against the ground. She was a tactician, the mastermind behind the Skull Reapers. But in this moment? She was powerless.
"I'll ask him myself."
She turned and marched back upstairs. A thousand questions swirled inside her, but she forced out one sentence:
"I hate to say this, but my father needs treatment. And the only place that has it… is your continent."
Before she could finish, he swept a strand of her hair back and traced her lips with his thumb.
"You came back to me. That's all I needed. Consider it done. I'll help your father."
There was a magnetic pull between them—dangerous, undeniable.
"But I'll need one thing in return," he added, eyes darkening. "If anyone finds out I'm from the Shadow Continent, I'll be hunted. So protect me. Stay close to me. That's all I want—you."
His gaze devoured her, imagining the taste of every inch of her, his blood humming like wildfire.
"What if I'm a spy for your king?"
Her voice broke the haze.
' I don't want our story to start with a lie,' he thought with proud smile, offering his hand for shake.
"Then kill me the moment I betray you," he replied without blinking. "I'm Shine Orig Dessman. The King of the Shadow Continent."
She stared at him in disbelief. A king? Here? In her house?
'If he's that damn king, it won't change anything in me, and if he's lying then his neck will be the cost,'
She thought eyeing his hanging hand.
"I'm Elonora. It's not an honor to meet you. Nor to strike a deal with your kind. Engrave this into your skull—I will kill you either way."
Shine whistled low. She doesn't even believe me. Oh, darling… you will.
---