Chapter 8 - Beyond Meets the Eye
The moment Isnena opened her eyes, she went still.
Fear rushed through her veins, her breaths coming out in fearful pants.
Red embers stared down at her and she couldn't look away, not even as her lips trembled and her teeth clattered, desperate to scream for help.
No.
NO!
"Gh—gh—ost," she breathed.
She was getting haunted.
This ghost had found its way into her bed chambers.
Why—
Then it hit her and words rushed pass her lips. "Not me! It was my husband. Kill him instead for your peace."
Chains rattled as the night creature who had been standing, leaned in like he had in the hall - an hovering terror. This time, Haron was not between them.
No presence was saving her from him.
She sank back into the soft surface her elbows dug against, trapped.
"Please," she begged, her eyes watering with tears. "I did nothing to you."
But his face twisted with more rage and his canines elongated.
Fear spiked in her.
"No! Please! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"
Claws sank into her neck sharply, a painful cry tore through her as the darkness claimed her hurriedly.
Dead.
The monster had killed her for something she didn't even do.
Hatred run spread through her coldly like venom till a sharp pain in her back jerked her awake.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I did not mean to hurt you."
It was a familiar voice.
One she knew so well.
She blinked, the blurry vision clearing away as the rays of the sun seeping in through curtains almost blinded her.
A… dream?
It was a dream?!
Her heart was thundering in her ears.
Her body was trembling.
Her breath was shaky.
But it was a dream.
"I'm sorry," the words slipped past her lips, all thinking eroded from her. "I'm sorry." Tears ran down her cheeks. Her heart was still filled with so much fear that she couldn't think. The dread was still present in her veins and somehow, she could still feel his claw in her skin. "Please, forgive me. I'm sorry."
"Ismena?" Haron's brows furrowed in confusion as he adjusted himself on his knees, right next to her bed. "My love?"
"Please don't punish me again. I won't do it. Any of it, I promise. I—-"
He pressed a finger against her lips.
"Shhhh. I forgive you." He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I wouldn't do this to you if you didn't make me. I just saw it in your eyes that you have the tendency of it, of pity, of jealousy. I couldn't stand by and not correct it." He dragged in a breath as he sank his nose to the hollow of her neck. "It is my duty to remind you of your place."
For Ismena, words slipped into one ear and out the other. She was too disoriented to think and the dream had felt so real that up till now, she felt stuck in it.
She couldn't even tell if she was right here on this bed. But her body knew habits and routine and stuck to them.
There was no thinking.
Just an execution of actions that had been done so often, there was no thinking required to carry them out again.
"I—-I'm sorry," she said, her voice shaky.
"I forgive you." His gaze held her dazed ones. "Let me show you how much I forgive you."
His hand slipped beneath her and soon enough the trembling of her body was no longer a result of a nightmare. She came to her senses again during that but when the pleasure hit her, she was still too disoriented to know if it was welcomed.
Haron pulled away with glazed eyes and a wide smile, pushing his fingers through his hair, then pressing a kiss against her lips.
When his hands moved against her back, she realised that he had been applying ointment to her wound.
The room fell into silence and his smile dwindled, till it vanished. She watched him, trying not to think of anything.
He wouldn't punish her until she did something. If she only looked at him, thought of him, and did nothing else, maybe he wouldn't punish her today.
"I love you."
"I love you too," the words slipped past her lips. Practiced.
"Do you? Even after this?" There was additional pressure in his hands as he applied the ointment.
"Yes. I love you. You did what you had to."
He nodded. "You are right." Then he dragged in a breath. "I just needed to know that you understand."
Then he rose to his feet. From where she lay, he was a towering sight. Short brown hair. Blue royal attire. A golden crown.
She used to think that he was beautiful. He still was but she didn't think of it anymore.
"I have planned out day together. We need all the time we can have, undisturbed by your likely thoughts and silly whores. Will you let us have this, Ismena?"
"I will deny you of nothing. I am yours."
He nodded, dragging in a breath. "I'll be waiting for you."
Then he turned to leave and she watched him. His hand reached for the door and he stopped, turned and started walking to her again.
Think of him. Only him.
He knelt by her bedside, his lips catching hers in a hungry kiss. She let him have everything and when he pulled away, they were both breathless.
Then he rose to his feet again. "Please don't keep me waiting for too long."
She managed a smile, "I won't."
When he finally left the room, she heaved a sigh of relief. The memories of the dream flooded her mind along with its dread. She could feel the pricking of her skin at the part of her neck she had facing the bed.
It was just a dream. The night creature was dead. It wasn't any ghost. It was just a dream.
Her mind playing tricks on her.
Still, she dragged herself to the mirror and inspected her neck.
There was nothing, but the marks of Haron's forceful passion.
It was just a dream.
She let out a loose breath and was about to turn away when she caught sight of something else on her neck.
It was a mark, different from the rest.
Like a claw's mark.