Annalise looked up at the man who just asked a very confusing question and found his eyes locked on the Moon Thread on her wrist.
'So that was what he was referencing to.' She thought while looking at her Moon Thread that was still shining softly even in the daylight.
"There is." She answered his question as she took out one of the two remaining Moon Threads that she had in her possession.
She was about to offer the thread to the Lord but before she could have done that, Valerius surprised her just like Lord Kenric as he too offered his wrist to her. She took a glance at him and found his eyes looking back at her as he waited patiently for her to tie the Moon Thread.
Not wanting to test his patience, she hurriedly took a few steps closer to him before she started tying the Moon Thread around his left wrist. She felt nervous as she could still feel his eyes on her and it was nothing but a pure struggle for her to get the knot of the thread in place without making any mistakes.
"Aren't you angry at us? For not coming to the marriage ceremony?" he asked all of a sudden, surprising her once again.
He was the first one to talk about this matter because Kenric didn't even talk about the wedding ceremony at all. And while she wasn't expecting the Dark Lords to apologize for abandoning her at their wedding, she was at least expecting some sort of explanation.
But when Kenric didn't bring the topic up, she decided to let go and no longer worry about the past. It wasn't like their explanation would have changed anything.
That's why she felt surprised when Lord Valerius brought up the topic. But instead of apologizing or giving any sort of explanation, he asked a very unexpected question.
"I'm not," Annalise answered simply as she kept her attention on the task at hand. She didn't explain further, she didn't need to. Was she disappointed? Yes, she had been ever since the royal edict arrived at her doorsteps. But was she angry? No!
Thankfully, Lord Valerius didn't ask any further questions and just accepted her answer. Even if he was surprised by her answer or curious to know more, his expression didn't change at all.
It took a little bit more time than intended for her to tie the knot and as soon as she was done, Annalise hurriedly took a few steps back to create some distance between herself and Lord Valerius. Their close proximity and his scent were affecting her more than his eyes that refused to leave her.
But because she was nervous and in hurry, she didn't notice her steps and got her feet entangled in her dress which caused her to lose her balance.
A gasp escaped Annalise's lips as she felt her body being sharply pulled towards the floor. She closed her eyes tightly as she prepared to take the fall that would have definitely hurt, but it never came. Thankfully!
Instead, she felt a pair of strong arms circling her small frame as she was pulled against a hard body, a warm embrace that surrounded her like a cocoon. Her senses were attacked by his intoxicating scent that surrounded her, a dark spicy scent mixed with an earthly aroma and there was also the freshness of rivers. A weird mix but it still made sense... in a weird way.
Annalise found her head pressed against Lord Valerius' chest and she heard his fast heartbeats that probably were of no match to her own racing heartbeats but were definitely not as normal as one's should be. He was affected too. But was it because of her?
Their bodies were pressed together, leaving next to no space between them and she could feel his hands resting on her lower back. Even her dress was not able to stop the heat of his palms to graze her skin... or maybe the coldness of his palms.
Annalise felt soft tingles emerging all over her body that felt too foreign but also too good at the very same time. Something inside her started coming to life little by little and the more time she spent in Valerius' arms, the more alive her body was becoming.
"Are you alright?" She heard his soft voice asking the question after a few seconds, making her to come out of her surprised state as she pulled her head back and looked up at the man while making no move to leave his embrace.
Since he was pretty tall, even a little bit taller than Kenric, she had to crane her neck to look up at him and she once again found his icy blue eyes looking directly at her.
Annalise felt her throat going dry as she stared at the handsome man, his face so close to her that she could easily touch him but thankfully, her hands didn't move from where they were resting against his arm and chest.
Their staring contest continued for a little while and the more time she spent gazing into his beautiful eyes, the more lost she got.
Melting.
Falling.
Ensnared by his beauty and grace.
A part of her brain was aware that she needed to step away, to leave his embrace but the bigger part despised the idea of ever leaving his arms. Even when she tried to move away, her legs refused to listen to her.
She felt spellbound. Lost to his touch, as if being pulled in a beautiful dream.
She noticed his lips finally moving as he parted them slightly only to press them into a thin line. He seemed affected too. His eyes hadn't left hers even for a second and his heartbeats were still competing with hers.
"Annalise."
He called her name in a husky tone, like a warning. "You have no idea what you are doing. Do You?"
"Huh?" Annalise wasn't sure what the man was talking about. She was too lost staring at his full lips that were moving in slow motion.
"You are such a threat, Annalise. I should have known better."