The greatest weakness of most humans,
Is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they're alive.
—O. A. Battista
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Her face blanched. She should've understood that he would know. He was aware of everything.
"I came here of my own free will but you are keeping me here forcefully Your Majesty!" she spoke, her anger getting the best of her. Something snapped in her. He actually saw it; the flicker of something dark in her eyes.
"Do you think you won't come to love me eventually?" he asked, raising a crooked smile.
"I will hate you forever if you continue to keep me here." she threatened but Theo wasn't moved one bit.
"Tell me yourself then," he asked moving closer to her, slicing the distance between them. Eva did not back down. Her gaze was as fiery as his, matching the same intensity and level of power.
"What will you do when you return to your village? The Lord will do things that I don't know if you are aware of yet or not. Even if the other men have been dealt with, do you think it will be so easy? For how long will you handle the burden of taking care of your family?"
"What does it matter to you!?"
The flushed and agitated pair froze when their noses brushed softly; gold and shady eyes going round and confused. Eva didn't dare move as his delectable little breaths fell into her mouth again, and that warm throb in her chest returned. Theo looked horrified and perhaps a little...fearful as the silence stretched around them, as he did everything he could to smother that almost instinctive urge to steal a taste. He knew it would scare her off.
He closed his eyes.
Yes; he had definitely gone mad. It was the first time that he let his anger speak for him. All these years he had managed to control his demon's instincts but this girl. She made him want to do things that shocked him more than ever.
Maybe letting her go was the best option, he thought to himself, but his heart constricted with the idea. If she went away, he would end up losing control and destroying every mortal in his Kingdom...
He ripped himself away too quickly but did not stumble, shooting her a look of pure confusion and bewilderment as his head spun. Birdie looked a little too...inviting then; mouth slightly parted and a rosy blush staining her cheeks and the skin across her collarbone. Too human. Too normal.
"Your Majesty-"
"We are getting late," he spoke and continued to approach the courtroom.
He had let go of her hand in the process. His dark and steady words stabbed her like ice-cold darts. She was sure that he had multiple personalities now. One minute he looked like he wanted to kiss her and then he just... left?
Realizing that his hand felt empty, he looked back and saw her standing in the same spot he had left her. The look on her face made his chest heave painfully. His sanity seemed to be abandoning him fully when he took her hand and made her go along with him.
"I might be confused but that doesn't mean I won't figure it out soon enough. The only thing you should know Birdie is that I am not letting you go. Never." he added, his eyes fluctuating in between her eyes and mouth.
What the fuck is she doing to me?
Eva nodded, not wanting to start a heated argument again. With a push, the court's door opened and every man's eye shifted to the pair that stood in the doorway.
Widened orbs.
Gaping mouths.
Fainting bodies.
Theo's gaze, which was soft a minute ago returned to its original hollowness. He brought Eva along with him to the throne while she tried her best to stop him.
"Your Majesty, I will wait below with Advisor Leon-"
"I didn't know you were so close to him." a hint of possessiveness in his tone which didn't surprise him as much as it did her. He was aware that she was making his heart beat, she was making him care and he knew he was protective of her. Last night's killing proved it enough.
"I met him the day I was injured. He helped me." Eva defended him only to make Theo's eyes narrow.
"It is best if the court gets used to your presence since you will be staying here for a long time." he led her up the stairs and Eva felt the weight of everyone's gaze on her. The King seemed unbothered but she was not accustomed to this!
She gasped when he made her sit on the throne and stood beside her ignoring the stares of the shocked men.
"Where is the guest who wanted to talk to me?" came his dull voice as his sharp eyes scanned the large room.
Leon brought a man from a corner whom Eva immediately recognized as the Lord. A sense of anxiety encaged her when she saw the King's deadly smile cross his face. It was not a pleasant sight to behold.
"Your Majesty." bowed the Lord and looked up to see Eva sitting on the throne behind him. His eyes glimmered and he stood up in order to approach her when Leon laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"What do you want?" asked Theo, noticing the way he looked at Eva. If the girl wasn't here, he would've already chopped him up into pieces for his dogs to eat.
"I have come here to claim my fiancée Miss Evangeline Blythe, My King." Ken bowed his head, confused at why Eva was with the King.
Theo raised a brow mockingly. "Fiancée?" he asked. "Miss Blythe hasn't told me of any arrangements so far. Is it true that he is your soon-to-be husband, Eva?"
Ken's brows furrowed as he noticed how casually the King said her name. Were they friends or something?
Eva felt ensnared in his gaze. If she spoke something wrong, she knew The King would be furiously angry and would take his anger out on the Lord and no one else.
That was the last thing she wanted to happen, somebody to get hurt because of her.