KIARA
"Kiara?" He breathed, pulling away.
I nodded, dragging in a shaky breath.
"Yes, It's me. Can you smell my scent?" I whispered.
Slowly, he moved away from me and got out of bed. He stood under the glow of the moonlight, staring at me with glistening obsidian eyes. His hair danced with the rhythm of the cool breeze that swept into the room, making him seem ethereal.
Recognition flashed in his eyes. Next came the appearance of guilt that clouded his eyes.
"Kiara... I'm sorry. I didn't-"
I cut him off, sitting up on his bed.
"You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't hurt me, it's okay" I said.
He brought a hand to his head, his chest heaving.
"You shouldn't be here" he winced.
"Your majesty? You should lie down" the green eyed stranger said as he approached Denzel with his hands outstretched.
"Kiara, please... just... leave" Denzel croaked, leaning against the stranger who steadied him the moment his knees buckled.
I fought the urge to stay there. Quietly, I walked out of the room. I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. I needed answers but I didn't know how to get them.
In my room, I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes. I brought a hand to my neck, a chill running down my spine at the thought of how much the situation could have escalated. Good thing the stranger had arrived at the scene.
Denzel, who are you? I found myself thinking.
Troubled by the possibility of danger that my association with Denzel could bring, I fell asleep.
I dreamt.
I dreamt of the one person I never wanted to see again.
Lucas Fynnian.
When I awoke the next morning, I found Cassy sleeping on the bed, right beside me. There was a bowl of water and a damp towel on the night stand. I sat up slowly, wincing at the ache in my head. Pushing my fingers through my hair, I heaved a sigh.
Right. With everything that had happened, I'd almost forgotten about how bad my illness could get.
"My lady?" Cassy said, sitting up. She was bleary eyed.
"Cassy... when did you come in?" I asked.
"Not long. He asked me to watch over you" she said, yawning.
"What do you mean?" I frowned.
She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms above her head with a groan.
"Denzel was here. You were having a nightmare. He told me you were burning up."
My eyes widened, the memory of how unwell he'd looked flashing in my mind.
"Didn't he seem unwell?" I asked.
"Now that you mention it, he looked sick. He was a little unsteady on his feet. He insisted that he was fine. So, he stayed by your side and watched over you until right before dawn."
I stared at her, flabbergasted. A sudden urge to see him swept over me. So, I reached out to hold her hand.
"Do you know where he is, right now?" I asked.
"Are you sure you want to get out of bed and go in search of him when you look like death warmed over?" said a masculine voice from the entrance of the room.
Cassy and I looked up to find the green eyed stranger I'd seen the previous night. His head was shaved at the sides with a single braid running down the middle of his head to his lower back.
"Who are you?" I asked.
He folded his arms across his chest as he leaned against the door jamb.
"Keenan Avory, Denzel's beta" he said, his face impassive.
"Oh...thank you for what you did last night" I said.
"I didn't do it for you. I did it for Denzel. He would never forgive himself if he ever happened to hurt you" Keenan responded.
"I want to see him. Please, take me to him" I said.
Keenan nodded once.
"But, I won't be responsible for you passing out or something " he said.
"You don't have to worry about that" I breathed, giving him a small smile.
He looked away, unfolding his arms.
"I'm not worried," he droned, turning away from me.
"I don't like him. He gives off such bad vibes," Cassy said to me, not looking away from him.
He barely reacted, despite having heard her crude statement.
"I'll be back, Cassy" I said to her. She frowned.
"What exactly happened last night?" She asked.
Squeezing her hand gently, I flashed her a smile.
"I'll tell you everything, I promise."
Pouting, she folded her arms across her chest.
"Fine. You have to keep your word, okay?"
"Sure," I nodded.
Keenan and I left the room together. While we walked, I made an attempt to strike a conversation with him. However, he made it clear that he was uninterested.
"How long have you known Denzel?" I asked, glancing at him.
"Years."
His response was curt and his gaze was fixed in front of him.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
Still, he didn't look at me.
"I'd appreciate it if you stopped asking questions while you're with me" he said.
I nodded, lowering my gaze. Apparently, he was an uptight person.
As we headed towards the unknown destination, I noticed the scars lining his hands. There were so many of them. He was a werewolf, he shouldn't have such scars. Unless, the cuts were made with poisoned weapons. They must've hurt a lot.
"We're here," I looked up at the sound of Keenan's baritone voice.
We were standing in front of the door leading to the garden, I realized.
Keenan pushed the double doors open, and stepped into the garden. I followed behind him, quietly.
When he halted, I did too. He was much taller than me, so I couldn't see what he was staring at.
I took a deep breath, the pleasant smell of flowers flooding my senses. The air was cool and the sky was brilliantly blue today.
Nonetheless, the moment I smelt Denzel's scent, I became self aware.
I found myself reaching up to my hair to pat it down.
'I must be sporting a terrible looking bed head,' I thought with a wince.
I hadn't even bothered to clean my face up. This was most definitely a bad idea.
"Your majesty, Kiara is here" Keenan announced and stepped aside.
My gaze clashed with Denzel's sharp ones almost instantly. He was sitting on a chair in the garden. His hair was unbound and his eyes had returned to their usual golden colour. He seemed to have fully recovered from his affliction.
"Keenan, you may leave now" Denzel spoke, not taking his eyes off me. The intensity of his gaze made my cheeks heat up.
Once Keenan had left us alone, Denzel's gaze softened and he rose to his feet in all of his majestic glory.
Good goddess, he's quite the looker, I thought.
"Kiara, are you alright?" I heard him say.
I gulped, lowering my gaze immediately.
"I'm alright. I just wanted to see you. I was a little worried," I mumbled.
"I'm sorry. Last night was-"
"No, it's okay! You don't have to apologize" I said, shaking my head.
He approached me and eventually stopped in front of me. His scent was clouding up my senses in a dizzying manner. At the same time, I wanted to let myself sink into this scent of this.
I gripped the hem of my shirt, feeling self-conscious once more.
He took hold of my hand and I looked up at him, puzzled.
"Forget what you saw last night." He said, cupping my face with his free hand.
"But-" I started to say. I needed answers. I wanted him to know this. However, when I saw the look in his eyes, I knew he didn't want me talking about it anymore. The last thing I wanted was for him to get upset with me. I was afraid that he would lose interest in me. Just like my father did.
So, I nodded.
"As you wish," I muttered, lowering my gaze.
"Walk with me?" He said.
"I don't know...I should clean up...I didn't-"
"Kiara, I don't care about that. Besides, you look beautiful. You always do," he said.
My heart fluttered in my chest for a moment. Lucas' words slittered their way into my mind and I felt myself sink into my mental shell.
'You're so beautiful,' he'd said. He'd said those words to deceive me.
There was no guarantee that Denzel wasn't trying to deceive me as well.
"Kiara?"
I blinked, looking up to meet Denzel's worried gaze.
"Huh?" I responded.
"You blanked out for a moment. Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.
"I... feel a little tired" I lied.
"It's okay. I'll walk you to your room. You should get some rest. You were really sick last night."
We both headed out of the garden together. I could feel Denzel's worried gaze. I felt bad for making him feel that way.
"Have you always been sick? You were sick that day I found you." He said all of a sudden.
"That's right. I've been that way since I was younger. But, don't worry, you shouldn't let it bother you," I told him.
We both went silent after that. When we got to my room, he watched me for a little while. I could've sworn that I'd seen an expression of yearning on his face. He eventually took his leave after lingering around for a few minutes.
Cassy was nowhere in the room, so I decided to take my bath.
After I'd cleaned myself up, I stepped out of the bathroom and was startled by the sight of Melissa standing in the room.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, puzzled.
"Don't you want to know more about Deanna?" She said, her eyes glistening.
I furrowed my brows, wondering why she was bent on dumping way too much information on me.
"Deanna was not just murdered by some stranger," she continued.
My frown deepened.
"Melissa, I'm not -"
"It was Denzel. He killed her."