She dropped his hand in shock when the curtains opened independently, illuminating the penthouse-style room with the setting sun; the sudden thought of when she fell into this world plagued her mind. The sun, shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows, warmed the room and her body. When had she got so cold? The biggest black four-poster bed she had ever seen was in the middle of the room, up against the window, inviting her to crawl into its covers.
It was covered in thousands of fluffy pillows and throws in shades of purple, green, and red, with black mesh curtains. Zyn's room was not as big or as fancy as this, and he had been into the other guys' rooms, but none of them had this either. Directly to the right of where they stood was a small living room with one longer dark purple sofa between two blood-red two-seaters and an emerald green three-seater opposite the longer sofa.
A large double fridge freezer was in the corner, and two countertops beside it adorned a cute purple coffee maker and ninja fryer. The mix of medieval and modern inventions was jarring for Carmell. The carriage she entered looked like a futuristic coach pulled by horses, and now she was looking at a kitchen with better appliances than she did. A white marble island was in front of the countertops, and several high silver chairs surrounded it with purple and red cushions.
Zyn's eyebrows furrowed together at the colour schemes. The room didn't represent any kingdom's colour more than another, and it was hard to make out what type of creature she could be – a succubus was his closest guess, but as he glanced across the other side of the room to where he knew the bathroom door should be, he strode over there fast and ripped the door open, stepping into a spa.
His mouth dropped open as he entered the midnight blue floor-to-ceiling marble-wet room. Several jets were placed in the left corner, and a massive silver square showerhead protruded from the ceiling. On the other side of the room was a large jacuzzi-style corner bath, and to his right was a mirror that shimmered as part of the wall. The ceiling showed the orange and purple sky, clouds passing on a slow wind drift, yet the room was still dark and comforting.
"What is this?" He breathed out, stepping to the side as Carmell came to snake around him and take in another room designed for her.
The atmosphere shifted and glimmered as it was sucked out from around Zyn's body. He stumbled back, gasping for breath and failing to straighten himself. Carmell had lifted onto the balls of her feet, the ends of her hair rising as she spun like a ballerina to face him, her eyes glowing with a hint of purple.
"Get out!" She hissed, her silver hair lifting into the air slightly and her magic building around her in shimmering waves of oppressive power.
Zyn twisted to head for the door. He wasn't getting involved in that outpouring of raw energy. When he reached the door, it opened for him, and as he stepped through the threshold, it slammed shut.
"Ha! Upset her already?" Zion snickered, his arm crossing his stomach as he doubled over from the door to the left of hers.
"No! It's not like that!" he countered with an eye roll, spinning to face his little brother, face red with anger.
He stepped back to his door, which opened for him.
"Trust me, I feel nothing but repulsion at the thought of her like that. She might have a spell cast to ward it."
"You might be right. I held her hand and wondered whether Mother would approve of her, and I felt the same way." Zion's gold eyes lit up, and he glanced at her door.
"Hold on," Zyn mumbles, catching Zion's attention as he leans against his door frame and puts his finger under his chin.
"Darrius was very perceptive towards her."
"Ha! Yes, you're right. When you took her away, he watched you until the doors closed and went straight for the other. He wasn't even listening to me explain how we met her." Zion's eyes flashed briefly, and he glanced at the opposite door in surprise.
The door to number two opened, and Darrius stepped out with his hands on the top of the doorframe.
"I'm sure it's a rule that we aren't allowed in rooms of the opposite sex," Darrius murmured, his eyes lifting from the floor to pierce Zyn's like an oncoming snowstorm.
"Look, brother... she pulled me in and did not care for the rules," Zyn quipped with a wave of his hand, lifting from his doorframe and pointing a lazy finger at him, "I suggest you talk to her instead of looking at her like she's food before a snake from another kingdom snatches her up." He finished, relishing in the frown that deepened on his brother's face.
"She doesn't care for the rules. Interesting… it seems that she has specific desires," Darrius's frown smoothed out as he thought about how she tried to introduce herself. He stupidly lost his voice and motor functions and then almost allowed his darkness to devour her, "they can try, but it sounds like they won't get too far with her," Darrius smirked confidently, rolling his eyes as the door four down from him and another four down from Zyn slid open to reveal the twins of the Temperance Kingdom.
Zion groaned and stepped back a little into his bedroom, but Zyn smirked lazily, turning his head in their direction with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Aw, don't hide, little faerie," Julian snickered, stepping out from his door with a hand in his pocket.
"We don't bite. We're basically wing pals," Casey completed, slinking from the shadows of his room and bumping his brother's arm.
"You don't have pals; you have victims." Zyn retorted with his own much louder snicker.
"What is worse is that there are two of you, carbon-copying everything down to your freaky kinks," Darrius spat, sneering as his hand flew calmly in their direction.