Islinda gasped in a breath as her eyes snapped open. She recognized that she was in an unfamiliar room, feeling the strangest of soreness between her legs, ideas beginning to form in her head, and was close to screaming in terror only to recollect the event of the night.
The gods help her, what has she done?
She jolted upright, looking around as her gaze fell on the sleeping Aldric, and cupped her mouth from the shock. Aldric touched her down there and she let him - and totally enjoyed it. Islinda did not know whether to be repulsed by her body which craved him or her weak mind which gave in to the desire.
She should have said no. Islinda knew Aldric would never rape her. He could only suggest, tempt and attempt to persuade her, but never coerce her. Well, he didn’t need to, she gave in to him on the first try.
What was she going to do now? Would this change the dynamic between her and Aldric? She doubted so. If Aldric could not recognize Rosalind who has been in love with him for years, if not centuries considering Fae’s have long lives, then who was she? A mere human like her.
Aldric was not capable of love. And she was nothing but a conquest. His spoil of war. And he probably wished to control her. This was more reason she had to escape him. Islinda did not trust her heart anymore and if she and Aldric kept going at this rate, she feared the dark prince might win her over to his side.
Islinda could not forget that Aldric was a monster and he only shows kindness when it pleaseth and benefits him. As long as she remained in the Fae realm, she had no freedom and would be used as a weapon against Valerie.
Shame engulfed her at the thought of Valerie but she pushed it away, as if catching herself at the last minute. This could not be considered cheating when she and Valerie were not together anymore. But then, Aldric was not exactly a great choice. Not only Valerie but other Faeries were bound to judge her disapprovingly once they heard of her romps with Aldric.
But that was not going to happen, because she had no intention of letting out what ensued between them and Aldric would be sure to do the same. Although her life was practically over as a prisoner in Astaria, her reputation was the only thing she had control over, and would not let him ruin it.
Islinda gently laid back down on the bed, realizing that it was still the early morning. Earlier, after the ’exercise’ with Aldric, he simply moved to his side of the bed and laid down. Islinda had made up her mind not to sleep a wink in case he snuck into her side of the bed later - even though that wasn’t like Aldric. The dark Fae prince does his things boldly and doesn’t sneak around like a coward - not as Valerie did.
So she kept vigil, but not long after, her eyelids grew heavy and the next Islinda knew, she had fallen asleep, only to wake up now. Islinda should have gone back to sleep but curiosity tugged at her and she stalked closer to Aldric’s side, trying to see what the dark Fae prince looked like while sleeping. She leaned over the pile of his clothes separating them and peered down at him.
Islinda watched as Aldric’s chest rose and fell with each breath, his features surprisingly softened and fresh-faced, he almost looked sweet. There came soft snores from his mouth, taking Islinda by surprise. She never took Aldric as one who snores, not to talk of being a heavy sleeper. With his feline agility, he didn’t look like one. Although he sounded cute, Islinda had to stop the giggles from escaping her mouth.
As she was admiring his features, Aldric suddenly tensed and his brows knitted together as if he was having a nightmare. Her chest tightened with both curiosity and worry at the type of nightmare he was having. What could scare the prince of nightmares? It seems even Aldric has his fears too.
In her endeavor to study the nightmare that plunged Aldric, Islinda did not even realize she was halfway through his side of the bed, pressing down on the pile of clothes separating them with her weight. She reached for him, smoothing back the stray lock of hair that fell over his forehead and rubbed the furrow on his brows.
As if the gesture was soothing, his body relaxed while his features appeared calm. A smile lit Islinda’s face, she felt proud of her little achievement, but that was until his eyes fluttered open and she held her breath.
Islinda swallowed, she couldn’t scream or move, staring unblinkingly at him until his hand shot out and caressed her cheek, "Little witch, don’t you sleep at all?" He muttered, bleary-eyed.
She had no chance to react or scream because, in a twinkle of an eye, Aldric had already pulled her fully to the side and into his arms. She couldn’t break out of his embrace even if she wanted to, leaving her no choice but to resign to her fate.
"Now sleep, darling." He kissed her on the forehead and it left her wide-eyed, while her stomach fluttered. She couldn’t help but wonder if Aldric did this on purpose or if it was instinctive. Nonetheless, her heart skipped a beat and Islinda let out a shaky breath.
She had to tighten the defenses around her heart else Aldric might successfully sneak in at this rate and effectively seduce her. Islinda closed her eyes with a sigh, feeling oddly protected in his strong arms even though he was a predator. This was like a mouse taking refuge in a lion’s den. What a joke!
Islinda eventually fell asleep and woke up to the morning rays through the window and reached for Aldric’s side of the bed only to come up empty. She bolted upwards, looking at the space with jarred thoughts until she felt movement behind her and turned only for the blood to drain from her face.
"Good morning, my lady, I hope you had a pleasant night," Rosalind curtsied.