Page 44 of The Time Of Kings

To make him walk away.

Being here was too close to that nightmare, as here in his world I was back to square one. And no matter how lavish a dress I wore, or which throne I sat upon, it did not make me a worthy queen. But as for Draven, well I knew that, in his mind, just my being on his arm made me his queen, as clearly this night gave him the opportunity to claim me as such. Which was why I felt so apprehensive now. Because like I said,he didn’t know me.Not the real me. We’d had no time and nor should we, as everything about this felt wrong and time was on neither of our sides.

I was just the only one who knew it.

Speaking of which, it was like he could read my thoughts, as he captured my chin and lifted my face to his before telling me,

“You belong here.”

I swallowed hard and nodded, knowing there was no way to back out of this. Which meant there was only one option left for me, despite it weighing heavily on my soul…

To play along.

“Come, let’s get you seated,” he said after running the back of his fingers down my cheek in an affectionate gesture I was so used to. One that felt like a soothing balm to my ragged nerves as he pulled me further inside. I wished I could have simply focused on him. But with a dress this long I knew I had to, at least, make an attempt at getting through this without falling on my arse or face.

I took in the room and those that clearly belonged in it. This era’s social elite in all their finery. It was a sea of silk in every colour and it honestly took my breath away.

A stunning array of flowers filled the air with their natural perfume, as well as painting every edge with a gothic elegance. Red roses seemed to be the main theme, with tiny purple flowers intermixed with those that were ivory tones. Gold also seemed to be common theme to the room, along with the very obvious thrones situated at the end of that partition. They were raised up on a dais and, therefore, this meant the entire room stopped dead as we approached. Even the music ceased to announce our arrival.

No, not mine.

His.

Their King.

I couldn’t help but grip on to Draven tighter as soon as I heard the whispers start up. I remembered times like this from before. The uncertainty I would feel whenever I would see Draven’s kind staring at me. As if judging what made me so special. But after decades of being queen, a quiet confidence had followed years later.

But as for this… well this was transporting me right back to those uncertain, insecure times and needless to say… I didn’t like it.

So instead, I did what I always used to do in these situations, I focused back on the details of the room. On all the antique furniture, richly carved with its intricate details. The drapes of tasselled material, covering places I had no doubt the staff waited behind, at the ready to keep the platters of food and glasses of wine flowing.

And then there were the thrones. A pair carved so ornately they almost told a story. A scene of good versus evil, as winged warriors fought against a river of reaching souls, their handsrising up from the base. This chilling scene was carved into the backs of each throne, with the tips of the wings creating a fan of feathers at the top. Both were also cushioned with a deep-purple, buttoned velvet that matched what we both wore.

It made me wonder who the second throne had originally been for… was it Sophia or his brother Vincent? Both siblings I hadn’t yet seen in this time. It wasn’t a question that lingered for long as he walked me up the steps to stand before the seats intended for us. Then before sitting, he addressed the room, making me tense. I knew what was coming, as you could say that my husband was rather predictable in these circumstances.

“Good evening, honoured guests, for I welcome you into my home and in doing so, wish to take this opportunity to invite you to congratulate me. For this year I am blessed indeed to present to you all, my wife to be and soon to be named, Lady Catherine Draven.”

I couldn’t help but gasp, despite expecting it. Because he was so damn sure, and after only a day! It was bonkers, ludicrous, and all the insanity in between.

He hadn’t even had chance to fall in love with me!

All I could think was that, thank the gods we hadn’t started off our lives together this way. Because I would take the inner turmoil, the years of uncertain waters travelled through, and the heartbreaking moments, over this. Over the… ‘boom, there you are, you’re mine now, personality be damned!’. It made my head spin to even think about it, let alone being forced to live through it.

And strangely, the only sight that seemed to calm me in a sea of shocked, gossiping faces was someone who felt like the only friend I had in this moment. Despite the unrealistic expectation of this, as seeing him now raising a perfect blonde brow should have been enough of a clue to jar me from the fantasy. The one where I had an ally in all this, like all those years before.

Because it was not The Vampire King I knew.

It was Draven’s best friend and right-hand man.

Lucius.

Meaning I had no choice but to tear my face from his questioning expression and instead look up at my only salvation in this, despite him being the current cause of my internal battle. I looked to Draven for strength, the sound of applause becoming a distant echo I was quick to let go of. And there must have been something in my face that told him of my fears, as even in front of everyone, he damned the decorum of his time. Doing so by taking my face in his hands, framing my surprised expression as he lowered his lips to mine. My fears evaporated instantly. I closed my eyes and let the moment sooth all my worries. I let the comforting feeling of kissing my husband wash over me and take me home.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last as long as I would have hoped, as my reality came slamming back into me the second his lips left mine all too soon. Although, despite our very obvious audience, he didn’t pull away completely. Instead taking hold of my chin and lifting my face up for me to find his eyes smiling down at me.

“Exquisite,my soon to be wife.”He laughed when I narrowed my eyes at him, obviously not taking me seriously. After this he walked me backwards until I had no choice but to sit as soon as the back of my legs felt the seat. I fell into it with a small ‘umph’ sound, one he smirked at as he crowded around me, bracing his hand at the back of the throne.

“Now are you going to be a good girl for me?” he asked and, of course, I scoffed at this.

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