Chapter 6 : The Gem of Shadowguard

*Amaya*

The King bowed his head and smiled to himself. I dropped my gaze from his enticing eyes to the cup of coffee in my hands. What have I done? I bashfully looked around the room purposefully avoiding the man before me.

I watched as Asher and Jessa shared a curious knowing look. That confirmed it, I was going to die. ‘Good job, Amaya,’ I thought. I shakily placed the coffee next to my blueberry scone. I was too nervous to eat.

But Jessa was unrelenting. She quickly placed a small dessert plate in my empty hands and plopped my scone in the middle. “Eat, eat,” she encouraged with a smile.

The men quickly found their way toward the fireplace as they talked amongst themselves. I didn’t want to listen in, I didn’t need to know what horror was awaiting me. Not that I could’ve listened in, Jessa was very busy trying her best to converse with me.

I tried to follow along. I even took small bites of my scone but it wasn’t sitting right in my stomach, not due to poor quality because it was undoubtedly the thing I’d ever have. The blueberries were tart but sweet and the scone was buttery and rich. But it was also my very first scone. My stomach wasn’t prepared.

“I want to know everything about you,” Jessa said as she turned her long muscular body toward me. She rested her head against her hand that she had propped against the back of the couch. She crossed a leg over her knee as she stretched out mostly onto my side of the couch. But I didn’t mind, it made me feel as if I’d known her forever.

“I’m not sure there’s much to know,” I replied.

Jessa blew a small raspberry in my direction, “Don’t be silly. Okay, let’s think.” She paused as she momentarily looked up at the ceiling. “Okay, okay. I have it, let’s start with the boring stuff first.”

I laughed, “Okay.”

“Tell me about your pack, what’s that like?”

My smile faded. “Uhh,” I began. I wasn’t sure how to answer that. Did I even have a pack anymore? And if I did, it’d be treason to answer that question. “I don’t know,” I finished.

“Emerald Mountain is very considerable, you know, in terms of size. What’s it like there?”

I took another painful bite of food and forced myself to swallow in the hopes that Jessa’s invasive questions would change to a new topic.

She continued, “We’ve heard the tales but I’ve never been there. I bet it’s as gorgeous as they say.”

I nodded my head in agreement. “It really is,” I said sadly.

“That’s enough for now, Jessa. Let her eat,” the King said gruffly. I flashed him a small grateful smile which he returned with one of his own.

Damn.

I took another bite but struggled to finish it. I noticed that he was staring at me intensely. Did he want to fatten me up before the feast? I was used to being under harsh scrutiny but this was something else entirely.

“You ready?” he asked as he extended his hand toward me.

I nodded as I awkwardly placed my plate on the table. I cautiously placed my hand in his. I don’t know what I expected, something cold and scaly, but I was surprised to find that his hand was warm and his skin was calloused. He worked with his hands. How bizarre.

My father was also an Alpha King and his hands were that of a king, soft due to never working a day in his life. I bet when this king goes to war, he’s on the front lines with his men, not miles away in the safety of his castle.

He gripped my hand gently as I stood from the couch and with the expertise of a dancer, he gracefully led me around the table. His movements were smooth and he carried himself with authority. I couldn’t help but share in his confidence and borrow some for myself. I heard murmurs behind us as we ascended the stairs but I didn’t care, I could only focus on the man before me.

The tour was awkward as he silently went from room to room, opening doors, allowing me to peek my head in, and then he’d quickly move on to the next. I tried my best to commit the layout to memory but his castle was much larger than my father’s and more convoluted. Maybe that was his plan, to confuse me before he killed me. If so, it was working.

He led me to a pair of stately doors lined with paines of glass. He took a deep breath as he dug into the right pocket of his pants. My heart began to race in anticipation. I feared something sinister was waiting for me on the other side.

My jaw dropped as he pushed open the doors. Unlike the rooms prior, this one he walked in. I trepidatiously followed him into the largest room I’d ever been in. It was twice the size of my father’s, not that I’d ever spent any time there. It was meant for a king.

I quickly noticed a large bed in the center of the room. My stomach fell to my knees, twisting and turning into knots. My pulse was racing. He was going to assault me and then kill me. Right now, it was going to happen. I was done for.

The panic overwhelmed all my senses and I desperately tried to think of anything to get out of this trap.

Only one thing came to mind, one of the last things my father said to me, the cause of my banishment and the loss of my value. At the end of the day, I’d only be good to eat and nothing more.

I watched in fear as he leaned against one of the posts of the bed. “So,” he began with a smug-looking smile.

“I’m all used up!” I screeched, my voice was shaky and broken.

His body language quickly changed and he looked at me as if I’d offended him. “What?”

I clenched my hands together as I held them. “I’m no longer a virgin,” I said quietly in shame.

“Oh,” he said, taken aback. “Neither am I?”

“Wait, was that a question?” I asked out of reflex, equally thrown off by his response. We shared a look of confusion.

“No, it wasn’t.” He lazily kicked the skirt of the bed. “You said it first, so I did as well. I don’t know, not like any of that matters,” he sighed.

I squinted my eyes to study his face and his manners. What was going on? Of course, it wouldn’t matter if he was a virgin, and there was no way in hell he was. I mean, I have eyes. He was too gorgeous to be a virgin. But my virginity was my only currency and I threw it away.

I don’t know what came over me, but I could no longer play any coy games. “Are you going to hurt me?” I asked aggressively.

His head snapped up and his eyes locked onto mine. “I would never hurt you, Princess Amaya.”

His words sent chills down my spine and my entire body was covered in goosebumps. I quickly broke his stare and walked further into the room.

He cleared his throat. “This could be your room if you like.” He turned on his heel and walked over to what appeared to be a floor-to-ceiling tapestry but I was quickly corrected when he grabbed the fabric and flung open the curtain to expose a large glass door that led to a massive sweeping terrace. “This room has the best view.”

I placed my hand over my mouth in disbelief.

“Do you not like it?” he asked with genuine concern.

“I’m sorry, your majesty. It’s not that at all,” I said sheepishly. “Am I not your prisoner?”

“No, you’re not. You are a guest here.”

“Why?”

He chuckled to himself as he shook his head. “Why wouldn’t you be? Are you my enemy, Princess Amaya?”

I shook my head no. “I don’t think I’m a princess anymore. You don’t have to keep calling me that.” I felt a twinge of heartache as the words escaped my mouth.

“You are not my enemy. You are, however, someone in need of help. I don’t take too kindly to Alphas who banish their defenseless daughters. This room is the least I can do.”

“Not to sound like a complete brat, but I like the other room too,” I said softly.

“That was my old room before all of this,” he said as he motioned toward his body. I assumed that he meant before he became the Alpha King. “It’s not right for you. You belong in a room like this,” he said with a bashful grin.

I smiled, accepting his offer. I felt my stomach begin to relax but I still had one more question that I needed the answer to before I could completely relax. “Does that mean you aren’t going to eat me?”

The King threw his head back in uncontrollable fits of laughter. “Like, for dinner?” He wheezed through laughs. “No, I am not going to eat you. Is that what they say?”

After finally saying it out loud, the absurdity hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately became embarrassed. The goosebumps were quickly replaced by my blood flushing toward the surface. I couldn't answer.

“Come,” he said, offering me his hand once more. “There’s one more thing I’d like to show you.”

In a flash, we were out of my new room and were bounding down the hallway. It felt almost like a game. It was thrilling to run without the fear of being chased, to run for the sake of moving your body.

We stopped at the entrance of the castle and he dropped my hand. He smiled as he pushed open the castle doors. The sunlight was intense and at first, hurt my eyes. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust as I placed a hand over my brow to block the sun.

The castle was nestled between two small mountain peaks. Passed the snow-covered courtyard, a large city sprawled below. The city was five times the size of the largest city in my father’s territory. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It made me feel as if I’d been living in the past. The lack of sophistication and civility I was told I would find was a projection of Emerald Mountain’s shortcomings.

“This is the capital city of Shadowguard. Please feel free to go into town whenever you’d like, Amaya. I know Jessa will steal you away to take you shopping sooner rather than later.”

There was no doubt in my mind now, I wasn’t his prisoner. I took a deep breath as I tried to process everything that had recently happened. It was overwhelming. I stood frozen with my back toward the castle and to the King as I tried to take in every inch of the massive city below me.

“Also,” he said softly as he took a step toward me. I felt his breath against my neck. “If I’m supposed to call you by your name, I would prefer if you call me by mine.”

I could no longer remain calm. The thought of simply referring to him as Wren, it broke me. All I could think of was Caine. My right thumb found its way to my mark. The heartbreak that I’d been too busy focusing on my survival to pay attention to rose to the surface. I bowed my head as tears escaped from my eyes.

I turned my back from the city and toward the castle. Everything was happening too fast. Everything was too foreign.

Wren sighed, “You must be tired.” He turned around toward the castle. A small part of me waited to see if he would offer me his hand but he didn’t. “I’ll take you back to your room.”

His body language was different, almost dejected. He dug his hands into his pockets and rounded his shoulders. He walked quickly back into the castle and I struggled to keep up with his pace. I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes but it was no use, they stubbornly continued to fall causing my vision to become blurry.

We twisted and turned through the maze of hallways and corridors till we stumbled upon Jessa and Asher who were deep in their own sarcastic conversation. Without saying a word, the conversation stopped and Jessa extended her arms out to embrace me.

She quickly led me away from the men as she wrapped her arm over my shoulder. I turned my head to catch one final glimpse. I watched from over her arm as Asher placed his arm around Wren in the same manner as Jessa had me.

“Don’t worry about it,” I could barely make out Asher’s words. “It’ll be fine.”

What the hell did that mean? What was going on?