Damien watched Annalise leaving the Pool Room along with her maid, a couple of minutes after he left her there all alone.
She was now dressed in a simple white gown that flowed around her as she walked. Her long platinum blue hair was wrapped in a white cloth to help it dry.
He couldn't help but watch her from the shadows. His eyes moved along with her as she ascended the stairs and eventually disappeared into her room.
He relaxed against the wall behind him and closed his eyes, but was immediately gifted with the image of his wife that he just encountered in the pool. Her sparkling sapphire eyes, the wet strands of her hair falling down her cheeks, the blush that coated her soft and fair skin, and her full red lips that he kissed without thinking straight - he couldn't remove that image of her from his mind even if he wanted to.
He still wondered what took over him all of a sudden to lose his calm that easily. He was supposed to just take a look at her, but he ended up pinning her against the wall and kissing her, well... more than just kissing her.
He couldn't make up his mind whether he was feeling angry at himself for losing his calm and kissing her in the first place, or for not kissing her properly.
A long frustrating sigh left his lips as he gave a last look in the direction of Annalise's room before heading towards the direction of the secret door leading to the basement.
He found both Kenric and Valerius perched on the couches in the dimly lit main hall. Ignoring the two of them, he headed towards the staircase leading downstairs to their bedrooms even though he had no plans for sleeping.
"Where have you been?" Kenric asked when he noticed him. But Damien just ignored him and went straight across the hall towards the stairs leading downstairs.
"You were with her." The one who spoke this time was Valerius and he sounded like he knew exactly what had happened. His voice was calm, just as usual, but the tension in the room was telling otherwise.
Damien let out another sigh before he finally turned to look at his brothers and only then did he realize that not only Valerius, even Kenric knew about his meeting with Annalise.
"What now? Am I not even allowed to meet her?" Damien could already feel his frustration growing and that was definitely not a good sign for anyone. Unlike his brothers, he wasnt really good at controlling his powers, his darkness, and because of that he usually ended up in a mess that the other two had to sort.
"No one is stopping you from meeting her, Damien. But you are covered in her scent from head to toe. Did you only go to meet her?" Kenric questioned as he put down the twin daggers that he had been sharpening. That dude loved those daggers of his.
Damien let out another sigh as he realized exactly why his brothers were being so nosey all of a sudden. But even then he wasn't ready to back off. "She's our wife now, ain't she? If that's the case then I don't see what is wrong with what I did."
This time, it was Kenric who seemed frustrated and the knowledge made Damien feel a little bit better but not for too long.
"Don't act like you have no idea what we are talking about, Damien. You are well aware that she's carrying Seelie blood and powers. She's the complete opposite to us, a complete contrast to our blood and powers. We can't be so careless with her." The words came out soft and Valerius still appeared calm as he looked at Damien with his icy blue eyes.
"Why did we even marry her then?" Damien questioned his brothers even though he knew what they were going to say.
"Can you stop talking like we haven't already discussed this? All three of us know that the only reason we married her is because of what the Royal Seer told us before we departed from our realm." Kenric answered in an equally frustrated voice.
"Then let me make something clear to you both. We indeed married her because of the possibility that she's the one for us. And if... she's really the one... it won't matter if she's a Seelie or carries light elemental powers. If she's really the one... our powers and darkness will never hurt her." Damien started as he looked at his brothers, daring them to contradict him.
"Besides, if she's not the one... what's the point in keeping her alive. Now, if you will excuse me." He didn't want to spend another minute in their company.
"Damien."
Valerius' calm voice stopped Damien in his tracks before he could have taken even one step further.
"We just want us to be careful and not hurt her. Give me some time to find out how all this is going to work. But before that... Can you try to control yourself around her?" Even though the words sounded like a request, they all knew that it was anything but that. Valerius didn't do requests because he was born to give orders.
Damien turned to look at his brothers and then fixed his gaze on Valerius as he asked, "How am I supposed to control myself if she's really the one? Don't tell me that you guys can't feel just how powerful the temptation is when it comes to her."
The other two Dark Lords remained silent but Damien could hear the answer to his question in their silence.
"Alright. I promise to try my best but that's all I can do. I'm no saint and my control over myself is the worst. So be prepared for me to break my promise anytime soon." He stated before turning around and heading towards the stairs. He was about to descend the stairs when he stopped in his tracks and spoke from over his shoulder, "But I'll love to see how you both are gonna keep yourselves away from her. Good luck brothers."