Aria woke up the next morning with a feeling of trepidation in her heart. The collar around her neck didn’t help, as it was the first thing she heard as she stirred awake.
It also didn’t help that the day before, it wasn’t until just before midnight that she could finally move her body after being frozen solid for hours.
Rymora didn’t say a word, nor did she reach for a piece of paper to scribble on, but her eyes said enough—with a hint of concern—as she silently attended to her the second she woke up.
It was clear that Rymora had woken up an hour before, going as far as to lay out her outfit for the day, which Aria struggled not to stare at.
The threats still rang clearly in her head, and worse was the fear that hammered in her heart at what would happen if she failed to follow the instructions he had given her.
Wordlessly, Aria moved to the bathroom and stepped into the bath prepared for her, relieved to sink her body and hair into the water, even as Rymora helped wash her all the way to the roots of her head.
Aria didn’t speak, but from her expression, it was clear that something weighed terribly heavily on her mind as she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, thinking back to the words he had said.
’...you will present yourself to me before breakfast in my room. You will tilt your head to the side and beg me as your master to drink from you!’
Again, Aria couldn’t help but wonder if she had bitten off more than she could chew as the thought of running away occurred to her and settled in her mind for the first time.
Her hands visibly trembled as she lay in the tub at the thought of doing what she was asked, but at the same time, the memory of her father and brother’s deaths was still very clear as tears brimmed in her eyes.
’If I run, he wins!’ She bit back the pain roaring in her throat even as she breathed out and rose out of the water, going ahead to rinse herself off without Rymora’s help before stepping out.
Rymora instantly moved to help her dry her hair and body, even as Aria’s eyes again fell on the stringy material—which this time, she didn’t flinch at.
It was simply a band that barely covered her breasts and a very short skirt—material too short to be referred to as a skirt in the first place. But still, Aria went ahead to wear it, feeling the bareness of her skin to a frightening degree, even as she pointed at Rymora for her to pass one of the coats in the wardrobe.
Finally, Rymora reacted with a shake of her head, but Aria was even more adamant as her gaze hardened.
"I’ll take it off if he orders it!" she gritted out through clenched teeth, relieved when Rymora passed her a dark coat, which she instantly used to cover her body, wrapping it tightly around herself.
Her heart pounded in her chest even as she tried to steady her breathing—and failed. Aware that the longer she lingered, the more whatever courage she had summoned would fail her, she knew better than to hesitate.
She moved toward the door and stepped out, walking straight toward the stairs at the edge of the corridor and up them as fast as she could. Her hands tightened over the coat she wore.
Guards stood in front of her room and moved around, including servants, and although she was visibly covered and accompanied by Rymora from behind, she couldn’t help but feel like she was completely naked.
But even then, she had just gotten to the topmost floor of the mansion—which was clearly Zyren’s wing, evident by the luxury and intricate designs everything seemed to be covered in—when two guards immediately stepped forward to intercept her.
"Why are you—" the first began to speak, and for a split second, Aria couldn’t help but consider the probability that she was about to be rescued from the danger she was walking toward on her own two feet.
’If they don’t let me in, then I can—’ she thought, only to be sorely disappointed to see the other guard stop the one who was already speaking from continuing as he whispered in his ear—loud enough for her to hear.
"Are you dumb? She’s the King’s new pet! Of course she’s allowed!"
His words were enough to bring a frown to Aria’s face as they parted for her to pass—which Aria instantly did, knowing better than to expect anything else from them.
But she had just taken a few steps forward when she realized that Rymora wasn’t coming with her. She turned back to ask why, only to see her shake her head to show that it was best she stayed.
This only made Aria quicken her steps even faster than before as she approached the only huge doors on the corridor she walked down.
She had barely stood there for a breath when she immediately raised her hand to knock, aware that if she took longer, she might simply give up and run back down in fear.
But her hand had barely touched the wooden frame of the door when it was instantly pulled open—to her utter shock and bewilderment—revealing Zyren.
His pale skin glowed faintly from the lamps that lit the room, hard muscle stretched across his chest and arms. He was barefoot, his black shoulder-length hair tousled, like he had just woken from sleep—though she knew that couldn’t be true.
His eyes were red and just as intense as he focused the entirety of his gaze on her.
He didn’t say a word.
She was so taken aback by his presence not having expected to see him so soon, that her mouth simply dropped open without her being able to speak. She clenched her hands over the robe she wore, easily noting the way his eyes slid over her with a glint of annoyance—focused on the black coat she wore.
The fact that he didn’t speak only made her body tremble even more than as she stared at him for a few seconds before she remembered why she was there.