Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 32: An answer

However, her heel stepped on the edge of the sheets and she fell forward. She reached out a hand to grab a support but in the process, she only managed to fist Azrael’s coat and pull him down with her.

The sheets that she had draped over herself had fallen apart and the huge man had landed on top of her. She was almost crushed until he propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her.

His other, injured hand reached out to pinch her chin, ’’Look at me and tell me what exactly you mean by those words that you utter.’’

Lareina attempted to move her face aside but his grip only tightened. She could feel every inch of his body grazing against hers. Her loosened corset barely contained her breasts inside and the thick fabric of his clothes caressed them every time he spoke.

"Let go of me...’’ She reached out to push him away by his chest but he did not budge.

’’Tell me what you meant!" He leaned closer instead, his lips hovering over her lips while his eyes looked at her with a warning that seemed to spell ’If you cannot justify your words, then you will take responsibility for them instead’.

When he tilted his head, their lips were inches apart. A small movement and their lips would touch. Moira’s words in the hallway seemed to cross her mind.

’Does it not bother you in the slightest that you can taste me on his lips when he kisses you? Or my touch still lingers on his skin when he holds your hand?’

She abruptly turned her face to the side, her stomach churning merely at the thought that crossed her mind.

But the look of disgust on her face made Azrael believe that it was directed at him.

The conflicted feelings in his chest seem to disperse. His fingers curled into a fist and his hand that grabbed her chin applied pressure till her eyes squinted, her little face turning pale in his clutches, ’’You are despicable,’’ he spat each word against her lips before he pushed himself to his feet.

"I visited your bedchamber twice.’’

Her words halted him in his tracks, ’’What do you mean?"

"Your Highness, I have visited your room twice and twice, I have been stopped at your door.’’

He turned around to look at her.

’’All with the words that you are not receiving any visitors,’’ she slowly sat up on the bed, holding her loosened corset with one hand while the other hand dragged the sheets to wrap around her body. ’’You are my wife. Who dares to stop you?"

’’While I was stopped outside, I saw Moira being welcomed in your room. So, forgive me impudence if I could not accept your kindness of saying that I am special to you.’’

It took him one moment to register her words and he immediately thought back to all the times she had been at his room, looking for him. Somehow, it had been Moira who seemed to have encountered her and come to find him right after Lareina.

The only reason he had gone to look for Lareina right after was because both the times, he was told that she came in anger and hatred, to claim justice for her people, to blame him for carrying her when she fainted or to simply vent her resentment.

"Your Highness, I do not expect you to trust me...’’

’’I trust you.’’

His sudden words surprised her. And when she looked up, the man continued, ’’I would get to the bottom of it and give you an answer. There will be no third time when you are stopped at my door.’’

Lareina was stunned until the man disappeared from her sight.

...

Azrael’s footsteps slowed down when he reached Moira’s room.

With a single look from the man, the guards immediately stepped aside and announced his arrival.

Azrael pushed open the door and stepped inside. But the room was empty and Moira was nowhere to be seen.

The bed was well made and the room was partly dark and a sweet aroma seemed to linger in the air.

Azrael had just taken a step forward when a burst of power escaped from his fingertips, aiming at the distant lantern that flickered and fell down the rack.

He turned to the door, ’’Guards...’’ his voice, however, came out particularly hoarse.

He clutched his chest to suppress the pain that rose but with every passing moment, the pain seemed to be overpowering his senses. His feet got heavy.

’Swoosh’

A long sword materialized in his hand and he ruthlessly slashed the garish wound on his arm.

The wound from before reopened again and the pain cleared his head a bit.

"Show yourself!" Azrael could sense someone’s presence around him.

Azrael turned around when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. The person who greeted his vision was dressed in black, a black cape that completely covered his features and even the lower half of his face was hidden behind a cloth.

As Azrael stepped towards the person, he extended his hand and the longsword that had disappeared materialized in his grip again.

’’How disappointing,’’ the man spoke and grabbed the tip of the longsword between two fingers as he gently pushed it off himself, a vine-like ring sparkling on one of his fingers, ’’Have you forgotten already?"

An overwhelming sense of weakness consumed Azrael.

’’Let me remind you that the one you are supposed to protect is someone else, not the woman you have married. Did you forget her disdain towards you? You hate her. Don’t you feel an ounce of shame abandoning Moira for her? Did you forget what she has done for you?"

Those hazy words reverberated in Azrael’s mind till he reached his bedchamber.

"His Highness is injured. Shall we summon a healer?" the guards in front of his room whispered.

’’We cannot overstep our boundaries. Didn’t you see that? He seems to be in a terrible mood!"

’’It happens every time he visits the human princess.’’

’’What a burden! Let us wait for him to relay his orders before we do anything.’’

...

It was finally the day of celebration. Because of the fourth prince’s birthday, the demon palace seemed to be bustling with joy and glory, from the decoration to the excitement.

However, the glee of the day did not reach a few corners of the palace.