Married To The Dragon Prince Against My Will-Chapter 231: THE FIGURE
Ashen set her down on the bed, although it felt less like placing and more like releasing a storm he had been holding in his arms.
His anger throbbed beneath his skin, controlled with the kind of restraint only a man who had learned to survive on patience could manage.
Even so, anyone who knew him would have seen the tension in his jaw and the thin line of his lips.
The moment his hands left her, Lumina reached for him. Her fingers curled desperately at the hem of his shirt as though she feared he might vanish if she blinked. Tears slid down her cheeks, warm and unsteady. The thought of her father reaching out to her, whom he never liked, still couldn’t be digested.
"Ashen... do not leave," she whispered, voice trembling like a candle under a restless wind.
He dropped into a squat immediately, bringing himself to her level. His knees touched the floor, and his shadow folded around her like a shield. Of course, his wife doesn’t break down in front of him all the time, so he understood that she needed him more than anything.
"Why do they hate me?" She choked on the words. "I did nothing wrong. I tried, Ashen. I planned to let go of my silly plan. But my own father poisoned me. He..."
Her voice crumbled before she could finish with her arms wrapped tightly around him, pulling him against her with all the fear she had tried to bury for years.
Ashen placed one hand on the back of her head and the other at her waist as he spoke gently.
"Call me the next time anything happens and I mean the very next second. I do not want to see you going to them anymore." He warned.
Lumina said nothing, but her silence explained to him that she wouldn’t listen. She trembled in his hold, her breath breaking unevenly.
"I am your husband," he murmured against her hair. "I am now your guardian henceforth. If something like this happens again and you choose to endure it alone, I will not let it pass easily."
Then Lumina clung to him tighter, still overwhelmed with the feelings of someone carrying so much about her. Every single moment she would always spends with her husband she is always grateful that she listened to her aunt to come to this realm.
He stroked her back with a gentleness that contradicted the rage simmering within him. "How weak are you feeling now?"
Then lips parted as she recalled what had protected her from her father. "The bracelet..."
Ashen lowered his head until their foreheads touched. "Yes it’s for your protection and if anyone threatens dangerously around you. It would cause them to die." Her eyes widened but before she could speak he placed his hands on her lips.
"I promise I will find a cure for you. This is a promise I am keeping with my whole life."
For the first time since they returned to the palace, Lumina gave a faint smile. She pressed herself into him again, slipping her arms around his neck as though she never intended to let him go.
A moment passed before she spoke again, more carefully this time. "How do you feel about your brother becoming the crown prince? Do you think he can be trusted?"
Ashen gently pulled back so he could see her face. The question struck deeper, of course he knows his wife so he needed to take his life seriously. "Are you having a second thought?" he asked.
She tilted her chin, trying to find him with her hands. She stretched her fingers out, searching for the edges of his face.
He caught her hands softly and guided them to him. Her fingertips traced the slope of his cheek, the line of his jaw, the warmth of his lips. He let her explore him, patient and still.
"As long as you can see," he whispered, "and as long as the important feelings between us are real, you do not need to fear anything. You will succeed. I am certain that soon you will see clearly."
Lumina’s smile returned, fragile but present. She leaned up from the bed, lifting her face toward him. Ashen watched her with a look that held pride. She brushed a small kiss on his jaw, then on his nose, then on each cheek.
His smirk formed slowly. "You are not that strong, my love, so do not push yourself."
She answered his smirk with one of her own and tugged him down beside her on the bed. She crawled into his lap and settled on his thigh, arms around his neck.
Gradually, he reached for her blindfold. The moment he slid it off, her lashes fluttered open. Her unfocused eyes caught the light, and she shut them quickly, overwhelmed by the sudden gush of light.
He smiled at the sight of her vulnerability, then quickly tied the blindfold back. "We should wait. No need to rush. Your eyes will heal at their own pace."He let out as he placed soft kisses on her eyelids through the fabric.
Just then a knock interrupted them. Stella’s voice followed. "My lord, I need to clean the lady."
Lumina let out a small pout. "I am clean." She murmured
But another knock followed. "My lady, I actually need to speak with you."
Ashen and Lumina exchanged a silent understanding. Lumina reluctantly slid off his lap, although she lingered, her hand brushing his shoulder as if stealing one last moment of warmth.
Ashen kissed her on the lips, gently and she responded instantly. He pulled away before he could lose control, "My Lady... I need to leave you all together." He murmured as he pulled away, while Lumina scoffed and returned. Placing another kiss on her lips he stood and walked toward the door.
Stella bowed when he opened it. Ashen’s voice came low. "If anything happens to her again, tell me immediately. I will not hesitate to hurt anyone who fails her."
Stella only nodded with a small smile and stepped inside.
Ashen left her to tend to Lumina and made his way toward Ero’s room.
When he opened the door, he saw Aria standing there about to leave. Her head lowered at once.
"My lord," she whispered, stepping aside.
Before Ashen could speak, Ero struggled to rise from the bed. He moved too fast and fell to his knees, head bowed deeply.
"My lord," he cried, pain breaking through his voice. "Thank you for saving my life. My life belongs to you forever."
Ashen crossed the room with long strides and immediately lifted Ero back to his feet. "You should not speak that way. I am your lord. It is my duty to protect you. You pledged your loyalty to me, so I must protect you in return Ero."
Delight flashed across Ero’s face. He looked at Ashen with the awe of a man who had expected punishment but found grace instead. He could hardly believe that the boy he once pitied had become the man who saved him today.
Ashen placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tell me what happened before the massacre. Everything."
Ero opened his mouth to speak, but Ashen suddenly stilled. A faint shift of air brushed past him. Even Aria took notice of this because she was also on alert.
Ashen turned his head slowly, of course he could feel that movement moving a bit far. Ashen vanished from his position in the blink of an eye.
The room trembled from the force of Ashen’s departure, leaving both Aria and Ero shocked.
Ashen pursued the presence he felt. The world blurred around him as his body cut through the corridors like a streak of silver. Anyone who might have seen him would have mistaken him for wind. Curtains lifted in his wake. Flames in the lamps flickered violently. Shadows bent away from him as he ran. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
The figure ahead tried to escape, moving with unsettling speed. Their cloak rippled as they darted through hallways, slipping around corners with the precision of someone who knew the palace far too well.
Ashen shadow could be seen moving along with another shadow that could hardly be seen.
The chase continued through an empty courtyard and into a narrow passage behind the palace kitchens. The figure leapt over stone steps and nearly slipped into the stables, but Ashen caught it before it could disappear.
He closed his hand around the wrist and dragged the shadow back with a force that left even that shadow in shock.
The impact knocked the hood from the shadow head. The flick of fabric flew upward and drifted down in slow spirals, but as it revealed itself. Ashen stared at the face beneath the hood.
His eyes widened, and he could hardly take a second breath as he stared at the figure.
A shock ran through him so violently that his grip almost loosened.
"You... you..." He whispered.
