~RUNE
I lost my balance and fell.
My rump hit the ground hard and I looked up in horror as the Orin revealed his claws at me.
That was when a fast whoosh flashed before my eyes.
It was like a mixture of shadow and dark matter as it instantly materialized before me.
The mad Orin was caught in the darkness and his throat was instantly ripped right before my eyes.
A shocked gasp escaped my lips as I stared wide eyed at the thick black liquid escaping his mouth and wound.
He dropped to the ground with a loud thud and standing over him was a thick black shadow.
The dark energy began to melt away until it revealed Uriel right underneath.
His entire body looked tense, trembling with an emotion that looked a lot like anger as he stared down at the fallen Orin.
The entire hall remained completely silent, almost shaken by the demonstration of power from their Orin King.
As for me, I just got another reason not to get exposed before Uriel.
Else I would be massacred just like the maddened Orin.
“Take him away immediately,” Uriel stated in a shaky voice that still carried anger.
The guards who had brought him began to but Uriel shot them a hard glare.
“Not you two incompetent fools,” Uriel ordered in a dangerous voice.
“You will be whipped a hundred times each for your grave mistake.”
The guards shook in fear but neither of them dared to protest or beg.
Another set of guards came forward, grabbed the punished guards and the dead man.
While I remained on the floor, too shaken by both the attack and Uriel’s entire dominance to move.
That was when Uriel finally turned to face me.
He easily lifted me into his arms and all I could do was stare at him speechlessly.
“My wife is tired…” He said in a softer voice.
“She has endured quite a lot in the past few hours because of our marriage. I’d like her to rest before she faces any court duties.”
With that, he walked out of the hall, never once looking back.
I caught sight of Lord Morrigan as we left.
He looked like he would drill a dagger up my throat the moment we were left alone in a dark room.
I shivered and looked away immediately.
Why did he hate humans so much?
Wasn’t he the obvious predator in both species?
Uriel kept walking until we entered a warmer room.
It was painted white all through and it had a soft welcoming bed in the center.
He placed me gently on the bed and knelt before me to examine my body.
“Are you hurt?” He asked.
I almost screamed at the sudden switch.
Just minutes ago, he was a terrifying tyrant king ruling his people with fear…
And now with me, he was gentle again.
“Y— yes, I’m okay,” I muttered.
He looked up at me and slowly tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Why were you so afraid to heal that man?”
I almost choked on my own spit.
“You seem to always get terrified when someone mentions healing.”
My heart started pounding hard.
Don’t panic, Rune.
Stop panicking!
“Is something wrong with your healing? Was it my blood?” He asked ever so gently that it almost brought tears to my eyes.
Was he blaming himself for my inability to heal?
How could this man be so kind to me?
I didn’t deserve this.
I was a fucking fraud.
Tears of guilt filled my eyes and I didn’t know how to respond.
He suddenly lifted himself and hugged me.
“I’m sorry. I’m sure it will get better soon once you rest.”
I swallowed hard, unable to relax in his embrace.
I felt evil.
I was beginning to hate myself.
How long could I keep this up?
He pulled away and smiled at me.
“There is a final wedding ritual we are supposed to do now that we are back in Oraena.” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
I blinked.
“Wh— what ritual?”
His smile turned into a dangerous smirk.
“We are supposed to complete our bond in a sacred water blessed by the god Orakis.”
I blinked harder than before.
“How do we complete this bond?”
He rose from the bed.
“I will have maids come prepare you for the ritual tonight. I might have gotten interrupted from claiming you last night but this time, no one will stop me.”
Without another word, he left the room.
I remained there, alone and speechless, too terrified to move.
“He’s going to fuck me in a sacred water tonight,” I finally blurted out shakily.
“Oh goddess.”
An involuntary shiver ran down my spine.
I could not ignore the fact that this man was good-looking and I secretly wanted to explore his beautiful body but…
He was still the dangerous mad Orin King.
He was still my potential killer and still late Sayla’s lover.
It wasn’t okay to want my sister’s man.
It wasn’t okay to have such sinful feelings for the man who could kill me in the next second.
I exhaled sharply and fell back on the bed.
I must have fallen asleep because the next time I opened my eyes, there were knocks on the door.
“Queen Sayla? We are your handmaidens. May we come in?” A tiny voice called from the other end.
“Yes please,” I answered.
That was when the door came open and three young ladies walked in.
They looked graciously and well taken care of.
They weren’t like regular maids.
And I noticed something else.
They didn’t have pointy ears.
“Are you humans?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yes we are. I am Anna. She is Belle and that is Sofia.”
It felt good to have my own kind attend to me.
I suddenly felt safer than I had felt since I arrived in Oraena.
“How are you here?” I asked in awe.
“King Uriel had us recruited to attend to his Queen. We are honored to serve an Aylin,” Anna said.
I felt guilt come alive at my pit.
I was not worthy of being called an Aylin.
I carried no blessings.
“We will feed you, clean you up and prepare you for the ritual tonight. I hope you enjoy it,” Belle said, all smiles.
And before I could blink, the women got to work, doing exactly what they said they would do.
Hours later, when the sun went down and the crescent moon now glowed proudly in the sky, the women finished the preparations.
I was put into the shortest night dress I had ever seen.
It was a pale pink, sleeveless and made of the richest satin.
Something my mother never even let me touch.
Then a transparent matching robe was placed over it.
It swept the ground beneath me and my hair was allowed to fall freely down my waist.
“You are ready,” Sofia said in satisfaction.
Two heavy knocks sounded on the door and the women exchanged glances before turning to face me.
“He’s ready for you.”
I released a shaky breath.
I was about to be claimed by the mad king.
The thought both terrified and enticed me.
I swallowed hard as the women began to lead me out of the room.
I noticed how all of the guards turned their back to us and faced the wall.
They were polite enough not to look at me dressed like this.
After taking several turns down the long hallway, we arrived at a grand door.
“Good luck. He’s in there,” Anna whispered.
I nodded at them.
Then I shut my eyes and told myself I was doing this to survive.
Thus, I didn’t need to feel guilty or terrified.
I knocked twice.
“Come in,” Uriel’s voice floated out of the room.
I looked at the women one last time before entering the room.
Inside, it was larger than I expected.
Candle lights lined the walls, making the space look almost enchanting.
A large round pool sat in the center of the room, decorated with rose petals and other flowers I couldn’t recognize.
Incense rose in the air from prayer items placed around the pool.
I couldn’t find Uriel.
I was just looking around for him when he suddenly emerged from the pool.
I watched wide eyed as water droplets rained from his face, down his bare ripped chest to his slim waist.
All the way to the dark shorts he had on.
His long hair fell down his chest and back, clinging to his olive skin like glue.
His crimson eyes glowed the moment he set his eyes on me.
I could swear my knees buckled at the domineering sight of him.
Heat rose at the pit of my stomach and my entire body began to react in ways that were unfamiliar to me.
“My moon…” He whispered.
“I waited forever for you.”
His words hit harder than they should have.
Because I knew he wasn’t waiting for me.
He was waiting for Sayla.
Yet he looked ethereal.
Too good to be true.
Almost like a god who had descended from the skies and his pointy ears didn’t help convince me that I might not be dreaming.
Uriel slowly began to walk toward me.
“Take off your robe, Sayla.”
It didn’t sound like a request.
It was an order yet not the terrifying kind but the enticing kind.
Like my hands had a mind of their own, I pushed the robe off, revealing the tiny nightdress I had underneath.
When he reached me, his hand roughly grabbed the back of my neck and his lips crashed hungrily against mine.
I was frozen on the spot, unable to move.
I just helplessly stood there and allowed Uriel kiss me like I belonged to him.
He broke away from the kiss and lifted me in his warm arms like he had done earlier.
Then he began to take me to the pool.
“I had Priestess Kalanté bless it herself. It will cleanse us of any impurities and leave us at our most vulnerable states because only then will we be able to bond fully.”
None of what he said at this point mattered.
My mind was blank and already completely seduced by the Mad Orin King.
Uriel stepped into the water.
Each descent brought us deeper into the water.
Until we got completely submerged underneath.
That was when a sudden electric crack erupted from my necklace.
I flinched and both of us instinctively emerged from the water.
That was when Uriel froze as he stared at me wide eyed.
I frowned in confusion and looked down at myself.
When I saw my reflection in the water, my heart stopped.
The silver hair was completely gone.
Black hair— my black cursed hair stared back at me.
No.
No.
No.
I grabbed my hair in shock, trying to turn them back to white with any magic in the world.
My hands began to tremble in horror.
I moved back to my necklace and felt the burn it had left behind.
The necklace had malfunctioned, revealing my true identity to the mad Orin King.
Uriel Vorn was now staring at Rune Aylin.
The unwanted twin who was supposed to have stopped existing the day Sayla died.
Sometimes the greatest pain comes from the one you love…