The Crown's Entrapment

At Lucian, inside Darius’s cabin, Xenia stirred in her sleep as she reveled in Darius’s embrace. They were currently alone and resting in their comfortable bed, but sleep was fleeting as her busy thoughts kept her awake.

“Can’t sleep?” Darius murmured into her ear.

Hearing her beloved, Xenia finally let out the sigh that she was holding back. Moving carefully, she sat up on their bed. The sea was rather rough compared to last night, their ship swaying in all directions as it rolled against the waves.

Feeling her distress, Darius sat up on the bed beside her and faced her. “Are you scared?”

Xenia shook her head. In truth, it was what Osman told them that was terrifying her to the point that she couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t even fathom how the admiral miraculously escaped such a thing, but she supposed that luck was on his side when he met the woman who helped him… Helena… And apparently, she was a fairy. And according to Osman, he had been inside that forest for two weeks.

“There’s a possibility that I’ll be away that long. Maybe even longer,” Xenia murmured out. I’m not scared. It’s just that…”_.

“Come here,” Darius whispered, pulling her into his warm embrace as he let her relax. “Don’t worry too much. It’s also possible that you can come out of the forest earlier than expected. You just have to make sure to focus on your goals. That’s how you’ll find your way back to me, my love.”

Darius then gently pushed her away from him and added, “Right now, Osman is putting all his efforts into his inventions. You see, he’s trying his best to create a training regimen for you that will be very close to what he had experienced in that forest. The hallucination part would be hard to replicate, however. That’s why I decided to bring you to Valcor Island.”

He hummed in reassurance, “There, Nikolai will help you complete your training. And at the same time, you’ll be able to see your sister as well.”

Xenia’s eyes lit up at the thought of seeing Mineah. That was thoughtful of him.

“Thank you,” she whispered out, her eyes suddenly swamped with tears.

Not wasting any time, Xenia leaned in and kissed Darius, their kiss deepening to the point that she expected him to make a move. She was starting to feel hot all over just kissing him, and a part of her really wanted him to go in and take her.

But after some time, Darius broke the kiss and whispered, “This is weird love. My body just isn’t reacting. Normally, I’d already be doing more than just kissing you right now.” He chuckled, “Surprisingly, Jayra’s celibacy potion is working as expected.”

Xenia unknowingly pouted her lips, making Darius chuckle. “Come. Let’s rest instead. You’ll need it for tomorrow, seeing as it will surely be another long tiring day for you,” he smiled. He then consoled her as he pulled her back to bed with him, “Let’s both bear with it for a few more days, love. It’ll be for the best”

For a brief moment, they both reveled in the sound of the waves crashing against the sides of the ship. Eventually, however, the silence was broken as Xenia absently muttered…

“Osman… Did you notice how his eyes were shining while he was talking about the fairy?” she absently wondered. “I think he’s in love with Helena. He’s already powerful right now. Being a Lycan surely made him as powerful as a werewolf, so why is he still here? I honestly wanted to ask him that; why he didn’t come back to the Element Forest to see her.”

“Hmm… Osman is indeed a powerful Lycan now, but he can only transform into a wolf-man form. Unfortunately, he’s not capable of transforming into his wolf form since he has no wolf inside him,” Darius explained at length.

“Without a wolf in you, you’re not considered a werewolf. Gilas is a hybrid, but you can call him a werewolf since he has a wolf inside of him even if he didn’t inherit the full strength of a pureblooded werewolf like myself.”

It might be boring to some, but he was aware of how Xenia wasn’t completely aware of all the things she needed to know about werewolves. She was still in the process of studying, after all. Studying that stopped since they had to go away for her physical training.

Darius hummed as he continued, “For now, it’s for the best that Osman stays away from Helena, love, even though he loves her. It’s an ill-fated relationship, seeing as Helena can’t leave the forest. She would die the moment she stepped out of Element Forest, and the same would go for Osman if he decided to stay there. Although powerful beings like us can manage to enter and leave the Element Forest at will, we’re technically not allowed to live in that forest. It’s punishable by death.”

“Huh? That’s confusing. I mean, I’ll enter as an outsider as well,” Xenia frowned. “Osman did that as well, so how would they know if we plan on staying?”

“The Element Forest itself can see through the desires of your heart, love,” Darius helpfully answered. “They will know if you’re inside simply because you’re lost or if you have other motives. On that note, if the forest sees in your heart that plan on staying, you’ll lose your life right then and there. Or even worse, the other creatures living inside the forest will make you their slave and have fun with you until you wish for death.”

“How do you know about that?” Xenia asked. “I mean, Osman didn’t say anything like that.”

“Well, it’s a private matter for Osman,” he replied. “I came to know it from him since I asked him why won’t he return to the forest to get Helena, seeing as he’s already capable of entering and leaving with how powerful he already is. Apparently, Helena warned him about it during his stay in the forest. She probably saw through his heart, seeing his future intentions once he came out alive from the forest.”

He didn’t see a need for Xenia to know most of the details. Since she’ll be entering the forest only for the trials, he didn’t bother going in-depth with something that wasn’t related to her survival. Besides, it was only respectful that he let Osman keep his privacy.

“That’s too tragic,” Xenia murmured out, sadness clouding her features as she felt pity for Osman.

Seeing her distress, Darius kissed her neck and murmured, “Alright, that’s enough thinking for tonight. Go back to sleep. You need rest.”

“Fine…”

Closing her eyes, Xenia tried to focus on herself and sleep. Moments passed, and she eventually heard Darius’s slow and heavy breathing. He was definitely already asleep, all while she was still wide awake.

‘This is so unfair,’ she inwardly complained.

Her body still felt weird with Darius’s warm breathing constantly hitting the crook of her neck. His mere breaths sent shivers down her spine, and his bare arms wrapping around her waist also added to the sensation. Annoyingly, his warmth and scent were so intoxicating and good that they kept her awake.

Thinking back, her face contorted as she recalled how Jayra teased her by making her bring an extra dosage, saying that she might end up being tormented if she also wouldn’t take the celibacy potion.

‘I hate that you’re right…’

She inwardly grumbled. She finally understood why Jayra told her those words before she left. Obviously, she was greatly affected by Darius’s body constantly brushing up against her. As a result, she wanted him as well.

“I should drink that potion starting tomorrow,” Xenia murmured out with a sigh of resignation. “This is so unfair… I can’t keep going on like this while here he is sleeping soundly like nothing’s wrong… Can’t even let out some of the tension on my own…”