To Bewitch a Devil

154 The way he called her

Jasmine was taken aback by his words. His woman...

She saw the look in his eyes when he called her, like he owned her. Like she was his. It was not the same when he called her, it was totally different, it was like a sense of duty. She wanted him to call her name in the same way, she wanted to be what Neera was to him; but as the days passed, she wasn’t sure that was possible anymore. Jasmine’s lips thinned but she did not say a word;

“I want to see her. I have been worried sick about her. You have done enough by keeping her in here. I would have given her freedom without any bounds.”

“No, you wouldn’t”, Zavian was at eye level with him. The hallway was heavy with the temper of two ancient energies that thrummed out a dull frequency, a menacing call to impending doom. A King and a Prince, and the Queen could do nothing but stand by.

“You would have married her for yourself, not to set her free”, Zavian said.

“Only by her permission.”

“And exactly why she is mine, as I am hers,” Zavian growled, his fangs protruding. Jasmine faded away in the background, doubting the King knew she was even there. “I am going to ask the guards to escort you to the gates, and the palace doesn’t welcome you anymore within its walls.”

Zavian had his guards on standby, and Axel, almost combusting from a rage tethering on madness, shot murderous eyes at the King.

“Neera isn’t safe here, and you know it. Do you not care about her well-being at all?” He asked.

.....

“And exactly why I would protect and save her, even if I am taking my last breath.”

Axel’s eyes riveted to the Queen standing quietly in a corner. Jasmine saw the sardonic smile he cast her way as if taunting her, showing her the kind of matrimony she had signed up for. Jasmine tore away her gaze and said nothing.

“Take him away.” the King ordered his guards. Axel took one last look at the double doors, hoping with all his being that the silver-headed maiden would come out and see him.

But even demons didn’t possess the powers of telepathy, and as the last of his hope was quenched, Axel walked away. Zavian, satisfied, continued down to his chambers.

“He only wanted to say goodbye.” Jasmine spoke. In the moment of his primal demonic essence where he only wanted to end an enemy, the enemy being Axel, Zavian had forgotten the Queen was there. She stood there, and his features remained impassive as he looked at her.

“I was just helping friends say goodbye.” Jasmine continued.

“I understand you did it out of good intentions, but it was an undermine of my authority”, Zavian said.

“I am sorry,” she pleaded. “But if you don’t wish for him to see her in her chambers, perhaps…”

“No,” Zavian rejected the suggestion before she could finish it. “And I really do not wish to hear anything about him anymore.”

Jasmine nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

She came closer to him. The urge to give him a hug and melt all the anger from his body was overwhelming, but Zavian was quick to resume his walk, no doubt heading to Neera. Jasmine swallowed a lump as heavy as a watermelon in her throat, and the back of her eyes burned with salty tears. It must have been the look Axel gave her as if telling her she was a fool, but she knew she wasn’t. This was her life, her new reality, and she would embrace every bit of it.

When Zavian was about to step into Neera’s chambers, he stopped short when he heard singing. It was a soft, lilting sound, like a bird’s chirping given words. He closed his eyes and listened as the familiar old song usually sung in merry circles made its way to his ears, and it rose in a high pitch before coming to a halting stop.

Zavian opened the door without a knock. Inside, Neera was startled. Her comb paused midway in her hair, and only resumed when she saw it was the King.

“I was wondering when you’ll be here,” she smiled.

Zavian folded his arms and leaned against the door. It was becoming more often; him coming to see her several times a day, like daily doses of a drug he needed to take. She looked up at him, her brows raised in question.

“You were singing,” he stated.

Her eyes widened as if she had just been told she was caught stealing. She quickly shrugged it off and continued brushing her hair.

“I didn’t know you would be back soon. I didn’t expect anyone to hear me,” she confessed.

“And isn’t it a good sign? You singing again?”

He recalled she had told him she had stopped singing long ago because there was nothing worth singing about in her sad past. But he had heard her, and as he looked at her now, she was caught in an almost blinding radiance of the woman that sat in the relish of the joy that exuded from inside herself.

“I guess I have found reason to,” she smiled through the reflection.

Zavian pushed himself off the door and took long strides to sit on her bed. She saw as his eyes inspected the room, and she wondered what he might be looking for.

“Do you still have those nightmares?” His question caught her off guard.

The image of the person in black at the wedding flashed through her head, but she cast it off as a hallucination. Nothing unusual had occurred ever since, so there was no need to fret about it.

“Nothing, I am fine. It stopped.” She answered.

Zavian blew out a relieved breath. “That’s good to hear.” he walked to where she was, and cupped her face, kissing her on the lips; “I only came to see you. I would love to stay here all day, but I have a few duties to see to and I promised Jasmine we would go visit a few more places today.”

Neera met his gaze in the reflection. “Like the other day?...”