Rolling my eyes at my hormones, I selected a sexy little number that was more like a revealing babydoll dress than a proper dress. The vibrant reds shimmered as if the material was made from fire rather than silk. It was surprisingly warm, too, suggesting there was some enchantment behind the fiery color.
That’s a nice touch that would be useful if I were actually going out in this dress,I thought.
But I wasn’t.
So I paired the dress with a matching robe and reveled in the sensual fabric. A few glittery, diamond-like studs decorated the sleeves, giving it an opulent flair that made me smile.
I wasn’t one to play dress-up, but this felt nice.
With a nod at my reflection, I returned to my room to find Vita lying on top of my chosen book.
“Ha. No.” I pushed it aside and settled myself into the pillows for a reading session with asafebook.
Vita vibrated at me, but I ignored it, choosing instead to grab my lukewarm coffee mug.
I briefly considered wandering into the kitchen to brew a new pot but decided to push the ceramic cup up against the flaming wall instead, leaving it resting on the nightstand.
The walls framed the bed’s headboard, giving the room a fiery glow. And now it was going to be useful in reheating my coffee, too.
“Right. Let’s get started, shall we?” I opened up the book titledMarsh Lands: A Historical Documentation of Degradation.
Vita pulsed again in response.
“I’m not talking to you,” I told it and turned back to my chosen text.
A depiction of a lush forest waited for me on the introduction page, causing my eyebrow to arch.Definitely wasn’t expecting that,I thought.
However, the next page explained that the visual was a relic from the past…
Once a forest filled with Centaurs and Griffins, there was plenty of space for life in this vast stretch of fertile land. However, these species had managed to hoard a significant area between what is now the Underwater Kingdom and the Barren Lands. Unfortunately, with no ruler to guide these creatures, their efforts quickly became unstable and formed a bridge between the two regions, resulting in what is now the Marsh Lands.
I turned the page, curious. It seemed that Lucifer had done more than establish the various kingdoms; he’d also stopped the existing “outcasts” from making things worse.
Typhos Lucifer appointed kings of two compatible species to rule the Marsh Lands. The Naga and the Unseelie were tasked to work together to cultivate their domain and help it prosper.
A sipping sound made me drop the book and jump up to my knees.
Glancing sideways, I found Melek drinking my coffee. “Hey!” I chided, startled and annoyed by his unexpected presence. “Get your own coffee.”
He didn’t respond.
Instead, he stared down at me with the cup poised against his lips, his gaze roaming over my chosen attire.
My robe had apparently fallen off my shoulders when I’d jumped, revealing my babydoll dress.
He lowered the beverage slowly as a pleased grin stretched across his handsome face, securing his iconic dimples. “Well, I certainly didn’t expect you to accept that particular gift so soon.”
My face heated, and it had nothing to do with the surrounding walls.
Clearing my throat, I slid off the bed—because it suddenly felt like an invitation in my current state—and fixed my robe before cinching it around my waist with a messy knot. “What are you doing here?” I asked him.
His grin disappeared as he frowned at the center of my robe’s tie. “Is that how you tie a knot?”
I looked down, my brow furrowing. “What?”
“Sweet angel, no,” he continued, acting as though I hadn’t responded. “This is simply unacceptable.”
He set down the coffee cup and stepped toward me, his hand going to the strip of silk binding my midsection. I squeaked as he deftly unbound it, his movements quick and purposeful.
