Chapter Sixty-Four

The twins are off on business again, leaving me alone in the grand expanse of Twilight House. Their departure always brings a mix of relief and unease, a chance to explore the castle’s hidden depths without their watchful eyes, but also a reminder of my own restlessness.

As I wander through the corridors, the fading light casts long shadows, making the house feel alive with secrets. I push open a door I’ve never ventured through before, revealing a spiral staircase that leads down into the unknown. Curiosity piqued, I descend, my footsteps echoing softly against the stone.

At the bottom, a passageway opens into a cavernous room, its walls lined with ancient artifacts and relics from countless conquests. The air is cool and damp, the scent of old stone and earth filling my senses. In the center, hunched over a table cluttered with maps and trinkets, is Kieran, the Midnight King.

I watch him for a moment, his presence commanding even in solitude. He’s rummaging through the items with an intensity that sparks my curiosity. I step closer, my voice soft in the quiet.

“What are you looking for?”

Kieran doesn’t startle. He never does. Instead, he glances up, his eyes dark and piercing. “Something to draw my Pearl to me.”

I arch an eyebrow, intrigued. “And how exactly does one summon a Pearl?”

His lips curl into a faint smile. He's so fucking handsome. So fucking charming. “With great difficulty.”

I move closer, leaning against the table. I want him to bend me over it, spank me hard. “Can i ask you a question?"

He raises two arched brows.

"H-how," fuck, even just talking about Xaden has me flustered, "tell me, how do I handle Xaden? What am I doing wrong?”

"Trust me little doe, if Xaden is not attracted to you, you're doing everything right."

The words sting more than I care to admit. Xaden is cold and arrogant, yes, but not attracted to me? That doesn't sit right in my stomach.

I cross my arms and lift my chin. "Well, how did you get him to like you?"

Kieran’s expression darkens, a shadow passing over his face. “Even as a King, I cannot handle Xaden. He’s... different.”

The way he says it, with a mix of respect and frustration, makes me shiver. “Tell me more about him.”

Kieran’s eyes lock onto mine, and for a moment, the intensity between us crackles like a live wire. “Xaden is... relentless. Cunning. He doesn’t follow rules, he makes them. To him, power is everything, and he wields it without mercy.”

I nod slowly, absorbing his words. The tension between us thickens, charged with an unspoken energy. Kieran turns back to the table, pulling out a small, carved knife made from bone.

The light in the room seems to bend to it, and energy, there, but not there, glimmers right before me in the space between us.

Whatever this item is, it's beyond powerful.

Perhaps even more than Kaden himself.

Without his Pearl.

I tilt my head, fascinated. “Can I hold it?”

The Midnight King shakes his head, his voice firm. “No.”

"Please--"

"Little girls like you are not allowed to touch things like this," Keiran scolds me, and my cheeks pink. "It’s extremely powerful and rare.”

I pout playfully, reaching out to touch it. “Oh, come on. Just for a moment?”

His reaction is immediate, his hand snapping out to catch my wrist, his grip firm and unyielding. “I said no.”

I blink up at him, a mix of hurt and curiosity in my eyes. His grip, ever dominant and unyeilding, makes my thighs clench.

How can someone be so powerful, and so beautiful? How can the fates, or the universe, or whoever decides the way of things, have placed such glacial beauty in the pools of the most powerful king of centuries eyes.

I want to play with him, break him. Press past the glass encasing his heart and make it beat only for me.

“Why not?”

His jaw clenches, and for a moment, I see a flicker of something raw in his gaze. “Fine. You want to know why?”

I nod, my heart pounding. The room feels smaller, the air thicker with the weight of his words.

He holds the knife up, the bone gleaming in the dim light. “It’s carved from Riley’s bone.”

The revelation hangs between us, heavy and charged. I look at him, the tension crackling like a storm about to break. The implications of his words settle over me, a mixture of awe and horror.

Kieran’s gaze never wavers, his eyes boring into mine. “Now you know.”

I pout playfully, reaching out to touch it. “Oh, come on. Just for a moment?”

His reaction is immediate, his hand snapping out to catch my wrist, his grip firm and unyielding. “I said no.”

I blink up at him, a mix of hurt and curiosity in my eyes. “Why not?”

His jaw clenches, and for a moment, I see a flicker of something raw in his gaze. “Fine. You want to know why?”

I nod, my heart pounding. The room feels smaller, the air thicker with the weight of his words.

He holds the knife up, the bone gleaming in the dim light. “It’s carved from Riley’s bone.”