Chapter 134 - 0134
Lorelei POV
"Well, I..." I stammered, completely at a loss for words.
The truth was, I didn’t know.
From the very beginning, Raven’s plan had been for me to disappear, assume a new identity, and build an entirely new life in hiding. I was never supposed to face my past. I had buried that part of myself the very day I rejected Jaxen. How could I possibly stand before him again? Or anyone else from my old life?
Nala slowly shook her head, reading the answer written all over my face before I could even speak it.
"You are not running," she declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You are merely allowing fear to choose your path. That ends tonight. You are coming with me whether it pleases you or not."
My eyes widened.
"But..."
Nala raised a slender hand, silencing me before I could protest.
"I do not know how your people taught honor, or if your wounds have stripped you of your manners," she said, her voice completely devoid of its usual theatrical warmth. "But where I come from, a promise is a thread. Once placed in another’s hand, it is not meant to be cut whenever it becomes inconvenient. I have kept my word to you. Why, then, do you choose to abandon yours to me?"
I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out.
Because she was right.
She still hadn’t told Kaelen about my lie. If she decided I couldn’t be trusted, it would take only a single conversation with him to ruin things for me.
At that thought, my shoulders sagged in defeat.
Releasing a long, miserable sigh, I lowered my gaze and whispered, "Fine. I’ll go."
The change in her was immediate.
The icy sternness vanished from her face as though it had never existed, replaced by a radiant smile that lit up the entire room.
"Now those are words worth hearing," she exclaimed happily. "Come. Sit beside me."
Before I could react, she reached for my hand and practically pulled me onto the plush daybed beside her.
"You should feed your body before we spend the evening poisoning it with questionable liquids tonight," she said with a playful grin.
Then she leaned toward the fruit platter, picked up a bright, oddly shaped starfruit, and pressed it into my hand. I accepted it awkwardly while her guards stepped forward and quietly began serving food for both of us.
****
I couldn’t tell if Kaelen was genuinely happy about my decision when I walked back into his office to break the news.
Only a few minutes ago, I had insisted I didn’t want to go. Now that I had suddenly changed my mind, his expression remained unnaturally calm. He agreed without hesitation, but the restless tapping of his fingers against the desk and the slight crease between his brows betrayed what he was really feeling.
Darius again insisted that I take two additional guards with us. Earlier that day, I had thought the idea was completely absurd, but now, knowing my mother was somewhere in the city, I welcomed the extra protection.
Leaving the estate was a huge risk.
But it was one I had to take if I wanted to keep my promise to Nala.
Out of the two dresses Darius had bought for me, I chose the sleek black bodycon mini dress.
It featured a plunging halter neckline with a daring cutout across the front, held together by nothing more than a few delicate straps. Paired with matching black strappy heels, the outfit felt bold without crossing into anything overly revealing.
Skye had also gone out of her way to style my hair, sweeping it into a polished vintage topknot. A few carefully curled tendrils framed my face and neck, drawing attention to the open halter neckline in a way that somehow looked elegant rather than dramatic.
The moment I stepped into the grand hallway where everyone was waiting to leave, my eyes immediately found Kaelen.
He was standing close to the exit with both hands buried deep inside his trouser pockets.
The instant his amber eyes landed on me, his gaze slowly drifted downward.
It stopped at the exposed skin above my neckline, and his jaw visibly tightened.
"Do you really have to wear that?" Kaelen asked through clenched teeth. "I don’t think it’s appropriate for where you’re going."
I shifted awkwardly beneath his intense stare, lowering my own gaze to inspect the dress.
Was it really that bad?
Before I could say anything, Darius spoke up from behind him.
"Yeah, I agree," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "Maybe throw a jacket over it or wrap a scarf around your neck. It’s going to be cold tonight anyway, so..."
I was starting to feel incredibly self conscious.
This was literally the more modest of the two dresses Darius had bought for me.
I had just opened my mouth to defend myself when...
"Nonsense."
Princess Nala’s sharp voice sliced cleanly through the hallway, accompanied by the confident click of her heels against the polished marble floor.
"I think you look beautiful," she declared. "And since beauty is a subject upon which I possess exceptional wisdom, you may consider the matter settled."
She glanced between Kaelen and Darius.
"These males are allowing jealousy to cloud their judgment."
She stepped into the hallway with only one of her personal guards following a respectful distance behind.
The moment my eyes landed on her, a soft gasp escaped my lips.
She looked breathtaking.
She wore a deep burgundy velvet mini dress that caught the warm light of the chandeliers with every graceful movement, the rich fabric beautifully complementing her dark skin.
The bodice consisted of a tiny bandeau top secured by delicate gold chains around her neck. Those same chains cascaded elegantly down the length of her completely bare midriff before the velvet began again at her hips, hugging every curve of her figure.
Large circular cutouts ran down both sides of the dress, connected only by textured gold rings that shimmered whenever she walked.
Her long white braids had been woven into an intricate half up crown, decorated with tiny gold cuffs that clicked softly against one another with every step.
"Of course you would say that," Kaelen muttered, rolling his eyes as he took one look at her outfit. "Look at what you’re wea..."
But Nala silenced him by raising a single perfectly manicured finger.
"I was not speaking to you, Alpha King," she said, her voice dripping with effortless superiority.
Without waiting for a response, she gracefully slipped her arm through mine and smiled.
"Come, Ella. We should leave this place before the dreadful emotions of these gloomy males begin infecting us as well."
I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye as Nala was already leading me down the marble corridor, her chin held high as she swept past Kaelen, who remained standing exactly where he was, completely speechless.
For perhaps the first time since I’d met him, the Alpha King looked too stunned by someone’s audacity to say a single word.