She was to look for a husband. Instead, she found a King.
-♞-
Princess Mikayla is the only heir in Aurelian who had survived the War of the Four Kingdoms.
After her family was brutally murdered by the other creatures in the realm in the struggle fo...
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Chapter Nine
THE KINGDOM OF CRESCENT WAS BEAUTIFUL FROM the short glimpses I had been lucky to get, but the castle was otherworldly. I was astonished by how advanced the wolven creatures were, introducing me to reinforced windows that could stop fireballs from smashing through, insulated walls that kept the cold out and the heat in, and these dazzling chandeliers which were fuelled by something called electricity. Every hallway we turned into had light, a source powered by the sun. Christian called it solar energy. The kingdom was clearly light years ahead. Silk was a rare commodity in other provinces, but most - if not all - in Crescent donned the finest silk attires.
"This place is beautiful," I gushed as we travelled through what seemed like the 50th corridor. "I can't believe you kept yourself so well hidden for over a decade."
Christian tucked his hands into his pockets. "Wolves sail out during the new moon in order to return back before the full moon. As you know, full moons are when we are at our most... primal form."
Primal. Unhinged. Hungry. Lascivious. There were many words to describe what a wolf becomes under the full moon and something about seeing Christian in his had my muscles taut.
"How has no one seen your boats?" I questioned.
"The Baymouis have known of our existence for a few years now."
My jaw dropped. "They knew?"
"People believe what they want to believe, so when the news that wolves no longer existed plagued the realm, we thought better than to correct them. After the war, we had lost a lot of our people so one can say this was a defensive mechanism. In order to prevent further attacks, we had gone into a sort of liberation. We never travelled far, at one point the Eclipse Forest was completely out of bounds. Though on the odd occasions you'd seen wolves during the full moon."
"The ghosts," I breathed out and he nodded.
"However, we couldn't remain in hiding forever so a few years back we started to rebuild our military. New laws were put in place, positions were shifted and awarded; we rose from the ash. We wanted to be self-sufficient but this meant searching for resources beyond our terrority."
"Then, you turned to the Baymouis?"
"They were known for their warm and merciful traits so I had made the strategic decision to make them aware of Crescent's growing presence. They were shocked at first, especially as I turned up on their castle's doorstep without being seen, but as soon as I explained everything, they didn't turn me away. I suggested building a port on the border of our territories and they agreed, offering us some ships whilst we built our own," Christian grew a faraway look as if he was lost in his thoughts. "We owe them a great deal."
I didn't press on any further when I noticed he didn't want to speak anymore, and trailed behind him, silently. My eyes burned holes into his large back, following the wideness of his shoulders to the length of his entire frame. He was tall and huge. Goddess, he could swallow me in his arms with a little try. Leading us up a few flights of stairs, we reached what seemed like the highest floor of the castle.
