My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 93

When I woke up, we were spooned. I grinned uncontrollably, ridiculously happy while recalling our last night. I thought that I wouldn't mind living like that… until my brain shifted to my complicated concubine reality and having a Queen-slash-my-man's-wife as a neighbor who hated my guts. The smile disappeared from my face, making way for a gloomy, depressing expression. It sucked. Not even Sariel's cool breath, which I felt on the back of my neck, helped me put my mind at ease. Certainly, he could not have noticed my suddenly tense body while tightly pressing his against mine. He murmured and placed his head on my nape.

"Should I help you relax again?" he whispered, his hand sliding down my waist and spreading my thighs.

"Sariel," I gasped as his fingers thrust inside me.

My skin, still amazingly sensitive, started to shiver. The pleasure he was giving me was addictive, and the arousal I felt was overwhelming. He swiftly got on top of me while I submitted to his touch once more, craving the whole of him. The lustful fire filled his eyes as he sank his teeth into my neck, his fingers never stopping moving within me. A loud moan escaped my lips as I became soaking wet and hungry for more. Sariel pulled out his teeth and licked off the blood that flowed out from the bite marks.

"You are so delicious…" he murmured seductively and slipped his tongue into my mouth.

His kiss had a slightly iron taste. I didn't dislike it. I was slowly learning to enjoy every detail of him. I loved him. My foolish heart took absolute control over my brain. Even if our relationship was insane and his decisions hurtful, I could forgive him everything… At least, that's what I thought at the time.

After another climax that exhausted, whatever was left of my strength, we were lying while cuddling. Sariel's hands gently caressed my back as most of my body rested on him.

"I love you…" I mumbled while panting.

He smiled in response and kissed my forehead. We were lying like that for a while, serene and satisfied.

"We cannot spend nights like this for a while." Sariel's sudden words brought a cold shower to my blissful state.

"W-why?" I panicked, knowing that being close to him like this was the only thing rewarding my pathetic position in our relationship.

"I can't act as if I don't accept Elora as my Queen. I will lose all the support from the powerful families that way," he stated, calculatingly.

If he was aiming to stab me where it would hurt the most, he did an excellent job.

"B-but didn't you say it yourself, that Elora was going to be the queen in name only?" I inquired nervously.

He sighed, "You know well why I'm doing this. I'm merely informing you that you need to look at the things I will do from now on prospectively."

"Prospectively…" I gritted my teeth at the sound of that word and turned away from him.

"Stop sulking like a child, Lilith. Seriously, we have bigger problems than that," he tossed, getting up from the bed to get dressed.

I wrapped myself in sheets and watched him put on a black shirt and pants. Anger pulsed within my veins, but sadly, I knew none of my words would change anything.

"I hate to chase you away," he said, scanning my looks, "but the fewer people who see you in my chamber, the better."

Another stab in the heart. Unknowingly, I put my hand on my chest and silently observed him combing his hair in front of a big mirror that stood against the wall near the study corner.

"You are not getting dressed?" he tossed, gazing at me through the mirror's reflection.

"You tore all my clothes, remember? Now your concubine can either walk out of your bedroom wrapped in your sheets or naked," I snarled.

He sighed, then walked to his closet and threw me his shirt, "Here, wear this. I will lead you to the corridor outside my chamber. There is a passage-"

"I know," I snapped angrily.

"You do?" he sounded surprised.

"Kanan told me," I replied.

"Kanan?" The disbelief in his eyes grew by the second.

"Yes. He offered his help in a fight against Elora, and I agreed to help him."

"You did what?!" Sariel burst out, rushing towards me.

I flinched, seeing rage exploding in his pupils.

"He is Elora's brother! How can you be stupid enough to trust him?!" he roared.

I raised my eyebrows at him. His voice and expression were intimidating, but the amount of annoyance dispersed any traces of fear within me.

"I was brought rotten food. I was humiliated. I was threatened. I was challenged to fight till death. And you weren't there to help me. You left me without protection, even though you promised. Kanan suddenly showed up offering his support, and at that moment, I would gladly take whatever help someone offered," I said calmly while clenching my fists to compensate for my anger.

"I have already apologized for leaving you without protection, and you claimed to forgive me for that. Besides, I knew you weren't exactly defenseless…" he stated indifferently.

"What do you mean by that I wasn't defenseless?" I asked, my head beginning to spin.

Sariel sighed and sat next to me on the bed, "Will told me about the tests he did for you. He studied the results and predicted what you could be capable of."

"So you knew?!" I shrieked.

He explained casually, "I only knew that you could be strong enough to protect yourself against semi-nobles."

I felt as if he had stabbed my heart once more.

"Even I didn't know what I was capable of! I was terrified and then surprised by my abilities, and you are telling me that Will predicted what I could do and told you without telling me anything?!" I burst out.

"Calm down, Lilith. I didn't think that Elora would act so fast, and I didn't think it was necessary to tell you." He shrugged.

I inhaled deeply, trying to regain my composure. "Who else knew about my abilities? Leo?" My body was still shaking while I tried to stabilize my voice.

"I told Leo and only him," he admitted.

I clenched my teeth, processing this whole situation. "When did you tell him?"

"Just before I left the Palace."

I might have stopped breathing at that moment. It meant that Leo knew that I had become stronger while accepting the challenge for me. It all started to make sense. I couldn't understand why Leo was so overly confident in my chances of winning. I thought this was a gamble and the only way to get out of this tricky situation. Now, it looked like it was never about me, that it had been a well-calculated move to make the whole army accept Sariel's leadership while acknowledging me was merely an unintended addition. I prayed that it wasn't the case, but it was difficult to believe otherwise… It freaking hurt.

"Wow…" I exhaled while silently mocking my naivety.

I started to be afraid of asking other questions in case I would learn about other hurtful facts. This day had already brought me a huge dose of heartache, and I didn't crave more. I turned my back to Sariel and put on his shirt, trying to cope with what he said earlier.

"There's one other thing…" he broke the silence.

I sighed heavily and reluctantly turned around to face him. The pain was written all over my face, yet, as expected, he chose to ignore it.

"The celebration ball will be held tomorrow. You need a dress, a presentable one. I will tell the maids-"

"No." I stared at him, more determined than ever, "I want you to send Martha here so she can work in the Palace as my personal maid. I need to have someone I trust."

He raised his eyebrows and smirked, "Fine. If that is what you want, then I'm ok with it."

"Don't send her alone. If you do, she might be bullied by other maids and servants," I demanded.

"All right, I can agree to it as well. Anything else, my love?" He grinned sweetly as if he thought that agreeing to my requests would make me forget that I was mad at him.

I had to admit that the alluring tone of his voice made my heart flutter, completely ignoring the fact that I was seriously pissed. Suddenly, I reminded myself who was going to be at the ball and that there was a good chance that I would have to face my father. As I thought about it, my stomach clenched, and a wave of shudders crossed my spine.

"Don't…" I mumbled, looking into Sariel's eyes pleadingly, "Just don't leave me completely alone tomorrow…"

A wry smile appeared on his face, an "I can't give you that" kind of smile. He reached out his hand and gently stroked my cheek, gazing in a slightly apologetic way.

"I will try." His lie sounded more than clear.

Another stab. The corners of my lips lied as well, moving up and forming a garbled smile. I noted his faint sigh of relief as he decided to believe my smiley response. Reacting to that, my chest crumbled, and I no longer had the courage to face him. I finished buttoning the shirt and got up from the bed. I headed towards the door.

"One more thing… You will need an escort, and I cannot accompany you." His words stopped me as I was about to grab the door handle. "I will call Gabriel. He can-"

"Fine. Call him," I tossed, hurriedly walking into the corridor.

"Wait!" Sariel chased after me.

"Don't worry," I smiled bitterly, "there is no one in the corridor to see me walking out of your bedroom."

Before he could say another word, I found a secret button hidden under the painting that Kanan told me about, and I opened the passage leading to my chamber. I bet he would rather remain silent than draw unnecessary attention. I used that to get away from him before I wouldn't be able to hold my tears.

I would have probably drowned myself in misery and depression all day if Kanan hadn't decided to visit me later in the evening, carrying a bottle of Don Perignon to celebrate my victory over Kylo.

"I like it way better than tea," I chuckled, raising the toast with him.

"I'm glad we share a similar taste," he grinned, clinging to my glass.

Then I told him about the fight in detail. He seemed to be thrilled with my story, applauding my newly developed skills. He made me feel better, taking my mind off of Leo's scheme, Sariel's indifference, and ignoring the fact that what he was about to do would hurt me. I almost stopped thinking about how I would react to seeing that bastard father of mine. Then it hit me…

I grinned wickedly, looking into Kanan's eyes, and asked, "Would you be my escort at the celebration ball?"