Chapter 46: Chapter 46

KAMORA

Kamora woke up the next day feeling worn out. The rays of the sun gently seeped into the room where she lay, and she silently took it in, content with the silence until a movement alerted her.

Lord Maroke was sleeping next to her. She wondered why she still called him that, as she took in his beautiful face.

He had features gods would be envious of, but perhaps that was just her bias talking. Even as she simply stared at his face, her heart increased its pace as she thought of the first day she laid eyes on him.

She was but a simple Fae, one born into a family that wanted her dead. Kamora didn’t know who her mother was, or why her father had taken it upon himself to take her away from the woman who birthed her.

One might think it was to protect Kamora from her mother, or that perhaps her father deemed her mother not capable of raising her. But as Kamora grew, she became sure of one thing—her father’s reasons were none of the above.

It was, instead, to punish her mother. When Kamora was about five years old, barely capable of fending for herself, she had the mind of a grown child, one who had suffered from countless emotional and verbal abuses.

She was surprised when one day, her father brought in a woman, saying she was his wife. At that time, Kamora was happy.

She believed that perhaps the heavens had sent someone to protect her from the evil she called a father. How wrong she had been.

The woman had a daughter, who was a few years older than her. At first, both of them were accommodating, and her father didn’t punish her.

But barely a month passed before they started showing their true colors. She grew up being their servant, and her anger pressed into her body like pressured air in a glass bottle.

She’d all but explode one day, but no matter how much she wished for it to happen, her boldness never came. She got a job as a cleaner for the small house Lord Maroke was staying in away from the capital.

The money she earned there always ended up going to her family. She couldn’t even hide it if she wished.

Her sister, Gwen, was a plant Fae. Her powers had become stronger, and her father, also a plant Fae, was extremely proud of her.

Funny how he treated Gwen as his real daughter rather than her. Though Gwen’s mother was human, they seemed like a perfect family.

Kamora was just an outsider. She was plant Fae but couldn’t exhibit any of its powers.

She tried as hard as she might, but nothing ever happened when she attempted the spells she always overheard Gwen performing. Meeting Lord Maroke was something she never thought she’d get to experience.

He was like an enigma to the maids, coming and disappearing like the wind. And he was extremely handsome.

At first, he ignored her as he always did with others, but for some reason, fate kept putting her in his view. His face was placid, indifference emanating off him.

She was always afraid that someone who always kept his emotions in check was not one to be played with. She feared what he’d do to her.

One day, she had come to work with bruises she’d tried but failed to hide. Lord Maroke had seen it, and that was the first time he had spoken to her.

He’d said, “Are you all right?”

She had been flustered, shame gently seeping into her body at the fact that Lord Maroke’s first words to her were asking if she was fine. Still, she’d squared her shoulders, bowed, and answered, “Yes, my lord.”

She wasn’t sure what went through his mind then, but now that she thought of it, ever since then he’d always sought her out, giving her chores that put her next to him. Then one day, all of a sudden, he called her to his study. “I want you to come with me, to my manor in the capital.”

Kamora was shocked yet flattered. “The capital, my lord?” she had replied. “I don’t know. What do you expect me to do there?”

“You can work for me, just as you are now.”

Lord Maroke stirred, breaking her out of her memories. She watched as he slowly opened his eyes, the sleep quietly leaving his face as he focused on her, his gray orbs piercing into her soul.

She continued staring at him, trying to read his thoughts despite the indifference printed on his face.

“Good morning, my love,” she greeted, hoping that he still loved her.

Lord Maroke’s eyes widened, and he quickly sat up straight, holding on to Kamora’s hands.

“It’s been long, so long since I heard that from your mouth,” he whispered, his voice shaking.

Relief flooded through her.

“I was afraid you’d leave me after I told you my true nature. I was preparing my mind for what I thought was inevitable—”

Her words were silenced by Lord Maroke’s lips crashing onto hers—firm, urgent, and filled with years of longing.

He kissed her like a man starved, like someone who had been dying of thirst, and she was the only stream in a sun-scorched desert. His hands slid into her hair, fingers brushing through tangled strands as he drew her closer, closer still, until no space remained between them.

When he gently caught her bottom lip between his teeth, she gasped—more from surprise than pain—and that was all he needed. He deepened the kiss, devouring her.

Their tongues danced a fiery rhythm, teasing, tangling, tasting—a lover’s tango ignited by years of separation and silent yearning. Heat flooded her veins, weakening her limbs.

She didn’t realize she had fallen back onto the bed until the weight of him pressed gently above her, his body anchoring hers. His touch trailed from her hair to her hand, fingers weaving through hers in a tight, grounding clasp.

Then his mouth moved—pressing soft, reverent kisses to her forehead, her closed eyelids, her neck…her chest. Kamora let out a sound—half gasp, half moan—caught between pain and pleasure, between disbelief and surrender.

He hadn’t left her. He still loved her.

“My love,” he whispered at the spot right above her breasts, “how I have missed you. I have missed you so much.”

He kissed the opening of her gown, then moved back to her lips, devouring them like she might disappear at any time. Something wet touched her face and so she opened her eyes, shocked to see that he was crying.

Despite his kisses, despite the strong way he held her as he brought her immense pleasure, her husband was crying. And so, she cried with him, kissing him just as fervently.

“I am back.”

***

They lay together in bed, Kamora’s head against Lord Maroke’s chest. He gently ran his hand through her hair, content with the silence.

He was finally at peace. His wife was home, and she remembered him.

Even though her true identity had come as a shock, she was still the same person.

He felt a stab of guilt whenever he remembered the slight suspicion he had upon her confession, and he made a silent vow to make it up to her in whatever way he could. She was his wife.

The last thing he should ever do was not trust her.

“The princess?” Kamora asked, breaking the silence. “You haven’t sent her a reply?”

“Why should I?” he answered, his hand still in her hair. “My son is perfectly fine now.”

“She has to go,” Kamora declared.

Though her voice was gentle and soft, it wasn’t enough to hide the venom in that statement.

“What do you plan to do?” he asked.

“We will both attend that ball together,” she answered. “I have something I wish to tell the king and queen.”

“Their majesties might be good leaders, but I doubt they’d have mercy on whoever disgraces them in public.”

“Don’t worry, it’s the princess that’ll do all the disgracing.”

Lord Maroke was curious about what she had planned. He didn’t question her further.

“Your curse,” she said, raising her head slightly to face him. “Do you still have pains?”

“So far I am good,” Lord Maroke answered, letting an encouraging smile into his voice. “These past few days stressed me out a lot, so I had to take more than my normal dosage of that human drug.”

“You shouldn’t be taking that,” Kamora stated. She gently rose from his chest with a frown on her face.

Lord Maroke looked at her, perplexed. “I know it’s bad to take too many drugs, but without it, I’ll be cold as ice. I wouldn’t be able to love you properly.”

“I am grateful for your sacrifice, my love, but I have seen what it does to the humans. I can’t let you suffer the same fate as them.”

She studied his chest for a while, deep in thought.

“I can come up with a potion that’ll work just as well as that drug, but you’ll have to take it at specific times. I also need to find a way to break your curse. Not only because I love you, but because I can’t bear to see Jarosh suffer the same fate.”

“I have already found the cure,” Lord Maroke said. “I was able to find the past diary and records of my first ancestor who was cursed. I don’t really understand it at all, but I guess if I have someone who loves me more than I love them, then the curse will break.”

“It can’t be that easy. No spell is. Besides, I have loved you for a long time, so why hasn’t anything changed?”

“Perhaps because you don’t love me as much?” Lord Maroke teased. She slapped his arm playfully.

“I’ll show you what I was able to find regarding this curse. But for now, I want to know what happened to you. Everything. From the moment you first went missing.”

“I doubt I’ll be able to narrate all that happened today. Jarosh could come in at any minute.”

“Don’t worry about that. Greyson will handle him. I need some time with my wife, and only a few hours in the morning won’t be enough for me.”

He adjusted against the bed, sitting up with his back resting on the headboard. Kamora moved with him, resting her head on his lap.

“To fully understand this story, I have to begin from the time you told me to come with you.”