âBut he seems busy working all the timeââ
âEven better. If he is working in his study, you can ask if you can help him out. He will definitely reject it because he is one stubborn creature but you have to remember to not give up. Say something like, you donât want to be an idle freeloader or you want to learn useful things or anything along those lines. If you are adamant, trust me, he wonât be able to resist you and in the end he will give up.â
âI will try,â she said. âDo you have more ideas?â
âObserve him, little female. I do not know how, but as long as you stay by his side long enough, you will find other ways to show him you care for him as his mate.â
âMakes senseâ¦â
Morpheus sighed as he stared at her anxious look. She looked really worried, so he decided to give her more ideas. âFor example, if he is strolling in the garden, you can offer to accompany him.â
âWonât that be a bother? What if he wants to be alone?â
âDonât let him be alone, thatâs the point. Heâs been alone for a long time, and that has to change,â Morpheus replied. âYou are his mate. You can do anything. You can go to his chamber and help him with various things, like helping him select clothes for the day. Female mates love to do that for their male counterparts. If he looks like he needs a break, you can even ask him to accompany you and go travel around the territories of the kingdom.â
Ember liked the last idea especially well, but she could not imagine herself doing all these things with the King. Excluding the fact that being close to him felt nerve-wracking, she was someone who enjoyed quiet time by herself. She felt it was wrong to be overly attached to someone that way and disrupt the Kingâs daily life. She didnât want to be an inconvenience.
âWonât that be too much?â she questioned hesitantly.
âTrust me, it wonât. You are mates. Change is necessary. This is what you need between you two,â he replied and then suggested, âWhy donât you ask for his help whenever you want something? That would be even better.â
She gulped at the mention of âhelpâ. Wasnât she thinking of someone to help her learn magic? Would the King accept helping her when she stole his bookâ
âNo, I just⦠borrowed, yes, I borrowed the book without his permission. Once I am done, I will return it so itâs not considered stealing.â
Seeing her lowered face, his curiosity was piqued. âWhat are you thinking?â
She didnât want to tell Morpheus that she had stolenâ¦erm, borrowed a book without the Kingâs permission.
She cleared her throat and wanted to change the topic. âMorpheus, do you have plans today? If you are not busyâ¦can I ask you to teach me?â
Morpheus raised a brow. âAm I not already teaching you how to be a proper mate?â
âNo, I donât mean that. I want to learn something else. You can use magic, right? Please teach me magic.â
âYou want to learn magic?â he asked in surprise.
âYes. Is that all right? If you are busy thenââ
âHah, you cannot find a man less busy than I am,â Morpheus chuckled. âSure, I can teach you magic, but rather than teach, I think I can only show you magic. You are human, and humans donât have the ability to use magic. I donât think you can learn.â
âI can use magic.â
It surprised Morpheus. âYou can use magic. Are you sure?â
She nodded confidently. âMy nanny said I am different from other humans. I learned a shapeshifting spell from herâ¦â She then said immediately, âDonât ask me to show it to you. I look ugly. I turn into a monster so I can scare other people away from me.â
âScaring away people, huh? Seems fun,â he commented and decided to trust her words for now. âFine. Hmm, for now, how about I show you a small magic spell?â
âYes, thank you, Morpheus!â
âSmall thing to do for my little human friend.â
Ember smiled in delight as she watched Morpheus lift his right hand. His fingers moved gently and there was some change at the tips of his fingers.
She looked at it with a curious gaze, and the next moment, there was a gust of air formed on top of his fingers, rotating into a palm-sized tornado that stayed in place despite causing the wind around them to pick up. Ember had to hold onto her hair to prevent it from whipping her face.
Morpheus looked at Ember while his fingers continued to be engaged with that tiny tornado.
âAs you know, I belong to the shapeshifter race. Magic in general depends on innate ability. For my race, the talent in our bloodline allows us to change forms, but you can say that I have a more superior background since I am a descendant of a divine creature. That allows me to use another magic power. I can control the air around me the way I want. That is my main strength,â he told her with pride. âWant to touch it?â
She nodded and then saw that palm-sized tornado moving towards her and stopped an armâs length in front of her.
She moved her hand and touched it with her forefinger, but the next moment, it dissipated into nothingness.
âAh? Iâm sorryââ She looked at Morpheus nervously.
âItâs fine,â he said. âThat was supposed to happen.â
She felt relieved and then asked, âCan you create butterflies by magic?â
âCreate? You mean, like an illusion? No, I canât. Besides, there is no fun in having fake butterflies when I can bring you real ones,â Morpheus said and once again Ember saw him moving his fingers.
âAre you ready, little female?â he asked, and before she could reply, she felt another gust of wind. It did not take long for her to spy a change in the garden below as if a sea of colours was approaching. Many colourful butterflies soon surrounded the balcony. Ember could not help but let out a delighted gasp. She had not seen so many of them gathered in a single place like this.
âThis! Morpheus, please, can you please teach me this? Tell me how you do it!â Her eyes looked earnest and Morpheus could not say no to her. He was worried that refusing her would make her upset, but on the contrary, accepting to teach her yet seeing her fail would also make her upset.
âPlease, Morpheus,â he heard her beg again.
âI worry for her too much. Itâs not my place to worry. I will just explain it to her the way I teach it to the young ones in my clan,â he decided. âI am sure she will fail but itâs fine to let her tryâ¦â
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You all can thank reader DespinaNY for these bonus chapters. <3 <3