Chapter 10 Murder Attempt

Azalia's steps were resonating in the large corridors of the Adom castle.

The Lavan princess was heading to the library alone. She was supposed to wait for Emet but had decided to go without her knight today. She needed to be alone to gather her thoughts, even if only for a small moment.

The truth was that Azalia was lost. The man she was supposed to marry didn't see her as anything more than someone to breed, a mean to have some fun and to get powerful heir. Azalia hated the situation she was in. She hated how Melech was treating her, as if she was just another woman among countless others.

She deserved more than that. She wanted someone who loved her, someone who worshipped her, not someone who only called her when they needed to get off. It was humiliating and infuriating, something Azalia definitely wasn't used to.

But, despite all of this, her body couldn't help but react to the King's touches...

Melech had managed to arouse her when they had taken a bath together. Azalia hated to admit it, but the way he had caressed her body and kissed her neck had made her lower belly coil with warmth. Her intimate parts had tingled, no matter how hard Azalia had tried to fight it.

It was disturbing. Azalia didn't know what to make of it and so kept thinking about it.

With hindsight, she should have probably been more careful when walking throughout the Adom castle all alone. She had almost forgotten that she was in enemy territory and that some people didn't want her here, but Nahash ambushing her in an empty corridor quickly reminded her.

"Well, if it isn't the King's new little plaything." The man mocked her, a smirk making its way on his face as he looked at Azalia.

He was the advisor with the scar on his face Azalia had seen during the High Council. He hadn't been shy about his hatred toward Azalia at the time, and seemed eager to insult her now that they were all alone without Melech here to keep him in tow.

But Azalia wasn't the defensive princess Nahash thought she was, and she didn't hesitate showing him just that. "I'm not the King's new little plaything." She told him in a fierce voice.

Her glare must have taken Nahash aback, but the man's behaviour only got more threatening in response. "Careful, there..." He taunted, his red eyes darkening with something dangerous as he slowly stepped closer to Azalia. "Don't think you have the fucking right to talk back to me just because the King fucks you."

"He didn't fuck me yet." Azalia replied with a mocking laugh. "And he won't before a long time." Not until he had earned that right, at least. "But the King has nothing to do with me talking back to you. I'm the Lavan princess, remember? Your status means absolutely nothing to me when you're so clearly inferior to me."

"You shameless whore." Nahash instantly glowered at her words.

"What?" And Azalia should have probably stopped provoking him now, but she had always enjoyed having the last word. "Did I maybe hurt your pathetic ego?"

That seemed to be the last straw for Nahash. He suddenly wrapped a hand around Azalia's small neck, his grip so strong he literally lifted her off the floor.

"I will never bow to an impostor like you." He snarled right in front of Azalia's face. "Your blood is worthless. It will soil the royal line and ruin the Adom Kingdom. "He tightened his grip around Azalia's neck as he spoke, not enough to kill her but just enough to make her struggle to breath. "You should be the one begging on your knees for daring to insult me."

Princess or not, Nahash would never obey nor respect Azalia. He didn't care about what Melech said because he firmly believed that mixing races was a heresy. It would tarnish their blood and sign the end of the Adom Kingdom's supremacy. The way Azalia was fully defenceless against his inhuman strength only proved just how right he was.

Except Azalia wasn't defenceless.

Gasping for air, the Lavan princess didn't hesitate to use her powers on Nahash. She grabbed the man's face into her hands and suddenly sent incredibly strong waves of endless pain, misery and suffering throughout his whole body.

"Fuck!" Nahash had no other choice but to let go of her at the unbearable sensation.

Azalia fell on the ground, her hands quickly moving to her neck as she took deep breaths of air. She had managed to push Nahash away but knew this wasn't over yet. On the contrary, Nahash looked even angrier after what she had just done to him.

"You fucking witch." He glared at her with so much animosity she started to get scared. She hurriedly got back onto his feet, the Lavan princess getting ready to fight a man who had at least twice her strength. She knew fighting wasn't just about raw strength, but Nahash looked ready to kill her and Azalia was smart enough to take a step back.

"Don't get any closer to me if you don't want me to make you suffer again." She menaced him. Her words were her best weapon, after all, but Nahash saw right through her.

"Your little trick won't work on me twice." He told her with a cruel laugh. "I'll snap your neck before you can use your powers again." The threat was real, and Azalia had to think fast if she wanted to survive.

"Your King will kill you if you touch his future wife."

"I'm sure he'll find another whore to replace you." Nahash snorted at her.

"You'll trigger a war." Azalia retorted right away. She was taking a step back for each step Nahash took closer to her. "The Lavan Kingdom will never accept their princess to be killed without doing anything in return." She was getting desperate, her heart dangerously racing inside her chest as she prayed for someone to come and help her.

"I think I'll take the risk." Nahash said and so Azalia finally decided to run. "Get back here!" He shouted as he immediately ran after her.

Azalia knew he would catch up to her in no time at all. She was fast but he was faster. It was only a matter of seconds before he grabbed her, his hands tugging at her long white hair and pulling her back against him...

But the fates had to be on her side because Emet chose this moment to appear.

"Do no touch her." He got Azalia out of Nahash's grip before harshly pushing the man away from her. It made him stumble, his red eyes filling with hatred as they landed on Emet. "Who do you think you are??" He shouted full of rage at Emet's action. Nobody was allowed to rough him up like this.

But Emet didn't care about Adom hierarchies and protectively stood between Azalia and the man who had just tried to hurt her. He didn't know what was going on, but didn't need to be a genius to understand the Lavan princess needed his help.

"I'm the princess' personal guard." He declared in an unwavering voice.

It only made Nahash scoff, the scared man ready to kill Emet too. "And you think you can disrespect me without meeting your death?" He asked, the lava inside his veins glowing underneath his skin. His fists were tightly clenched, his muscles bulging from the amount of rage he was feeling right now.

Emet's gaze hardened at the sight. He reached for the sword fastened at his side, the whole atmosphere around him suddenly changing to something dark and dangerous. "I could kill you without any difficulty." He threatened in an icy tone.

Nahash may had inhuman strength just like all Adom people had, but he wasn't a warrior and had no sword to fight with. He was no match against Emet's battling skills.

"Do not dare touching the princess ever again." He growled, his voice sounding absolutely blood-curling in the almost-empty corridor.

It made Nahash pale.

The Adom counsellor was a cruel and arrogant man, but he wasn't in any way stupid. He could tell when he was facing someone stronger than him, and his instincts had never failed him before. He understood he didn't have any chance against Emet and so cursed under his breath, anger and frustration swelling inside him.

"This isn't over." He grunted just before walking away.

Emet should have probably followed him, but Nahash wasn't his main priority right now. No, Azalia was. "Are you okay, princess?" He immediately turned around to face her as soon as they were alone.

"Yes. Thank you, Emet." Azalia replied in a slightly trembling voice. The truth was that she was quite shaken up. How could she not be, when Nahash had just tried to choke her to death? She had been expecting a lot of things when she had agreed to become Melech's wife, but murders attempts certainly hadn't been one of them.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Emet worried about her. "I looked for you as soon as I noticed you had left your quarters alone. I hope I wasn't too late."

"I'm okay." Azalia tried to reassure him but Emet wasn't having any of it. "Let me see your neck." He said as he carefully tilted Azalia's chin up to check on any possible bruise. He had noticed red marks on her skin, and safely assumed this was from Nahash trying to choke her.

However, the sight his eyes landed on certainly wasn't the one he was expecting.

"What are those?" He asked in a shocked voice.

"What are what?" Azalia instantly brought her hands to her neck in response. She frowned at Emet, wondering why he was suddenly reacting like this, when she suddenly remembered what her neck was covered with:

Dark red hickeys Melech had left on her when they had taken a bath together.

"Oh." Her face instantly felt hot at the thought of Emet seeing her like this. She had asked Temira and Shai to hide the hickeys with some makeup this morning, but Nahash wrapping his hands around her neck must have removed all the powder on her skin. "It's nothing." She told Emet while avoiding his gaze. She hoped he wouldn't ask any questions, but already knew it wouldn't be the case.

Sure enough, Emet wasted no time interrogating her. "It's from the Adom King, isn't it? What did he do to you?" He seemed angry and Azalia could already tell this conversation wouldn't be pleasant. "We just took a bath together." She tried to calm him down by not telling the whole truth.

But Emet knew her too well. "Did he touch you?" He asked, his tone cold and his gaze hard as he took a step closer to Azalia.

It made her gulp. She had rarely ever seen Emet this angry before and it was worrying her. She knew Emet was extremely protective over her. Their relationship had always been intense and ambiguous, but Emet had recently started reacting in even stronger ways than whenever something happened with Melech.

Still, Azalia couldn't lie to him. It just wasn't possible. "He did." That's why she told Emet the truth, her words instantly triggering a loud growl out of Emet.

"I'm going to kill him." He suddenly stated. He didn't even waste one instant, the half-Lavan half-Yarok knight immediately heading toward the throne room.

"Emet, no!" Azalia promptly followed him. "You can't!" She couldn't believe Emet would do something as stupid as going to threaten the Adom King just because he had touched her. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Do not try to stop me!" He suddenly raised his voice at Azalia. Fury was blinding him, jealousy and rage alike preventing him from thinking straight. "He keeps disrespecting you, Azalia! He forced you to strip first then kept on insulting you and now even thinks he can touch you!"

It was true, all of this was true, but Azalia didn't care. Not when Emet's life was on stake. "Please, Emet!" She tried to grab Emet's arm to make him stop walking. "You promised!" She reminded him, her words full of despair as Emet refused to stop.

She had known this would happen, that's why she had made Emet promise her he wouldn't do anything no matter what happened between her and Melech. She hadn't wanted Emet to put himself in danger because of her...

But Emet had lied, and Azalia could already see him die at the Adom King's hands.