The Devil's Temptation!

Anna sat at her dressing table after getting herself prepared for the day. She gently massaged the two dot marks at the nape of her pale neck, curiously studying it on the glass mirror and there was no trace of blood coming out of it. It looked as though it was waiting to be pierced again, pierced by a certain someone and it made her pulses flutter like a dove.

She pursed her lips at how difficult it was to stop thinking about Roshan, surely it was a normal thing if a good-looking person lingers in the thought of someone for a while but this was entirely different.

She found the mark on her neck to be something out of the ordinary and as much as she tried to avoid the topic, there was a great possibility that the mark on her neck carried a meaning she was unaware of.

‘I choose Roshan.’ her own unusual phrase replayed in her head constantly and it left her thinking even up till this day, she still doesn’t know what made her utter them.

She gave up guessing and her big brown eyes lit up with contempt, “There must be a library in the palace.” She thoughtfully said to herself before getting to her feet. She was going to find the library and hopefully, there might be books about the mark that would help her understand her situation even better.

Most especially that scandalous dream she wasn’t entirely sure was a dream. Everything.... felt so real, his presence, his hot breath, the arousing tension and the heat of his body, his hypnotizing scent, plus the wound on her wrist vanishing out of the blue and finding herself on the bed, she was sure he came into her chambers.

And just thinking about it non-stop made her heart race.

“I’m overthinking this.” She admitted and involuntarily clicked her tongue. She should find the library first and try as much as she can to avoid Roshan for a day till her mind settles.

.....

Keeping that word at the back of her head, she stepped out of her chambers and headed for the corridor.

As always, she greeted a few maids that strode by and they seemed to be in a hurry today. Upon reaching a certain corner, Anna’s feet stopped in their tracks as a middle-aged woman with red hair came into sight. She was half-scolding a few maids and worst of all, Gretta stood beside her with an equally strict stare.

“Have you forgotten the rules?” Letitia strictly said to the trembling maids. “Remember you’re from the low-rank demons, His highness doesn’t like Intruders in his underground pool and you foolishly defied his orders, but I’ll let it slide today, next time I won’t be this kind!”

“Forgive us for our ignorance, we won’t make that mistake again.” The maidens immediately pleaded, but the red-haired woman only hummed as she stood straight.

“I hope not.”

Anna who quietly hid and watched the scene already knew the woman was someone important, or a relative to the royal home as well. She didn’t dare to take that route after spotting Gretta, and something told her the red-haired woman wasn’t going to find her presence appealing.

“Is everyone so strict in Viscarrian?” She still remembered that at Euphrasia, the royal families weren’t so strict.

Silencing herself, she quietly walked away and continued to find the library. She wandered restlessly through the palace like a prowling animal.

“Viscarrian palace is so big, I wonder if the library is close by.” She muttered to herself, but her feet instantly halted after spotting Roshan heading towards her direction.

He wasn’t alone, his main guard walked beside him and Anna suspected he was the marshal of Roshan’s guards. They seemed to be coming back from who knows where and where deeply engrossed in their own conversation. Roshan’s expression looked serious and his eyes looked distant.

That didn’t stop her from recollecting last night’s scandal and her face unwillingly flushed, just watching him brush his fingers through his messy black hair in an attempt to think properly only brought out the beauty he possessed. His morning look was dangerously alluring and his aura at the moment became heavy and dark, indicating he wasn’t in the mood to be messed with.

Every maiden at the hallway politely dipped their heads in a low bow the moment he walked by, and instead of Anna to do the same like any normal being, she fled like a spirit from the upper hallway, afraid he might spot her and call for her attention, thus, venting his early morning frustration on her.

“Sir Gravion dropped a message.” Lorenzo clearly stated to the man he was currently walking beside with. Seeing as Roshan hadn’t shut him up yet, he continued, “he requests you show up at the meeting tonight.”

Roshan’s lips twitched at the news, “cancel it, I have important things to take care of.”

“I’m afraid that is impossible, every high Demon would be present at the council meeting and your presence is highly needed.”

A frown settled on Roshan’s face at the news of higher Demons being present at the council meeting, why won’t they leave him alone??

As much as it ate at him that he couldn’t refuse a higher Demon, he could always irritate them to his satisfaction until they chased him away themselves.

He suddenly smiled, “Fine, I’ll just use the meeting to my own advantage.” He subtly responded, making Lorenzo’s brow bend in a silent inquiry. He had somehow suspected it, but he wondered what mayhem his highness would cause at the meeting tonight.

As Roshan strode by, the familiar floral scent instantly invaded his nostril, gaining his attention immediately and when his eyes diverted to the maids bowing before him, the one with the scent was nowhere present among them.

‘She isn’t here.’ he silently said to himself, but yet his eyes kept searching as though he was expecting to spot her around.

“Are you looking for something?” Lorenzo felt the need to ask, his Lord’s gaze hasn’t relaxed ever since they strode past this particular hallway, as though he was searching for something... or rather someone.

“It’s nothing.” He lowered his gaze. Strange, he swore he felt her presence here. Where is she anyway?

~

“Slow down Gemma, you’ll get hurt if you keep running like that.” Anna chuckled lightly, seeing the little girl bolt happily through the stairs and Anna had to raise the hem of her gown so she could go after her without tripping.

Gemma only stopped after reaching a particular door, she turned to look at Anna who was busy catching her breath, her hands rested on her waist and she took one final deep breath before standing straight to look at Gemma.

“I’m so glad that’s over, I thought my legs would break, next time I’ll make sure to hold your hands.” She joked, causing Gemma to snicker silently.

“So, this is the library?” Anna asked with interest, turning her attention to the huge door and Gemma nodded.

If she hadn’t run into Gemma on the way, goodness knows she’d end up patrolling the whole palace and still not find the library.

She opened the door and took a step in, Gemma followed behind and as they progressed farther into the library, Anna’s eyes widened at how big the library room turned out to be.

Thousands of books were laid on the shelves that were extremely taller than her, Anna’s eyes widened further as she wandered through the library. Gemma stayed beside her as she also stared at how big the library was.

“So many books, how do I find the particular book that I need?”

A sudden ‘boom’ sound behind them caught their attention and the two lost beings nearly jumped out of their skin due to the unexpected loud sound.

Anna instantly turned around to see what had caused it, only to find the walls split open and a figure stepped out. Her eyes widened seeing it was Levi.

“My goodness!”

Levi sluggishly stepped out, his clothes were a bit torn, as though something sharp clawed through them. He looked dusty and coughed while adjusting his outfit. His hair was a mess on his head and when he raised his head up, he caught sight of Anna and Gemma.

His dull eyes instantly brightened, “ah, you’re back!”

Anna hurried over to him, “what... what happened to you?” She completely forgot about Levi who helped her show up at the mask celebration, she didn’t even notice his absence if not now.

And what happened to him??

Gemma tried not to chuckle as she stared at her brother’s situation, her hands covered her mouth and she looked away before he noticed.

“It’s nothing, just a rough ride down the tunnel.” He nervously laughed, he couldn’t admit Roshan punished him terribly, who knows if the unforgiving demon of a brother would kill him next.

“Forget about me for now, I heard what happened to you at the celebration, I’m glad you’re alright.” He genuinely said and truly he was. Anna couldn’t help but smile at his weird, but honest concern.

Levi’s gaze shifted to the little girl who hid behind Anna and his beautiful eyes formed a playful angry slit. This little demoness tricked him into opening the door and he foolishly fell for her cuteness.

“You.....”

To his surprise, his sister stuck her tongue out at him in a mocking manner and he scoffed in response. Of course, no one in this house was afraid of him. He’d like to see if she’d have the courage to do that if he was Roshan.

“No, don’t punish her please.” Anna intervened after realizing what his glare meant, “I asked for her help so she wasn’t at fault, punish me instead.”

“What!” He instantly shook his head, Roshan would tear him in pieces if he ever did that. He knew what he went through in there and couldn’t risk going through it again, so he shrugged it off.

“Nevermind it, what are you doing here?”

Anna suddenly smiled as an idea popped in her head. It felt like luck was on her side today, Levi has lived in the palace, surely he must know books related to Demon bites.

“Can you help me find a book about demon marks?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well..” Anna was hesitant at first, but she showed him the mark on her neck, only to see his eyes widen into stupefaction as though he just saw a ghost.

“I wanted to know about this.”

“You got bitten?” He sounded too surprised, “by who?”

“Roshan.”

Roshan???

Anna watched as his expression changed with the rapidity of a kaleidoscope and it made her even more nervous than she already was.

Was it something bad??

“You chose Roshan as your mate?!!” He blurted.

“Mate? What?”

“You’ve been marked.”