Chapter 206: Real or Illusion

Liona’s POV

The nighttime brought a quiet stillness to the house, casting long shadows across the stone floor of my bedroom. I stood in front of the vanity mirror, holding a wooden brush in my hand.

Slowly and methodically, I ran the bristles through my long hair, watching the dark strands catch the dim candlelight. My mind was quiet for once, exhausted from the strange and overwhelming events of the day.

After brushing out the last of the tangles, I gathered the thick mass of my hair at the back of my neck. I quickly packed it into neat, tight bonds to keep it securely out of my face while I slept.

I smoothed down the front of my white shift gown. It was a classic, lightweight sleeping gown made of thin, breathable fabric that flowed loosely down to my ankles.

The thin straps rested gently against my shoulders, offering comfort against the night air.

Satisfied that I was ready for rest, I walked over to the large wooden bed and climbed beneath the heavy blankets. I lay down flat on the mattress, pulling the sheets right up to my chest.

I did not fall asleep immediately. Instead, I just stayed there, staring blankly up at the dark wooden beams of the ceiling. My eyes traced the patterns in the grain, but I had nothing in particular to think about.

My brain felt empty, drained of all its usual worries and frantic questions about fated mates and ancient rulers.

After a few minutes of floating in that peaceful emptiness, my heavy eyelids fluttered shut, and I finally drifted off into a deep sleep.

****

A few minutes after I went to sleep, a strange sensation began to pull me out of my rest. I felt something incredibly wrong happening down below my legs.

It was a warm, invasive tingling that started at my ankles and slowly crept upward. At first, I tried to ignore it, wanting to sink back into the comfort of my dreams.

But then, a sudden, heavy pressure began to build up deep inside my lower body. The intense warmth turned cloying and suffocating, making my heart rate quicken even while I remained trapped in a half-asleep state.

I stirred awake a little bit, my body shifting uncomfortably against the mattress. I didn’t wake up fully enough to understand what was actually happening or to grasp the reality of my surroundings.

My mind was completely hazy, caught in that thick fog between slumber and awareness. I forced my heavy eyelids to part just a fraction, tilting my head down to look toward the foot of the bed.

Through my blurry vision, I saw that my bedsheets had been tightly twisted into strange bonds around my legs, pinning my ankles securely to the mattress.

The tight fabric restriction meant only one thing. Someone was actively standing at the foot of my bed, holding me down.

A sudden spike of pure terror pierced through my groggy mind. My chest heaved, and I instinctively opened my mouth, completely prepared to let out a loud, echoing scream to alert the guards outside.

But before a single sound could escape my throat, a large, warm hand rushed forward out of the darkness and covered my mouth entirely. The heavy palm pressed firmly against my lips, muffling my cry into a soft gasp.

My heart hammered frantically against my ribs as I looked straight up. My eyes made direct contact with a pair of intense, piercing grey eyes staring right down at me through the shadows.

The silver orbs burned with a fierce, possessive hunger that made my entire body lock up in shock. I could only look back at those grey eyes, paralyzed by the sheer power radiating from the figure hovering over me.

Without warning, the pressure on my mouth vanished as the person leaned down completely. He captured my lips in a deep, bruising kiss.

He kept kissing me, his mouth moving against mine with a frantic, desperate intensity that stole the remaining air right out of my lungs. As our lips slid together, I tasted something distinctly salty on his skin, a sharp flavor that made my head spin in circles.

He didn’t stop there. He finally left my mouth, trailing a path of hot, heavy kisses down the sensitive skin of my neck.

The sensations grew heavier, more insistent, sliding lower across my collarbone and belly in a raw, unrelenting crawl that left my skin crawling with conflicting heat and dread.

He kept going, moving lower and lower, returning to the exact spot where he had been before at the foot of the bed.

The thin fabric of my nightgown was shoved aside. What followed was a slick, invasive assault of tongue and pressure against my most sensitive flesh, wet, obscene sounds filling the room as he devoured and probed without mercy, the raw friction and moisture turning everything into a messy, degrading haze of unwanted pleasure and revulsion.

I gripped the tangled sheets tightly in my fists, making loud, broken moaning sounds that echoed softly against the stone walls of my bedroom.

The intense, shameful sensations kept building and building until I felt entirely consumed by the filthy heat.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, I felt the sensation completely stop.

The abrupt coldness snapped me out of my trance. I forced my upper body up, looking over the edge of the mattress. I didn’t see anything there. I blinked rapidly, rubbing my face, but I didn’t see anybody standing at the foot of my bed.

I scrambled up into a sitting position and looked all around my dark room, scanning every single corner for a hidden silhouette.

I didn’t see anybody at all. The room was empty, completely silent save for the sound of my own ragged breathing.

A sudden wave of fear hit me, and I opened my eyes scarily wide, desperately trying to figure out if that terrifyingly intense encounter had been real or if I was simply having a wild, vivid dream.

The air in the room was perfectly still. Nobody was hiding in my wardrobe, and nobody was crouching by the door.

I threw the tangled blankets off my lap and hesitantly reached my trembling hand down to touch my middle part. My fingers came away wet and sticky.

My breath hitched in my throat as I lifted my hand to touch my face, realizing my cheeks were also wet with a line of fresh perspiration.

Yet, there was absolutely nobody there with me.

I leaned back against the headboard, my mind spinning into complete chaos as I started thinking deeply about what this meant.

Was I actually losing my mind? Was I really dreaming about him so intensely that my body reacted like that? Having such dirty, shameful dreams about a man I barely knew was unlike me.

I tried to make sense of the lingering heat in my skin, but after a long while, I decided not to think too much about it.

I pulled the sheets back over my shoulders, closed my eyes, and forced myself to go back to sleep.

****

When the bright morning finally reached my family’s house, the golden sunlight streamed through my window, chasing away the dark illusions of the night.

I finished dressing in a simple, elegant gown and sat down at my vanity table. I picked up a small silver mirror, staring blankly at my own reflection.

My eyes looked slightly tired, and my lips still felt strangely sensitive, making me question reality all over again.

A loud, polite knock suddenly interrupted my quiet thoughts.

"Come in," I called out, setting the mirror down on the wooden surface.

The door creaked open, and one of our young house servants stepped inside. She bowed her head deeply in respect, her hands clasped tightly in front of her apron. "Lady Liona, Lord Aethryx is downstairs in the courtyard looking for you."

I paused, my mind completely blanking on the unfamiliar title. I turned around in my chair, looking at her with a confused expression. "Who?"

The servant lifted her head, a soft pink blush instantly creeping up her cheeks as she called the name again. "Lord Aethryx, my lady."

I furrowed my brows, completely lost. "Do I even know who that is?"

The servant giggled softly, her eyes lighting up with a sudden, dreamy expression. "Yes, my lady. That visiting Lord who has striking white hair and looks incredibly handsome."

The moment the words left her mouth, the servant blushed deeply, looking down at her shoes to hide her massive grin.

I stared at her, noticing how she was practically drooling over his memory in her mind. It was clear the Dragon King had already managed to charm the entire staff without even trying.

I let out a soft sigh, shaking my head at her dramatic reaction. "Go tell him I will be right there."

The servant nodded quickly, bowing one last time before she turned on her heel and left the room, her footsteps hurrying down the hallway.

I turned back to the mirror, looking at my own hazel eyes one last time before I excused myself from the room.

As I walked down the long stone corridors, my mind was still completely stuck on the memory of last night.

The vividness of the touch, the salty taste, the heavy pressure, it all felt far too detailed to be a mere trick of my imagination.

When I finally stepped outside into the fresh air, I spotted him immediately. He was standing near the center of the stone garden, surrounded by blooming roses, patiently waiting for my arrival.

He wore a finely tailored tunic that accentuated his broad shoulders, and his white hair caught the sunlight beautifully.

When I reached him, he turned around slowly. He bowed lightly from the waist, executing the movement with the smooth, effortless grace of a true gentleman. He rose back to his full height, his grey eyes locking onto mine with an intense, steady warmth.

"My queen," he murmured, his deep voice sliding over the words. "You look absolutely radiant today."

I crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to let his smooth compliments distract me from the burning question in my mind. I took a step closer, narrowing my eyes at his handsome face.

"Cut the crap," I said sharply, my modern irritation breaking through my royal mask. "Were you in my bedroom last night?"

The Dragon King tilted his head slightly, a small, completely unreadable frown tugging at the corners of his lips. "Was I?"

"I do not know," I snapped, stepping even closer until I could smell the faint scent of him from his clothes. "You tell me. Were you actually there?"

He shook his head slowly, a faint, highly amused smirk starting to play on his lips as his grey eyes twinkled with mischief. "Were you perhaps dreaming of me, Liona?"

My face flushed hot, and I quickly looked away, clearing my throat to hide my sudden embarrassment. "No, I wasn’t dreaming of you. I... I was just making sure of something important."

I fell silent, my thoughts racing helter-skelter. If he truly wasn’t in my room last night, then what on earth had actually happened to me? The wetness, the touch, the intense pleasure, it couldn’t have just been a random dream.

The Dragon King noticed my sudden silence and the way I was staring blankly at the rosebushes. His expression turned slightly more serious, his grey eyes searching my face with deep curiosity.

"Did somebody else visit you last night?" he asked, his voice dropping into a lower, slightly protective tone.

I looked right back at him, forcing my expression to remain completely blank. "No. Nobody visited me."

"Okay," he muttered slowly, accepting my answer for now, though his eyes remained incredibly sharp.

I decided to change the subject before he could pry any deeper into my private life. I looked at him curiously. "What is your real name anyway? And why are the servants suddenly calling you by that new title?"

The Dragon King let out a soft chuckle, his shoulders relaxing. "Because Aethryx is actually my true name, my queen. Lord Aethryx is who I am."

I nodded my head slowly, filing the name away in my mind. "Fine. But what are you still doing here at my house? I mean, do you not have an entire dragon kingdom to run back home?"

He took a slow step forward, closing the distance between us until he was standing just a few inches away. "Yeah, I know I have duties. But I am just here to see my beautiful queen. Is that really such a bad thing? I mean, I have to court you properly if I want to win your heart."

I let out a dramatic huff, rolling my eyes as I uncrossed my arms. "Whatever. I am going back to my room."

I turned around on my heel, fully intending to leave him alone in the garden.

But before I could take a single step, his deep, rumbling voice echoed right behind my back.

"Then why are you letting me know you are going to your room?" Aethryx asked, a wicked, incredibly low purr vibrating in his throat. "Do you want me to follow you there?"