Chapter 184: Into Her Or Not

"The last time, Caelis looked like he couldn’t care less about me, so what does he want this time? Why does he suddenly want to see me? I’ve been careful not to provoke him." Karen badgered Venus with questions as they made their way down the hallway leading toward Caelis’ quarters.

There was something unsettling about House Ophidian. Even when the halls were quiet, they never truly felt silent. There was always the faint sound of scales dragging against stone or the occasional hiss coming from somewhere Karen couldn’t see, enough to make the hairs on her arms stand on end. Serpents were simply unsettling.

However, Caelis Cobryn wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes. The basilick prince was certainly a good catch, but Nightshade was the real prize.

Not only was Maverick potentially the next Alpha King of the Asterion region, but he had four powerful fathers and the most powerful supernatural in the world as his mother. The kind of influence surrounding that family was something people spent their entire lives trying to acquire.

Her father might have sent her to Bestiaris expecting her to establish roots in Bestial City, but Karen had always believed in aiming higher when a better opportunity presented itself. Maverick Nightshade was a much bigger fish, and Daddy couldn’t possibly be that angry about a change of plans if she came home with something better than what he’d originally wanted.

"If I knew why he wanted to see you, there wouldn’t have been much point in sending me to bring you to him, would there?" Venus finally replied without even bothering to look at her.

Karen’s lips pressed together at the response, but she didn’t ask another question, quietly following after him instead.

They finally reached the Basilisk Prince’s quarters, and Venus opened the door without knocking before leading Karen inside. Her eyes naturally wandered as she followed him, taking in the place as they made their way toward Caelis’ office.

The first thing she noticed was how ridiculously neat everything was; she bet Caelis would notice if someone moved a chair an inch from where he’d left it. Dark furniture and black marble dominated the space, with touches of Ophidian’s signature green and silver worked into the decor.

There were no family portraits on the walls, no photographs sitting around, not even some useless little collection that might have given away what the beast enjoyed doing with his time. Nothing seemed personal.

Karen couldn’t say she was surprised. Caelis was unnervingly composed, always so controlled that she sometimes wondered if anything ever got under his skin. Apparently, even his quarters reflected that.

To be honest, Karen had no idea what to expect when she entered that office, but it certainly wasn’t the scene she stumbled into.

Karen halted in her steps at once.

Caelis Cobryn was seated on the edge of his desk, his attention fixed on the paper in his hand and his side profile exposed to her. Karen had always assumed Cobryn simply wore his silver hair long, but for the first time, she noticed the faded cut along the sides now that he’d pulled the rest into a high bun.

It exposed more of his face, sharpening features she’d never really paid much attention to before. Just behind his ear was a small tattoo she hadn’t noticed either.

R ♥ L.

Karen’s eyes lingered on it for a second, wondering what the letters meant, before the sunlight streaming through the open blinds drew her attention elsewhere.

It fell directly across Caelis, catching against the paleness of his skin and making his silver hair appear almost white beneath it. Even his lashes looked silver from where she stood.

Karen found herself staring far longer than she should have, her eyes shamelessly tracing his profile before moving lower to the relaxed way he’d positioned himself against the desk.

Damn.

She had always known Caelis Cobryn was attractive, but when the hell had he become this hot?

Venus cleared his throat beside her, and Karen immediately snapped out of it. She straightened, embarrassed to realize she’d just spent several seconds gawking at the Basilisk Prince.

At the same time, Caelis lifted his head, seemingly only now acknowledging her presence.

"Oh, you’re here." He lowered the paper he’d been reading and placed it beside him.

"Oh, yeah." Karen hated the slight shake in her voice, especially when she felt heat creeping into her face.

What the hell was going on? She was not into the snake. Get a grip on yourself! Karen mentally scolded herself.

Caelis looked at Venus. "Excuse us."

Venus didn’t even hesitate. He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Suddenly, it was just the two of them in the room, and for the first time, Karen found herself nervous around Caelis for a reason that had nothing to do with the possibility of him hurting her.

"How was your night?" Caelis asked, straightening from the desk.

"It was fine," Karen answered, increasingly uncomfortable with the way his silver eyes remained fixed on her.

She tried to regain some control of the situation by taking charge of the conversation.

"Venus told me you wanted to..." Karen trailed off when Caelis suddenly began walking toward her. There was no hurry in his steps, which only made it worse. He didn’t stop until he was directly in front of her, so close enough that Karen had to tilt her head to meet his eyes.

She shifted her weight on her heels, unsettled by the sudden turn of events. Caelis had never shown the slightest interest in her, even when she’d practically thrown herself at him, so whatever this was now left her completely off balance. She couldn’t tell if he was deliberately trying to make her nervous or if she was making something out of nothing, and she hated that she couldn’t read him.

"I take it you’re going to the party tonight?" he suddenly asked.

"Y-yeah."

"Good." Caelis seemed pleased by the answer, which somehow pleased Karen in return.

"I want you to do something for me tonight."