SILIA

“Silia.” A smooth voice caresses my mind as a golden cloud shimmers behind my eyes.

“Wake up, Silia.” The voice isn’t demanding or impatient. Instead, the words feel encouraging and calming.

My mind reaches out to the voice, beckoning it not to disappear. “ Yes, I am here .”

“Open your eyes,” the voice purrs in response.

My mind feels exhausted, but it finds the strength to stir in excitement at the coolness the voice provides. In my half-asleep state, I can picture the black, ghostly hand of my mind reaching out to greet the gold cloud that circles my thoughts.

I listen to the request, and my eyelids flutter open. The first thing my brain registers is the cold silk sheets wrapped loosely around me. I pull them closer in an attempt to continue this blissful, dreamy state I’m in.

But as I look around my immediate surroundings, I find myself alone in bed.

A bed that’s not mine.

I cannot bring myself to care as the gold cloud strokes my subconscious and rakes down my body. I shift to lie on my back, taking in the beautiful details of the ceiling. A mural depicting the constellations greets me.

The constellations match the Gods and Goddesses that created them. I can feel them looking down on me, assessing my very existence. It doesn’t feel judgmental, but curious, like this is the first time they are seeing someone who is not their usual viewer staring back at them.

Two large redwood posts adorn the headboard on either side of me. They are lined with detailed carvings of gold-painted vines that creep up to meet the pointed tips of the posts.

The faint scent of jasmine and sandalwood invades my senses, and my body relaxes even deeper into the luxurious mattress. My eyes flutter closed once again, escaping back to the mysterious gold cloud.

Wait, I know that smell.

I shoot open my eyes, and jolt straight up in bed. I bring a hand to my face and groan, snapping my eyes shut at the sudden headache pounding in my skull. The cloud has ripped itself away from me and left a dull throb in its wake.

Once I take a few deep breaths and feel like my head is not about to explode, I slowly open my eyes again and remove my hand to see where I am. I fear I may be exactly where I suspect.

I gaze around the room and settle on the cracking fireplace across from the bed. There is a decent-size fainting chair just in front of the fireplace with a small, round table to its right. On the table is a vase with just one stem of baby’s breath.

I look over the edge of the bed to find deep brown, almost black wood floors with an enormous, white, fluffy rug that expands from underneath the four-poster bed.

The curtains on the far-left wall are a beautiful deep emerald with more gold vine detail running the whole length of the curtains. They are still shut, and no sunlight seems to be peeking through the cracks. It’s either still night, or these curtains block the sunlight extremely well.

I pull back the sheets to find I am wearing absolutely nothing except for my black lace undergarment. I freeze as memories of what happened last night come flooding back to me. Embarrassment overtakes me as I replay the memory of Lars on top of me, touching and licking me in places I know he shouldn’t be. I’m a princess and he is my trainer . We just made our dynamic ten million times more confusing.

Does he really feel that way about me, or was he just taking pity because he could tell I’d never done those things before?

Suddenly, a warm, fuzzy feeling accompanies the embarrassment, and I suddenly feel like I am on fire. These silky sheets are no longer aiding me in my wishes to cool down.

A rustling sound comes from my right, and I spot a door that is not the bedroom exit. I must have missed that this room has an en suite, and its owner must be in it!

I wait a few moments, eyeing the door in hopes I can see movement under the crack or hear another noise from the other side. The fireplace pops and pulls my attention away from the door, and I release the breath I’d been holding in and try to calm myself.

I look around for any details that may tell me whose room this is, although I already have a strong suspicion.

I slowly rise from the bed and let out another stretch, reaching for the constellation-covered ceiling. Mid-stretch, the bathroom door swings open and out walks a tall, wet figure.

Realization hits me, and my suspicions are quickly confirmed.

I freeze as Lars exits the bathroom, wearing nothing but a white towel hanging low on his hips, collecting the droplets of water coming from his abdomen.

“Did I miss this morning’s yoga session?” he asks as he aggressively runs another towel through his wet hair.

I quickly reach behind me and pull the cool sheets off the bed to cover the front half of my body. There are no words in the catalog of my mind that can begin to describe the way I am feeling right now. Flustered and embarrassed would only scratch the surface.

I can’t get a word out as I take in the sight of him, freshly showered and dripping from head to toe. His wet muscles gleam in the firelight, and it’s impossible to tear my eyes away.

His core muscles seem to be carved by the Gods themselves, in rows of two up his stomach to reach his muscled pecs. No scars or imperfections disrupt his bulging muscles, and I suddenly feel extremely insecure. My skin bears no scarring either, but I certainly do not take care of my body as well as he does. I pull the sheets tighter around my body as my eyes graze up the rest of him to meet his stare.

“I—I, what—” My words vanish as my train of thought comes to a screeching halt.

I am in Lars’s room, with Lars’s sheets tangled around me, looking at a half-naked Lars.

“ Did. I. Miss. The. Yoga. Session ?”

“Oh, hm. Nope!”

Finally snapping out of my trance, I realize I have been staring far too long for comfort. I avert my gaze to the ground and try to distract myself with anything other than him. Oh, look, Lars owns a fluffy rug, how funny! These sheets are a beautiful shade of white !

“Silia, are you okay?”

The heat in my body intensifies as I stand there, staring at the floor. “Um, yes! Yes, I am fine!” I finally find the strength to speak a coherent sentence, but my gaze does not leave the floor.

I hear soft footsteps approach as an extra pair of feet enter my line of sight, landing directly in front of mine.

“You have nice toenails,” I blurt out without even thinking.

Nice toenails? Really? If I felt embarrassed before, I am mortified now.

A chuckle escapes his lips.

“Well, thank you. I try my best.” Lars hooks a finger under my chin and raises my head to meet his stare. “Good morning, princess.”

His eyes are such a vibrant mix of brown and gold that I almost lose my words again.

“Good morning, Lars.”

He maneuvers his hand to clasp my jaw, moving my face towards his. He leaves a soft kiss on my forehead, the tip of my nose, and then down to greet my lips. His lips feel incredibly plush, and I taste the same warm sugar and mint that I did last night. My brand tingles on the back of my neck in response as he deepens the kiss. Our tongues barely meet before he ends it, leaning back to run his gaze over my face.

Ugh, so fucking close.

“How did you sleep, Your Highness?” His constant use of my title insinuates he is in a playful mood. I hope this means he doesn’t regret our intimacy last night.

I bite my lip as I try to recall how I had made it to his room in the first place. “A little too well, I am afraid. Last I remember, I was lying on the couch in the library. Why am I in your bedroom?”

“Would you rather I have left you naked in the library? I didn’t take you for a voyeur, but that’s good to know.” His eyes rake up and down my body, pure hunger replacing his sleepy demeanor.

I fumble with the sheets, pulling them impossibly closer to my skin, feeling a little too exposed. “Well, of course not! I just, um—” I have run out of words yet again.

“I’m waiting.” Lars turns away from me and heads back into the bathroom, leaving the door open this time. I take a moment to stare at his figure again, and he is breathtaking. Water droplets from his hair trickle down his face, taking the shape of tears. I wonder if this will be the first and last time I see him in such a compromising state. He looks so vulnerable.

“Waiting?” I ask, breaking my stare from his body to focus on his face again. I can only see the right side of him as he looks into the bathroom mirror, and even his side profile is painstakingly beautiful.

He gathers his thick hair in his hands and lifts it from his neck. I hope he ties it up so I can admire his face more clearly. His scar is visible from this angle, and my eyes dart to it. I see it doesn’t just stop at the underside of his jaw, it travels around his neck to the top of his spine.

Sadness floods me as I take in the sight.

That must have been very painful.

I open my mouth to ask him who had done this to him when he suddenly turns from the sink and leans against the door frame.

He decided to leave his hair down.

“Waiting for a thank you. Nothing fancy, I won’t make you kiss my feet that you seem to like so much.”

Five seconds. It only took five seconds for him to make me regret feeling sorry for him.

“Thank you? For carrying me around the halls naked?” I scoff, and I scoot back to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Did anyone see you?” I throw my hands up and run them through my hair. My fingers catch on a few tangles, and I silently remind myself that it needs a good brushing.

“No, Your Highness, no one saw me. It wouldn’t matter anyway. I covered you with my shirt before leaving the library.” He crosses his arms, the constriction causing the veins in his forearms to bulge out. He’s not even trying to fake humility at this point.

I fall back onto the bed, defeated. I guess as long as no one saw us, I can let it go this time. If anyone found out about what we did last night, humiliation would be the least of my worries. My father would fire Lars just as quickly as he’d hired him. I can’t have that happen before I learn how to use my gift properly.

Lars pushes off the door frame and walks back over to the bed. I feel muscular legs press against either side of mine as a tall shadow looms over me. Lars is straddling me on the edge of the bed, the tops of his thighs pressed firmly against the side of the mattress. He closes my legs with his and leans down to hover over me, placing his hands on either side of my head. I realize from the look he’s giving me that the sheets are no longer covering my chest.

I quickly try to pull the sheets back up from where they’d traveled down to my stomach, but Lars snatches both my hands with one of his.

“Why so modest? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” A smirk builds on his lips as he pins my hands above my head. I don’t try to squirm out of his grip. There’s no use. His muscles are not just for show.

He bends down to kiss a trail up my sternum to just below my collarbone, then gently nips at my skin. A normal reaction would be to flinch a little at the sensation, but instead, my body just melts further into the cloudlike mattress.

His gaze flicks up to meet mine, and he winks. Before we can go any further, he releases his grip on me and pushes himself off the bed as that persistent wave of pleasure hits me again. It seems to have taken hold of him too, as I can see his full length straining against his towel. My mouth goes dry, and I swallow to distract myself from the reminder that I really may not be equipped to handle his toys , as he’d so lovingly put it.

My gaze follows Lars as he strides to his dresser, takes out a long, white tunic, and tosses it my way.

“Time to get dressed. You can borrow this for the walk back to your room.” He rifles through his drawers again and pulls out another white tunic, then a pair of leather trousers for himself, and sets them on top of the dresser.

“But my room is next to yours. It’s a two-second walk.” Unfortunately, Lars and I share a wall, because Father likes to treat him more as a personal bodyguard for me rather than an instructor.

Every morning, Lars is at my door, acting as my alarm clock and escorting me to and from our meetings. The only break in this routine was the other night when he and Rein had gone out for drinks. It had been glorious.

His scent wafts from the tunic, and I now find myself not wanting to part with it. I quickly put it on before he can change his mind, and I stand up from the bed. The tunic reaches down to the middle of my thighs, and it’s baggy enough to fit another person in it.

A smile appears on his face as I pat out the wrinkles—not a smirk, but a genuine smile. It’s short-lived as his eyes darken and he stalks towards me.

“I require collateral to ensure I get my shirt back.” He falls to his knees in front of me, lifts the tunic slightly and reaches underneath. He’s so quick that I don’t have time to react as he grips the band of my undergarment with his index finger and rips it off.

He holds it up as a trophy, dangling it in front of my face. “Collateral acquired. You are free to go.”

I can’t even process what happened before he puts his hand on my lower back and escorts me to the door and out of his bedroom.

“Until later, princess. We have a long day ahead of ourselves.” With that, Lars sends another wink and gently shuts the door.

Why am I being rushed out of his room so suddenly? I understand being in his room could end his entire career, but couldn’t a girl get some aftercare?

I look down at my feet, let out a low sigh, and turn to walk to my room. Maybe I could get one more hour of sleep before I needed to get ready for the day.

I hear a cough coming from behind me, and I freeze in my tracks just three feet from my door. I slowly turn my head to find Rein dripping with sweat at the top of the stairs. He must have just gotten back from his morning run and came to get Lars.

Well, so much for secrecy.

I clear my throat and send him a I have no idea why I am standing outside of Lars’s door wearing nothing but his tunic smile and a curt wave. His stance is completely frozen as well, except for the apple in hand, which falls to the floor with a thud and rolls back down the stairs.

This would almost be funny, except for the fact that I’m mortified, and I cannot even begin to try to explain this to him. Before he can say a word, I cross the gap to my door, quickly swing it open, and rush inside.

I lean back against the door and slide down to the floor. I cover my face with my hands, heat radiating from my cheeks with embarrassment.

I hope this doesn’t set the tone for the day.