Dark Hunger

Caleb entered Ixoviya with a new work at hand. They had to catch Ivana and others and then get them to reveal Urhan's name. If Caleb wanted, he would have caught Urhan without a trial, but Urhan was a priest and priests held an extremely important position in the courts. 

Neal and Daryn too came with Caleb to Ixoviya. Though Daryn could have gone back to Bainsburgh and be with Dawn, he knew that Caleb would need him. Seeing Elize's take on her brother and his wife, he was doubtful that the uneasiness would purge soon. Revenge was not a dish served cold. It was like a knife that had serrated, rusty edges, kept close to you with bloodlust in mind. Elize hadn't gone to exact revenge, she had gone to meet and help her brother, but what she saw over there—whatever love remained in her heart, converted into full blown revenge. 

He remembered when he was here for Caleb's coronation and Caleb had insisted on turning her into a vampire. She was so angry and shocked that she had run away. And Caleb—he was subjected to trauma. Though Elize stood firm now and was ever determined, Daryn wasn't sure that he should leave them. And so, he decided to stay with his brother and his wife in case they needed him or his help. Since it was already past midnight, there was no point in sending Neal back home. He would send him the next day. The servants appeared and helped the prince and the guest in their rooms. 

After what had happened at her house in Yorkshire, Elize was uneasy. She didn't feel remorse in her actions in her heart, but there was bitterness that bored a hole somewhere deep down. As soon as they stepped out of the portal, she was moving before she realized it was their bedchamber. A thread of exhaustion clung to her. Caleb reached for her hand and clasped it tightly. "Are you all right?" 

"I don't know," she admitted, feeling as if her heart was going to leap out of her chest due to all the emotions that cruised in her body. "What about you?" 

"I am fine," Caleb stated. "But you don't look happy." 

Elize's throat bobbed as she swallowed the saliva down. They had reached their bedchamber. Caleb pressed his palm into the eye of the serpent that was carved, coiled as a knob. As soon it sensed the king, it started uncoiling. It receded back into the carved vines and flowers of the gilded door. The door opened with a soft click. As soon as they entered their bedchamber, the door closed and the serpent went back to its position. 

Her silence was not settling with him. "Lizzy, talk to me," he said. she was appearing a little pale. Of course, how would she be happy? When she didn't say a word, he stopped her. "Lizzy." She halted in her tracks. He held her shoulders and turned her to look at him. "Baby, I know that you are not happy, but…" 

"He had gone too far, Caleb," Elize exhaled roughly. "He was…" Her throat choked. She tried again. "I never thought that his greed would take him this far. He wasn't," she shook her head. "He wasn't like this." Even after the last encounter in which Owen tried to extract ransom from Caleb, and she should have known better, rather she should have expected it—what he did was so repulsive that a shudder passed through her body. She began to leave so that he didn't see her tears. 

Caleb pulled her close. He slid his arms from behind and curled them above her chest. Resting his forehead over her head, he whispered, "Lizzy, people change in their life, mostly from good to bad, but you are an exception. You have accepted yourself, forgiven me and you have moved." There was not a speck of greed in her. After seeing his riches, after seeing that she would become a queen of a kingdom that had riches beyond imagination, she didn't become greedy for it. But she ran away because of her values. She was going to be the perfect queen to this kingdom. "But Owen was surrounded by a different set of people and so his thinking changed." 

Elize's chest tightened. For the first time, sorrow sank in her chest. She felt the bitterness in her heart. Caleb had warned her before going that she should keep an eye on Nessa's intentions. Though this piece of information shouldn't have been news to her, she had hoped that things were different, that Nessa was a different human, especially after Owen was shot. And it had nothing to do with the fact that she was her brother's wife. Owen was her real brother and she cared about him. 

"I am sorry," Caleb whispered. 

The back of her eyes stung. She closed her eyes and tears rolled out. Images of her brother and her playing together, flashed in her mind—them making mud houses, collecting shells on the beaches, hearing stories from their mother, Owen hugging her tight before leaving for his job for the first time and then one day, he introduced them to Nessa— 

It all looked like a dream, like grains of dust that slipped from her fist. Replaced by bitterness, by negativity. Elize was not sad because of what she did to them, but then why was it that anger and grief welled inside her like a turbid river in a storm. 

Caleb turned her towards him. He touched her cheek and then placed a kiss on her forehead. "It's okay, Lizzy." He pulled her close again. "Take a deep breath, love." A moment of silence stretched between them and then Caleb picked her up in his arms. He took her to the bathroom. When he set her on her feet, he waved his hand. The tub got filled with hot steamy water. He stripped her clothes and made her sit in the hot bath. He removed all his clothes, stepped in it and pulled her in his lap. When she was resting her head on his chest, surrounded by suds and bubbles of soaps and lotions, he said, "Let bygones be bygones. There is a better life awaiting you. I know it hurts. But it is new and so it will definitely impact you, but believe me Lizzy, give yourself time. Things are going to settle down." 

She exhaled a rough breath and then buried her face in his chest. Surrounded by his scent, honeysuckle mixed with cinnamon, she closed her eyes and just let be… 

--- 

Darkness surrounded him, as silvery streaks of moonlight scattered on the slopes of hills in the outskirts of Ixoviya. Gentle breeze blew around him, tousling his hair. Over the past few days, he had successfully influenced the weather but Caleb's powers were too massive to handle. He didn't know when the king would yank the clouds back over the kingdom. And he didn't know why it was that Ivana's powers were lessening.. It was like a never-ending battle, he mused as his eyes stared at the thicket of trees where Laurel would appear anytime… or if things went fine, she wouldn't.