And he made her his once more, taking her to glory with his kisses and caresses.
The next day, when Abril woke up, she felt exhausted. She was still nestled in Alessandrop arms. He kissed her shoulder and said, “Good morning, my wife.”
“Good morning.”
Abril felt Alessandro’s hands moving stealthily under the sheets, caressing her body. The protested, “Stop, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I hardly ever have time to be with you. I want to take advantage of this moment. Don’t you want to?”
“I’m exhausted. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Aren’t you tired?”
Despite the little sleep he had gotten, Alessandro was full of energy. But that didn’t surprise him. Whenever he slept with Abril, he had a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling very energetic the next day. But when they were intimately connected, it was exponentially better. His magic was overflowing, and he felt as energetic as a bull. It seemed that in those intimate moments, his magic surged without him realizing it.
“Not at all.”
Abril yawned and said, “I feel very tired, more than usual, actually.”
Alessandro wondered if her fatigue was due to her magic leakage. He made a mental note to ask Sirius about it when they returned.
“It’s still early. Try to sleep a little more,” Alessandro said as he stopped his furtive hands and simply held her. Abril felt utterly exhausted, so she complied, closing her eyes and quickly falling back asleep.
She slept all morning. When she woke up, the sun was already high in the sky, and she was still in Alessandro’s arms. When he felt her stir, he asked, “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, but it’s already late. I thought we were leaving early.”
“Yes, but you seemed tired, and I didn’t want to wake you. Besides, our next destination is close. We can use the teleportation scroll and arrive before nightfall. If you’re still tired, we can stay another day.”
“No, I’m fine now. I don’t want to keep delaying you.”
“Then we better get up. You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday. You must be hungry”
The Wrath of a King
“Actually, yes, I’m starving.”
After eating, Alessandro went to make the preparations for their trip while Abril rested in a room. Despite having slept all morning, she still felt tired and drained of energy in the end, she fell asleep on the sofa.
When Alessandro returned to fetch Abril, he saw her sleeping peacefully on the sofa and didn’t want to wake her. However, everything was ready, and they just needed to set off Alessandro approached her, gently shook her shoulder, and said, “Abril, wake up. It’s time to go.”
Abril made a great effort to open her eyes. They felt heavy, and she wished she could continue sleeping, but she couldn’t keep delaying them.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, just a bit sleepy. I’ll clear up in a moment, don’t worry.”
Alessandro thought her fatigue was due to the intense night they had had the previous day, so he didn’t give it much importance, thinking that a few days of rest will have her feeling like new. When they got into the carriage, Abril rested her head on Alessandro’s shoulder and quickly fell asleep again. Cassian remarked, “She seems tired.”
“Yes, she didn’t sleep much last night. How’s the pain in your leg?”
“Better. Actually, for the past few days, I’ve hardly felt any pain. I think Abril’s magic is getting stronger.”
“I’ve noticed that too, but she uses her magic unconsciously. I don’t know if that’s good for her.”
“I think you should tell her she has magic. If she doesn’t know, she’ll never learn to control it.” Alessandro brushed a strand of hair from Abril’s face and replied, “You might be right. I’ll tell her when we return to the palace.”
Abril slept throughout the journey. When they arrived at their destination, Alessandro tried to wake her, but it was impossible. He ended up carrying her in his arms. After laying her down in the room, he requested several dishes that were the princess’s favorites to be prepared. He had planned to spend the rest of the afternoon with Abril, but since she was still asleep, he considered it futile and decided to work instead, hoping to have some free time the next day to be with her and show her around the place.
Alessandro summoned the mine manager. They were in a mining town, and rumors had been circulating that the mine foreman was selling iron to the kingdom of Laios. Initially, Alessandro thought these were just malicious lies. However, the iron sent to the forges to create armor and swords had started to run scarce.
The foreman was a thin man with white hair and a haggard appearance. When he met with Alessandro, he looked especially nervous and skittish. Alessandro wondered how this man had found the courage to betray his kingdom; he was nothing but a cowardly rat. Alessandro clasped his hands together, stared at him for a moment, and then said, “Do you know why I summoned you?”
The man was sweating like a pig in an oven, constantly wiping his face with a handkerchief, and replied, “I don’t know what you mean, Your Majesty.”
“I’ve heard rumors that the iron from the mine isn’t reaching the forges.”
“Those are lies, Your Majesty. The iron leaves the mine and goes directly to the forges. Where else could it go?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. Where is the iron from the mine going, and why are there rumors that you’re making deals with the kingdom of Laios?”
“All of that is false, Your Majesty. I manage the mine well and would never make deals with the kingdom of Laios. They are our enemies.”
Alessandro fixed a piercing, cold gaze on the man, a look as icy as the frost itself, capable of making anyone tremble. The man felt the emanating wrath and shook with fear. At that precise moment, he realized his end had come. There would be no second chance; it didn’t matter if he begged or pleaded for forgiveness. His fate was sealed.
The man fell to his knees with a loud thud. “You finally understand what’s at stake. You better answer my questions, or I’ll make you feel so much pain you’ll beg me to kill you.”
“Your Majesty, I didn’t.”
“Don’t open your mouth unless I tell you to. Who is behind this? I don’t think you’re the mastermind.”
“I don’t know.”
Alessandro extracted the air around him, leaving him breathless. The man struggled to breathe.
“I’m not lying, I swear. I don’t know who it is. Some time ago, a man came and offered me good money to send the iron to the kingdom of Laios.”
Alessandro let him breathe for a moment and asked, “What did this man look like? What was his name?”
“Tobias.”
“Tobias what?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me anything else.”
And his appearance?”
“He always kept his face hidden under a cloak. I don’t know what he looked like.”
Alessandro called for the guards to take him away and said, “Interrogate him.”
After they took the foreman away, Alessandro went to see Abril. When he entered the room, he saw that she was still sleeping. He tried to wake her, but he couldn’t. She was in a deep sleep, and that worried him.
“Abril, wake up,” he repeated over and over, but she remained unresponsive.
Alessandro was worried because Abril had not woken up, so he called for the doctor. When Cassian learned that his brother had summoned the doctor, he rushed to the room to see what was happening. Lessan was desperately trying to wake Abril, but she seemed to be in a deep sleep.
“What is going on?” Cassian asked.
“I don’t know. I can’t get her to wake up,” Alessandro replied, checking Abril’s breathing, which had become faint. He held her hand, shouting because the doctor had not yet arrived. Cassian could feel his brother’s fear of losing Abril.
Cassian moved closer and noticed a faint light emanating from Abril’s body. “Is it my imagination, or is Abril’s body glowing?” he asked.
Alessandro, with his head bowed, looked up and saw the truth. “What is happening?” he questioned.
“I don’t know,” Cassian replied, extending his hand to touch her. As he touched her arm, the light from Abril’s body grew stronger; blinding. Cassian felt as if struck by lightning. Alessandro pushed him away from Abril, throwing him across the room. Cassian seemed dazed, and Lessan shook his shoulder to snap him out of it.
“Cassian! Are you okay?” Lessan shouted.
“Yes, or at least I think so. Honestly, I’m not very sure,” Cassian responded.
Alessandro turned his gaze back to Abril. The light that had enveloped her body just a minute ago had disappeared again. Alessandro moved closer to her, careful not to touch her, and said to his brother, “Ask why the doctor hasn’t arrived yet.”
Cassian stood up and took a few steps toward his brother, surprised to realize he was no longer limping. He shook his head to refocus on what was important at that moment and said, “I think Abril doesn’t need a doctor, she needs a mage.”
Alessandro had also come to the same conclusion, but he couldn’t call just any mage, as no one could know about Abril’s magic. “We can’t call just any mage,” he said.
“I don’t think any mage will help much; we need Sirius,” Cassian replied.
“I know, but returning to the palace with Abril in this state is not a good idea,” Alessandro said.
“I’ll go get Sirius and bring him here,” Cassian declared.
Deep in sleep.
Alessandro looked at Abril’s face. She was getting paler. He wanted to hold her hand but knew it was best not to touch her, so he refrained. “Hurry, Cassian,” he urged.
“Don’t worry, brother. I will,” Cassian assured him.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply