The Crown's Entrapment

Seeing as this was the first time Xenia had visited the Kingdom of Valcrez, she thought it would be nice if she rode a horse with Darius instead of staying inside the carriage. Then again, she also wouldn’t want to leave Mineah alone while she was out and about just outside of the carriage.

Unfortunately, it was already cold outside because of the early winter, and Mineah’s body was sensitive both to extreme cold and hot weather, which was why she often stayed inside the castle during summers and winters. As a result, her little sister would only come out during spring and fall, when the weather was just right for her not to be too affected.

“I know that look, big sister,” Mineah pointed out with a faint smile. “Go on and ride a horse. Don’t worry about me.”

Xenia sighed. Her little sister probably noticed how her eyes shimmered while she was staring at Darius who was just about to mount his horse.

“My sister wants to ride a horse, so I let her,” Mineah announced, not waiting for her to comment at all.

“But, it’s alright, Mineah,” Xenia reasoned. “I can ride a horse going back later.”

“Hmm, but you still have to leave before sunset tomorrow so you won’t be able to see everything right now while we still have daylight like right now,” Mineah encouraged. “Go on and ride a horse.”

Then, she looked at Darius and gave him a curt nod.

“I will request for another horse,” Nikolai interrupted.

“There’s no need. She’s used to riding with me,” Darius quickly said. “Come, Xen.”

From there, Darius pulled at his horse before he extended his hand down to help her up. Like usual, Xenia sat in front while Darius adjusted and sat behind her back.

“Come, Mine… You ride with me too…” Nikolai suddenly said.

Seeing the exchange, Xenia looked at Mineah only to see her sister’s blushing face. Her little sister looked at her, giving her a look as if she was asking for help.

Heeding her sister’s plight, Xenia turned to Nikolai and said, “Mineah, isn’t used to extreme weather like this, so she usually stays inside the castle during winter and summer, Your Majesty.”

King Nikolai frowned, and Xenia could tell that the latter wasn’t aware of the real condition that her sister’s body was currently at. Knowing Mineah however, she wouldn’t be surprised if her husband knew even less about her.

“How about you accompany her inside the carriage, milord?” Xenia suggested.

A bright smile curved into Nikolai’s lips as he answered, “I will do that then. It would be an honor to stay with my queen inside the carriage.”

With that, Mineah entered the carriage along with Nikolai.

As soon as everything was settled, they traveled under the flagship of the king, everyone they passed bending their knees to show their respect to their caravan. It was very rare for Xenia to witness such a thing, seeing as she would only come out of the castle in disguise so that nobody would know that she was the Princess.

Smiling, she looked at the King’s carriage in front of them where her little sister was inside with her husband. To think that her little sister was now the Queen of the Kingdom of Valcrez… The thought of it made her put a proud smile on her face.

She was sure that Mineah would be a great Queen. Valcrez was a kingdom inhabited not just by all types of vampires, but there were also humans and other creatures that they accepted to live among them in their territory like Cordon so long as they would meet the kingdom’s requirements and conditions. Knowing this, Mineah’s human touch would surely be invaluable to running the kingdom.

“Are the majority of their denizens vampires?” Xenia curiously asked her mate as she looked around.

“Yes, and all of the nobles in this kingdom are vampires,” Darius replied. “Despite that though, the royal council of elders are the only pureblood vampires left in the kingdom, and all of them are females. It’s because of this reason that Nikolai and Ezme’s, particularly Nikolai are being pushed hard to marry a human to continue the bloodline.”

Xenia simply nodded before she asked, “By the way, how come you sound like you’re having an inferiority complex towards Nikolai a while ago?”

“I don’t… It’s just that I really hate it whenever you stare at any other men, Xen,” Darius reasoned. “Do you know why I voiced it out in front of Nikolai? It’s because I want him to know the reason why are you staring at him. I don’t want him to think that you’re admiring his beauty while you’re staring at him like that.”

“I didn’t even know I was staring at him,” Xenia murmured with a pout. Still, she smiled once she realized that his chiding only meant that her mate was quite attentive to her.

“This won’t do. You should always remember that you shouldn’t stare at any other man except for me. You tend to forget that for some reason…” Darius sighed. “Maybe it would be best if I give you a corresponding punishment whenever you commit such a grave mistake.”

Xenia shook her head. Whenever Darius would say the word ‘punishment,’ erotic things always came to her mind.

“And what would be my punishment, huh?” she chortled.

“I will decide on it later,” Darius replied with a thought. “I need to thoroughly think about it to make sure you wouldn’t do something like this again.”

Xenia rolled her eyes, not bothering to comment on the issue. Absently, she wondered what his mate was up to this time. Casually looking up, her eyes darted towards the flying raven that was following the carriage.

“Do you like pets too, my love?” Darius suddenly asked.

She chuckled and murmured, “What? Are you planning to give me one now, knowing how King Nikolai gifted my sister a raven?”

“Indeed. I realized only now how I’m still lacking in so many ways,” Darius hummed. “But don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you. We’ll go out on proper dates as soon as we get back home to Cordon.”

Xenia could only smile as she nodded along. Thinking about it now, a lot of things had happened between her and Darius since the first time they met. They’ve already experienced a lot of hardship together and even became intimate with one another.

Knowing that Xenia honestly didn’t think that Darius was lacking at all. The fact that she felt secure around him… The feeling that she could do anything so long as he was by her side was more than enough for her already…

“So again, do you like pets, my love?” Darius asked once more. “Will you want something that flies? That swims or runs?”

Xenia chuckled, “Anything will be fine for me, my love. As long as it comes from you, I’ll cherish it with my heart…”

“It feels great hearing you calling me like that, Xen.”

Xenia’s face reddened at the compliment. She wasn’t used to saying those kinds of words of endearment. But if it pleased Darius, then she would try her best to get used to it.

“Right, I should give you a wolf pet instead that can also act as my spy around you too,” Darius suddenly mumbled.

Xenia’s eyebrows arched up as her eyes squinted at the raven following the carriage. “So this Nik is probably given to my little sister to spy on her then?”