This... wasn’t what Kai wanted.
After Paedyn failed to kill his father at the end of the third Trial, she had long since disappeared.
Not dead, of course—his pretty Pae was a damn cockroach. She had eluded death once again, likely rebuilding the life that had once been in shambles somewhere far from him. But his father, disgusted by Kai’s blatant and unwavering affection for the Ordinary he deemed a disgrace, had arranged a marriage for him—one Kai had never wanted.
Once more, the King of Ilya’s cruelty knew no bounds.
The wife he hadn’t asked for? A beauty from a kingdom painfully close to the Shallows. Lovely, yes—but not Paedyn. No one could ever be Paedyn.
Still, maybe taking his anger out on you had been unfair. It wasn’t your fault, after all. You probably hadn’t asked for this marriage either. Regardless, you tried to be civil—kind, even. But Kai had pushed you away. He was mourning.
A part of him had died when Pae left. So he buried himself in training, in work, in anything that kept him out of the room you were meant to share. Anything to avoid even being near you. But perhaps it had been cruel, leaving you alone in that massive, echoing castle.
For the first time in the three months since you’d been married, he stepped into your shared room. (Your room, really. Kai had made a home for himself in the guest room across the hall.)
There you were—childishly sprawled across the too-large bed, lazily flipping through a book. His gaze flicked to your bedside table, where dozens—maybe hundreds—of others sat in disorganized stacks.
Maybe you were lonelier than he’d let himself notice. God... when was the last time he’d even spoken to you?
“Um... hey.”
His voice startled you, his sudden attempt at conversation hanging awkwardly in the air, unanswered.