All Rights Reserved

∞ | Chapter 21 - Closer | ∞

Citadel Himmel, Sage Cliffs

"How is she?"

Adrastea looked up from the medical sheets detailing a patient's illness at Rhydderch's entrance. Rhydderch had been on edge. Had been ever since his sister's rather abrupt arrival.

She didn't know what to make of it. Was it good that he was somewhat emotionally affected by something or someone that wasn't her? That he cared for someone else's wellbeing? Adrastea hoped that it was.

She knew that Rhydderch could particularly be heartless or emotionally closed off. But it was fortunate that this didn't apply to his sister.

She took another quick glance at the cot that Izla was in. "There isn't much of a difference yet. And she hasn't shown any signs of waking."

An inscrutable expression appeared. "It's been twelve hours."

She could hear the demand in his statement and she shrugged helplessly. "There isn't anything I or anyone can do now but wait."

A muscle ticked in his jaw and he headed to the cot where Izla lay.

His eyes narrowed onto the metal cuffs enclosed around Izla's wrists. "What is that?"

She blinked, eyes moving to the direction where he was glaring and she sighed. She had hoped that he wouldn't notice them. But who was she kidding? He noticed everything.

"Just in case," she replied, watching him warily.

"Just in case what?" he demanded, turning on his heel to face her as his eyes flashed dangerously.

"I didn't want to but it had to be done. She could wake and kill anyone here especially when she realises she's in unfamiliar territory. She can be a danger to others and herself," Adrastea explained as Rhydderch glared at her before turning away.

It may seem wrong to do that to someone unconscious but she had thought it was best. Rhydderch was well trained in combat. In fact, he was better than an average Valiant and apparently so was Izla. She didn't want to think about the possible consequences if precautionary measures were not taken.

By the stiffening in his back, she knew that he understood her reasoning and wasn't going to give her grief about it.

Silence reigned in the room and she wondered if she ought to say anything. But then again, their relationship wasn't built alongside with frivolities like pointless conversations to fill silences.

She decided on being quiet, she had nothing to say and if Rhydderch had anything to say, he would.

Adrastea had come to realise that whatever she had thought about soulmates had changed drastically. Ever since she was a child, she had thought that her soulmate would be a perfect complement to her. Someone who would shelter her away from the cruelty and reality of life.

She was an idiot of course.

No one could do that for her. Except for herself. Yes, Rhydderch wasn't someone she could cry her heart out to. Alright, maybe she could but it would be horribly awkward for him and she would probably laugh while crying because of his expression. Nonetheless, he was someone she could depend on like a rock in the raging seas. There was no one she trusted like she trusted him.

It was almost as if she lo-

Her hand shook as that thought entered her mind. No. It wasn't. She didn't. She couldn't.

She exhaled shakily and Rhydderch turned his attention back to her, a brow raised and she could only stare at him like an idiot with her mouth working.

"What?"

"Nothing," she replied defensively - too defensively and he sneered before turning away.

She was now sure she did not.

Making a face at his back rather childishly, she decided to continue writing the reports for her patients. And normally, she would have felt a little awkward with someone in the room with her while she was working but this was Rhydderch. She was comfortable with him and this silence that they had.

She didn't know how long she had been scribbling things down onto her papers when Rhydderch cleared his throat.

"She will be alright, won't she?"

Adrastea looked up and for a fleeting moment, she could see the brief look of worry flash across his face. That small glance of vulnerability made her get to her feet to stand by his side.

"I'll do my best to make sure she is," she assured softly, eyes peering into his.

She didn't get a response but a brief nod as his hand settled at the small of her back before he jerked his head abruptly and folded his arms across his chest. An impassive expression on his face.

She sighed.

All signs of the man who was worried about his sister were gone and in place was the ruthless rebellion leader. Adrastea didn't know which one she preferred.

"Let's go," he instructed.

Adrastea shot him a questioning look. "Where?"

Rhydderch raised an eyebrow. "We have an inner circle meeting in about five minutes."

She furrowed her brows, mentally attempting to recall said appointment. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes inwardly before making her way to her desk and tidied up the medical files, Rhydderch trailing impatiently behind her.

Once she was done, together, they stepped into one of the many hallways that led to the small study that the former Regnant used.

"What is this meeting about anyway?"

"Who to appoint to take charge of the city and how do we make sure that the new society and its rules are being kept and not reverted when we are off," he said as he glanced down at her.

She bit her lip. "What are you going to say when someone asks about Izla?"

If she hadn't known Rhydderch at all, she would have missed the minute stiffening in his posture. "Nothing." He shot her a supercilious glance. "No one knows about her connection to me beside you."

Adrastea shot him an indignant look. "Of course I didn't say anything to anyone," she said. "But Jarek and Darius were there."

"They know how to keep their mouths shut," he said dismissively and she sighed inwardly, knowing that the meeting was going to be chaotic.

* * *

It was indeed chaos.

Somehow, someone had let slip that a meeting determining the fate of the Sage Cliffs was to be held to the council members and some of them had barged into the meeting.

Currently, a Medial was demanding for certain rights to be given while the five others were voicing out their own opinions and requests.

She could tell Rhydderch was annoyed. He was being his charismatic charming self but she could see the irritation in his cold blue eyes.

Darius was arguing heavily with a portly shaped man while Ava was watching the whole thing skeptically. On her left, Jarek was remaining silent and of course, it was no surprise that Edmond wasn't here.

Taking a quick glance to her right, she knew Rhydderch was going to lose it.

"We need reinforcements!" One of the council members retorted. "Vlad is going to come and kill us all! And he is supported by Medeia Karstovoka! We will die!"

She wanted to roll her eyes at the dramatics this man was displaying.

"Well, it sounds like you have little faith in us. Do you?" Rhydderch questioned silkily, blue eyes hard as his body leaning forward in a movement so fast that it was like a cobra getting ready to strike.

"Of course not! But we as representatives of the Sage Cliffs have to bear in mind of the consequences and threats. It's not like we can just go about running from city to city," another sniffed disdainfully.

Darius snarled and slammed his hand on the table, mouth opening ready to argue when a warning look was given by Rhydderch. Promptly, Darius closed his mouth, eyes glittering furiously.

For once, Adrastea agreed with him. They were all ungrateful fools.

"Is there anything you'd like to add?" Rhydderch prompted but the tone he was using was as sharp as knives. It grated on nerves and it made her feel rather uneasy.

Apparently, none of the council members understood the warning given.

"Yes, we want to decide our Regnant. Now," one spoke up and she could only blink at the audacity of them.

"Really?" Rhydderch arched a brow.

"Yes, it should be one of us, actual citizens of the Sage Cliffs. Not by you, of course. We have a strong cultural heritage and traditions to follow-"

She had enough.

"Shut up," she said quietly.

The room went silent and she could feel everyone looking at her and it was as if no one knew what to say.

"Excuse me?"

"I said shut up," she snapped. "Do I have to repeat it to you? Or do you not understand what that means?"

A woman stepped forward, bristling. "You can't speak to us like that." The woman looked at Rhydderch who shrugged carelessly and inwardly, Adrastea beamed satisfactorily, knowing that Rhydderch was indirectly supporting her.

"Firstly," she began. "Vlad isn't a schemer, he's just a brute and we know that he treats everyone the same. Affluents or Destitutes. There is no differentiation between them. Most of them are happy to abandon him. We can even get a small group to get rid of him and his few loyal followers."

She levelled a glare at the handful of the town council members. "Secondly, none of you are fit to run this city if the only concerns you have are who will be next to be Regnant."

"I beg your pardon!" One of the men drew back, visibly affronted by her statement and she shot him a hard look.

"As far as I can see, all of you are selfish, wanting this turn of events to benefit you as much as possible. None of you cares about the wellbeing of the people here, nor do any of you seem to bother. Hence," she raised herself to her full height, grey eyes boring down fiercely at the group."We, as usual, will let the city decide who to be Regnant," she declared firmly, daring any of them to contradict her.

No one spoke.

Satisfied with the silence and she had to admit that the grudging look of respect on Darius' face was brilliant, Adrastea sat down and arranged her skirt before smiling pleasantly at Rhydderch.

"We can continue with the meeting," she said.

Adrastea did note that there was an unusual gleam in her counterpart's eyes. One that she didn't recognise but nonetheless, it sent shivers up her spine and a warm feeling settled in her.

Never had she realised that his eyes were that blue. A sense of awareness tingled down her back and she quickly glanced away.

"Well, how can we trust you with our city when an assassin can just enter the castle-like one did yesterday night?" A council member sneered and she could feel the tension in the room skyrocket.

Adrastea stiffened and sneaked a glance at Rhydderch who had a blank expression on his face but his eyes were cold and hard. They were unforgiving.

She pressed a hand on his thigh, silently communicating with him to let her deal with this. The clenching of his jaw was good enough a response and she raised an eyebrow. "Assassin?" She questioned lowly before anyone could speak.

She was done with them. Done with their condescending tones and the imagined superiority they thought they had over them.

She got to her feet. "Yes, speaking about that. Are you sure the assassin wasn't sent by any of you?"

Adrastea knew the truth, of course, but none of the council members did. Hence, she was going to use this as an advantage.

"We don't take traitors or treason nicely or easily," she stated smoothly with a cold smile. "But to soothe your worries and fear, we will investigate deeply and whoever was behind it will be dealt with accordingly. Would that be appropriate for you?" she tilted her head as she regarded the group of them who were staring at her warily.

"We will need trust to build what we have now to a fruitful partnership," she added as an afterthought, her eyes gracing each and every member. "And we can do that by figuring out the traitors in our midst. Don't you agree?" she asked saccharinely sweet with a smile on her face.

Slowly, the council members nodded reluctantly before making muttered excuses to leave.

Once they were gone, she turned to Rhydderch and the look on his face made her beam with pride and glow with pleasure.

His eyes were full of approval and a smug satisfied smirk curled onto his handsome lips.

* * *

Rhydderch narrowed his eyes as Adrastea drummed her fingers lightly at the edge of the table. The day's events had left him rather conflicted and on edge.

It wasn't anything unpleasant but there were things that had to be dealt with. Namely, the group of meddlesome and tiring council members. Another was the issue of Vlad Durant, the Regnant of the Carvensland who had declared war on them openly. Lastly, was Izla, but that depended on when she woke.

He shifted his jaw pensively but once more, his thoughts drifted to the woman opposite him.

She had been brilliant.

Manipulating events to deal with the situation at hand, facing down those incompetent fools, threatening them with that lovely smile that radiated with promised retribution.

She was glorious.

Rhydderch eyed the green blouse she was wearing. The light from the candles was certainly helping him by making her silhouette even more obvious.

He ignored the sudden pounding in his ears as his eyes drank in the sight of her hair curling down her chest greedily. His hands were itching to tug on those soft looking locks that curled ever enticingly. It was like they were beckoning him to touch them, to run his hands through them.

Rhydderch had hardly ever seen them free from the braided hairstyle she always had it in. No, he forced himself to straighten in his seat. Restraint and discipline were the two things he needed to maintain in his life.

Following whatever his body wanted was not an option. He wasn't someone that was led about based on his lesser urges. Neither was he someone who was obsessed with his soulmate.

And he really wished that said soulmate would stop fiddling with her fingers while deep in thought. "Stop that!" he hissed and he reached over to cover her hand with his.

Immediately, her fingers stopped and she blinked up owlishly at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he grumbled, not wanting to admit or acknowledge how her hand seemed to fit nicely into his.

Soon, he realised that his hand was still over hers and he quickly withdrew it, pretending to be occupied with his meal. Yes, they had taken dinner up to their room as neither of them was interested in making small talk or having conversations with people that didn't matter to them.

Adrastea sighed and pushed away from the table, getting to her feet and he glanced down at his forearm where he knew his soulmate mark was.

"How did those members know about Izla?" she questioned.

He looked up and he could feel his mouth get a little dry as he realised that the grey skirt she was wearing was rather translucent under strong light. And they seemed to be swishing in a relatively alluring manner-

Discipline!

"People talk," he replied offhandedly, forcing "All they know is that an assassin came and failed."

Rhydderch watched entranced as she licked her lips before turning away from him.

"Hmmm," she hummed as she headed to the mirror at the corner of the room and unfortunately for him, he noted with growing displeasure that she was now starting to part her hair into different sections before braiding them up to keep them away from her face.

Fuck discipline.

He stalked towards her, hands finding their place on her waist and his chest pressing intimately against her back and he met her questioning expression through the mirror. "Leave them down," he rasped in her ear. "I want to see them loose."

She blinked and he pressed his mouth against her shoulder through the satin of her blouse. Already, he could feel the heat emanating from her and he revelled in it.

Rhydderch could also see from the mirror that she was watching him through half-lidded eyes and her lush lips were parted as his hands pulled her body up flush up against his. Feeling her body shiver, his lips brushed the delicate shell of her ear.

"They'll get in the way," she breathed out, her eyes meeting his through the reflection in the mirror.

She bit back a gasp just his left hand crept up to just below her breasts where the soul mate mark was on her skin. He tensed, every part of him was shouting for him to just take her quickly and to satisfy the hunger that had been growing in him the minute she had opened her mouth and began giving orders.

But something else was making him prolong it. He wanted to seduce her. Make her want him feverishly as much as he wanted her.
Rhydderch wanted her with a desperateness that hadn't existed before today. He craved for her.

She tilted her head to the side, giving him more access and he couldn't help but look in the mirror.

His larger frame was enclosed over her, making his little Medic seem even shorter and smaller than she actually was. His mouth was on the side of her neck doing while one of his hands was crossed over her torso possessively, trapping her in his embrace and his fingers were brushing the spot below her breasts where he knew his soulmate mark was.

Somehow, the whole thing felt even more... erotic when he could see what he was doing to her.

Through that particular action, Rhydderch wanted to remind her that she was his. That she would always belong to him and that no one else was able to make her feel this way. He was always going to be in her thoughts no matter how much she didn't want him there. That bearing his words on her skin made her irrevocably his.

Just as much as he belonged to her.

Be it heaven or hell. Be it life or death, Adrastea Bones was his.

Rhydderch pressed hot wet kisses to the side of her neck and nipped the pulsing artery lightly, indicating that he was in charge.

"I don't care," he replied with another hot kiss on the same spot that he had bit lightly. "Leave it down," he ordered as his arms enveloped her lithe body.

The thin blouse wasn't leaving anything to the imagination and having his hands on her body certainly met his expectations. It wasn't the first time of course. But seeing her today barking out orders and showing authority to those insolent fools did something to him.

Something inside him roared in pleasure to see her taking charge.

"What?" she breathed out distractedly and he smirked against her skin before his teeth grazed the delicate skin at the back of her ear. "Please!"

His hands began sliding up her body, undoing the series of buttons at the back of her blouse and he could feel her shudder at the feel of his hands on her skin.

"Tell me what you really want," he murmured roughly into her ear.

He could sense her hesitation, her unwillingness to admit to him that she wanted him. Smirking, his hands drifted to her waist, fingers tracing illegible patterns there as he pressed himself fully against her.

"You," she gasped out much to his satisfaction. "I want you."

With a wicked smirk, he turned her and his lips finally pressed against hers.

It was fast and quick, a change in the usual slow pace they partook in. But it was still as satisfying. If not, more.

Later, with her head resting on his chest and her body nestled against his, Rhydderch curled an arm possessively around her, pulling her even closer to him.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I'm trash for not updating in months. Anyway, here is this sweet little ball of fluff that I feel you guys deserve for being so bloody patient with me while I try to get my shit together. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this and please vote and comment. By the way, this book has been featured on Wattpad's featured list and it was fantastic! :)

Chapter dedicated to @TheFandomQueen_xox