He traced his thumb along the side of her face. "I will not let her find anything out. If worse comes to worst, I will compel her to forget your exchange."
"Thank you." She held his hand. "How did it go with Bardumond?"
"I didn't tell him." He sighed.
"We can tell him together later." She knew it was not an easy topic to bring up but they were losing time.
"Scarlet may be willing to tell us all she knows about King Rian, some of which can be helpful. It's a pity that I have to stay away from her."
"We only have to make sure she is not working against us. The less enemies we have, the easier it will be for us."
He was right, but she had a bad feeling at the mention of enemies. Was there anyone they were forgetting?
After having dinner with Dairon, she opened the invitation that Terra had given to her, in case there was some instruction that the goddess had not mentioned. Sure enough, there was one. Guests who had found their mates should bring them along. It was perfect, because she had hoped it was alright for Dairon to attend the banquet.
She drew a draft for Terra's dress before finding Dairon to tell him about the invite. He was in the library, sitting on a bench with an open book before him, but there was no light in the library.
"I didn't know you were nocturnal." She teased him as she closed in. He didn't react, making her uncertain whether or not he had heard her. She turned on a lamp and came in front of him, squinting her eyes when he didn't react to her presence. What was he thinking about with such concentration?
"Hello?" She waved before his eyes. "Dairon?" She gasped when he grabbed her arm out of the blue. His eyes were a dark shade of red and they stared at her intensely as if he was about to strike.
She tried to pull her arm out of his grip in vain. "I only came to let you know that Terra invited us to her wedding banquet. Will you calm down?"
"Sorry. I was lost in thought." He snapped out of it.
"Okay, but can you please let go of my arm?" She looked at her wrist that was still in his tight grip.
"Of course. I'm sorry." He loosened his grip and inspected her wrist, hoping he had not hurt her.
"Are you okay?" She was concerned.
"Yes. What were you saying about a wedding?"
He was brushing her question off, she observed. She dropped it because she knew that he would not answer her. "Terra and Lord Madlen got married. She invited us to their banquet." She whipped the invite out of her pocket to show him.
He frowned at their choice of venue. "The Proconian Isles?"
"Is there something wrong with choosing this?" She asked, her voice lowering with every word as he stared at her intently. Her last words were almost a squeak. "Forgive my dumbness. I really don't know why they can't hold their banquet there."
"They absolutely can." He shrugged. "It's just not a coincidence. Madlen has never had an interest in The Proconian Isles. Forget Madlen. Everyone has been trying to forget that they exist since none of the Proconians are currently in the realm of immortals."
He placed his elbows on the table as he speculated. "Someone is planning to use this banquet. Who it is I don't know, but I have a feeling that we are forgetting something important."
Her heart filled with dread realizing that it was not just her paranoia. What were they both forgetting? If it was the same thing, then it might just mean tragedy.
"Nope. We have to cover all bases before the banquet." She grabbed one of the pens Dairon had brought her from the human realm and a sheet of paper, and sat down to write a letter to Bardumond.
She scribbled with urgence and didn't write much, simply stating that she had something important to discuss with him and he should have breakfast with them the next morning.
Meanwhile, Dairon gazed down at her as she wrote the letter. She was wearing one of the nightgowns she had made, which was made of a thin material so she would not sweat at night. It was a little low cut and from her position, it gave him a spectacular view down her chest. His throat felt dry looking at her.
She finished writing, folded the paper twice and shoved it into an envelope and wrote Bardumond's name on top. When she was ready to summon the bird to deliver the letter, she looked up and met his fiery gaze.
"You…" She swallowed, fighting the urge to avert her gaze from him.
Before she could form her next words, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, his lips crashing down on hers as soon as he sat her on his lap.
"The letter…" She broke the kiss to remind him.
"Can be sent later." He took her lips with an unfamiliar intensity. The kiss was demanding and impatient, and her heart raced with each stroke of his tongue. His hands roamed her body urgently as he moved his lips away from hers and landed them on her neck.
She held his shoulders for support, letting a moan escape her mouth when his hand snaked under her nightgown. He stroked her bare thigh underneath the fabric, igniting a flame under her skin with his touch. His fingers trailed even higher up and heat pooled in between her legs when he teased the ends of her underwear.
"Dairon," She breathed when he started to slide it down her body. "Not here."
Her words made him pause and look at her. He had forgotten that they were in the library.
"Someone might walk in." She tried to catch her breath.
His response was to shut the door with his powers. "No one will be able to open the door."
He kissed her behind her ear, licking and sucking her skin gently yet making her squirm. She straddled him and rubbed her core against him. There were layers of clothes between them and she found them annoying for being in the way. Before she could do anything about them, she heard a ripping sound at the same time as a gust of wind blew her skin. He had just sliced her nightgown off with his claw that she hadn't realized was out.
He brushed the back of his forefinger down her boobs, retracting his claw before cupping them in his hands. He teased and stroked her hardened nipples before taking one of them in his mouth.
She moaned from the sudden wave of pleasure and in the next moment, covered her mouth in embarrassment at how loud she must have been.
"Don't be shy, flower. I love the sound of your moans." He remarked shamelessly before he continued kissing her nipples one after another. His hand rested behind her waist as the other traced circles between her thighs.
He was dangerously close to the part of her that wanted his touch the most, yet he didn't touch her there. He was enjoying teasing her and bringing her on edge.
She rubbed her lower body against his and he held her with both hands, burying his lips onto her neck. The breeze seeping in through the windows was the contrast of what his touch made her feel—hot and needy. But just when she couldn't take it anymore, he stopped.
"The letter is not going to send itself to Bardumond. He should know that he needs to be here before he goes to bed. If we wait until morning, he might not have the time to come."
She was tongue-tied. This demigod was unbelievable! Did he just arouse the need in her and change the topic? She so badly wanted to bite his head off but she slid off his lap to grab the envelope. Luckily, they had not destroyed it in the heat of their passion.
She grabbed her nightgown and was puzzled when she found it in one piece. Didn't he slice it open?
"I can undo my damage too." He answered the question on her mind.
"That's a good thing."
…
The next morning, Bardumond arrived early in response to the letter he had received. Breakfast was served in the garden, where the three of them went to eat. The mixture of the cool breeze and the rays of the rising sun would have been the most beautiful ambience if they were not about to discuss a life-changing topic.
Dairon sat on one side with Jasmine while Bardumond took his seat opposite them, giving them a probbing look.
"Brother, I'm glad you came even though we invited you on such short notice." She forced a smile. The atmosphere was insanely tense.
"You don't have to be so formal with me, Jasmine." He sipped his tea, after having said the statement that made her frown. Why did it sound unfriendly? His tone was off, and it was almost as if something had changed.
"There is something we need to tell you." She started, and looked at Dairon to let him take the floor.
In response, he didn't beat around the bush. "I'm not just a demigod. I'm also…"
"A demon." Bardumond interrupted.
Jasmine let out a low gasp in shock. "What?"
"I had been wondering how coincidental it is that you are Jasmine's mate.." He looked at Dairon hatefully. "It's because you bit her, right?"