The Crown's Fire - Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Sleep With Me
Ezme bit her nails as she paced back and forth inside her bedroom. She shut herself off from teleportation, preventing her brother and mother from contacting her through their telepathic bond, but her curiosity was overwhelming her now. The dragon appeared at Ezekiel’s palace, and it only proved one thing…

[Brother,] she called out to Nikolai.

[Finally, what is it that you want now, you brat?] Nikolai answered her.

[The dragon appeared here. Are you aware of it? Is it true that Ezekiel is controlling the dragon? Is he the dragon? Is that why you keep holding me off from attacking it because it’s what your wife wants?] she fired off without a pause.

[Yes,] Nikolai plainly answered.

[What?! But that is the golden dragon! That is Vulcan who killed our father]” Ezme fumed, feeling like all the blood in her body was rising.

[Vulcan is dead, Ezme. Mineah killed Vulcan’s soul, and Ezekiel absorbed the dragon’s power. We already avenged our father, Ezme. Right now, it’s the dragon’s spirit… The dragon’s power that chose to stay within Ezekiel’s body when Vulcan’s soul vanished,] Nikolai explained.

Ezme released a deep sigh. She wanted to kill Vulcan, but she didn’t even witness the dragon dying.

[I was there when Vulcan died and vanished, Ezme, because Vulcan’s soul merged into me, and Mineah killed it inside me by stabbing it in my heart with her divine dagger. If you want to witness how it happened, then come home, and I’ll show you,] Nikolai added.

[I’ll come home and see you and Mother next week. Atlas and I will travel like a normal human would since I want to enjoy a mini vacation with him during the journey,] she said with a blush on her face.

“Just make sure to come since Mother’s patience has been running out…” Nikolai commented, and right then, she immediately cut off the bond. She had a lot of pending work, too, but it was a good thing that her half-brother Raul was the one who replaced her in her post as Minister of Justice so she could easily make up to Raul about her shortcomings. However, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t receive some scoldings from Raul.

“Goodness, so many things are happening,” Ezme mumbled as she sat on the edge of her bed. Just weeks ago, she thought her brother Nikolai died, but it turned out that it was not real but only a play her brother formed to eliminate the rest of his enemies in Valcrez, and now this dragon that appeared was Ezekiel.

“A lot of things are happening… Why won’t that include Atlas’s feelings to change and give his heart all to me instead?” she scoffed as she removed her dress. She loved sleeping without her dress on even in the cold weather since the cold didn’t affect her at all compared to the sun’s heat that she hated, though she could withstand it since she had exordium blood.

She lay on the bed, gazing at the ceiling. “How can I get him to let me sleep beside him this time?” Ezme muttered, longing for the warmth of Atlas’s body. But he’d complained last time about her coldness.

“That brute! I’m a vampire, not a furnace,” she grumbled, her lips twisting in annoyance. Then, a solution struck her. “Aha! I know just what to do!” Her face lit up with a new idea. With a swift shift into mist form, Ezme materialized directly onto Atlas’s bed.

But her smile faded when she realized Atlas wasn’t there. “Where is he? Didn’t we walk back to our quarters together?” she wondered aloud, scanning the room. Just then, the door creaked open, and Ezme hastily closed her eyes, feigning sleep.

“Ezme, I know you’re awake, so stop pretending,” Atlas’s voice cut through the silence.

Ezme opened her eyes to find him standing by the bedside, arms crossed, and a frown etched on his face. “Are you naked?” he asked, his tone a mix of surprise and frustration.

“Yep,” she replied, flashing him a seductive smile from beneath the blanket. Despite her attempt at secrecy, Atlas seemed to have seen through her guise. He let out a heavy sigh. “What mischief are you up to now?” he grumbled.

“I just want to sleep with you, like before,” Ezme pouted.

“Naked?!” Atlas exclaimed, clearly taken aback.

“Why not? We can do more than just sleep if you want. How about we both strip naked and cuddle under the blanket?” she suggested innocently.

Atlas looked exasperated. “Are you testing my patience? I’m not a saint, Ezme. I’m just a man!” he retorted.

“So what? We’re getting married soon anyway, so what’s the problem?” Ezme complained, her face creasing with frustration. She couldn’t understand why Atlas was holding back when his body clearly betrayed his attraction to her.

“I don’t love you, and you know that. Do you want us to have sex without love?” Atlas’s words cut through Ezme’s hopes, shattering the romantic atmosphere.

This man really knew how to kill the mood.

Raising a brow, Ezme questioned, “So, you’re saying you won’t consummate our marriage until you feel love for me?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just feel bad, Ezme, taking advantage of you. I don’t want you to think that I only want your body. That’s why I’m trying my best to control my carnal urges, but you’re not making it easy. Why do you always have to… to do things like this?” Atlas explained, his frustration evident.

Ezme struggled to suppress her laughter. Atlas had a way of both lifting her spirits and dampening them. He was so considerate, but she really didn’t mind him taking advantage of her body.

Instead of responding, Ezme tossed the blanket aside, revealing her naked body. “Come here and sleep with me,” she beckoned. “I really don’t mind, Atlas. I’m yours from the moment you saved me from Ezekiel’s tent. Just let your urges free around me because I love you, and I’m willing to give you everything.” Her voice was laced with seduction as she made her declaration.