Whispers Of Desires: A Sense Of Truth {Book 2}

꧁༺ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻: 𝓧𝓧𝓥 - 𝓐𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 ༻꧂

The morning sun streamed through the grand windows of the dining room. Kazi entered, offering a respectful bow to everyone present. Queen Evangeline returned a small nod. Concubine Coriel greeted her with a kind smile, and even Prince Aradiel offered a curt nod of acknowledgment. Layil, however, remained silent, her gaze fixed on her plate.

Kazi took his seat across from Prince Akiel. The mute prince looked at her with and gestured to a plate of food. Kazi smiled and helped herself to some bread and fruit.

"Good morning, K," King Eldarion, spoke up. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very well, Your Majesty," Kazi replied, her voice maintaining the slightly lower pitch it had taken on since disguising herself as a man. "I slept quite well, thank you."

"Excellent!" the King said with a smile. "Now, the matter of your assignment. Queen Nia asked me to assign you to be the personal guard for one of my children."

Kazi nodded his understanding. This was the moment she had been waiting for. Before he could finish, Princess Athiel, her blue eyes sparkling with an uncharacteristic boldness, blurted out, "I would love for K to be my personal guard, Father!"

King Eldarion chuckled. "Well, that settles it quickly, doesn't it, K? Are you alright with being assigned to Athiel?"

Kazi looked over at the young princess, noting the determination in her gaze. She nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. I would be honoured."

The door to the dining room swung open and in walked in Azrael. Without a word of greeting, he slid into an empty chair, his eyes narrowed at Kazi.

"Azrael! Late again, I see. Why must you always be so..." King Eldarion trailed off with a sigh.

"Why does it matter? It is not like you all enjoy my presence anyway." Azrael said as he rolled his eyes.

Queen Evangeline's lips thinned into a disapproving line. Concubine Coriel offered Kazi a sympathetic smile, her eyes filled with a silent apology for her son's behaviour.

Kazi, however, refused to let Azrael's rudeness rattle her. King Eldarion sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Before he could speak, Queen Evangeline intervened, her voice cool but firm. "Azrael," she began, "we were discussing assigning K as a guard to Athiel."

Azrael scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Athiel?" he scoffed. "The girl cannot even handle a butterfly without screaming. She doesn't need a guard, let alone another one. She already has three tripping over themselves everywhere she goes."

"That is not true! I can handle a butterfly just fine, and I need K as my guard!" Athiel insisted, her cheeks flushed with anger.

Aradiel, leaned towards Azrael. "Perhaps, brother," he suggested mildly, "K would not mind being assigned to you instead? You could use the extra protection."

Kazi cursed inwardly. Being assigned to the arrogant Azrael was something she desperately wanted to avoid.

Azrael shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine by me." He glanced at Kazi, a sneer curling his lips.

Queen Evangeline, unsurprisingly, looked less than thrilled with Azrael's behaviour. "K," she said, turning to him, "are you comfortable with this arrangement?"

Kazi gritted her teeth, forcing a smile. "I am content to serve in whatever capacity is deemed most advantageous, Your Majesty."

Athiel, clearly unhappy with the turn of events, slammed her napkin onto the table. "But I want K!" she protested.

King Eldarion, his patience wearing thin, spoke with finality. "Athiel, for once Azrael is right. You already have three guards. It is unnecessary."

Athiel who was furious, pushed back her chair and stormed out of the dining room, her white gown flowing behind her.