Obsidian's Reign ¹

∷ Chapter 28 ∷

IT WASN'T LONG when news of Clara's apparent engagement reached far and wide, and with it, came the overflow of congratulatory gifts from demons she'd made a lasting impression during her introduction. The castle—and her chambers—were starting to fill with the most ornament of presents, none of which she bothered inspecting.

For obvious reasons, she could not share in their excitement and was not keen in the least to pore over the various gifts despite Maya's insistence. She resented the notion of having to marry to retain the throne and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, and if she was being brutally honest, she hated being royalty and everything to do with it.

She had been painfully accepting of everything thus far and had taken care to appear grateful for another chance at life, but she couldn't ignore it for much longer. She was starting to place a read on her grandfather—a ruthless demon king who only thought of her as a pawn to advance his means—and the realisation lit a fire of rage within her.

She'd been under the impression that perhaps, discovering her grandfather's status as an immortal demon was fate's way of giving her a second chance at experiencing family love after losing her grandmother so suddenly. But her assumptions were long dashed, the truth far more hurtful to bear.

With a heavy sigh, Clara fell on her bed, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face. It was then she heard rapid knocks on her door followed by hushed whispers and several pairs of feet rushing in. She reluctantly pushed herself into a sitting position, feet still dangling over the edge of the bed, and was taken aback to find Zephyr standing within the confines of her room, a look of disgruntlement on his face.

He kept his silence, no words of greeting leaving his lips, which spurred her to ask, "Did Jae send you?"

The innocent question caused a scowl to appear as he rolled his eyes.

"No," he said. "Why would he ask me to come here?"

Clara shrugged, "Why would you be here otherwise?"

"I came to see you," he said in a tone that indicated he thought the answer would be obvious.

Though she deemed it odd, she said nothing, merely nodding her head as she watched him walk across the room to survey the various objects that had been sent to her as gifts. He picked the closest one—a musical box painted the darkest shade of black that seemed to resemble the castle they dwelled in—and inspected it with a neutral expression.

He kept his snide remarks to himself as he placed it gingerly back where he had found it. The rest of the gifts seemed mundane and mediocre, nothing too out of the ordinary, though it was clear they were of the highest quality. None would dare gift the monarch something less than favourable.

Determining the fact that he could not delay the inevitable for much longer, Zephyr cleared his throat once before turning towards Clara.

In an offhanded manner, he said, "Are you excited about the engagement?"

The unexpected enquiry caused a scoff to bubble past her lips, the sound taking the demon by surprise. He would assume she'd be giddy with excitement. Wasn't marriage something that all humans look forward to at a point in their life?

"I'm impartial," Clara said when his imploring gaze met hers. And in a softer, more vulnerable tone, she added, "It's not as though I have a choice in the matter. But I'm making do with the situation."

She sighed once more before looking at him pointedly.

"Did you need something?" she asked, her tone much kinder than before.

He seemed to fumble, seemingly caught off-guard, before he composed himself and nodded.

"Would you let me see your hand?" he asked.