Ethan's POV
"My king!!" Elena's voice snapped me out. I looked at her in disgust. "Who's yours?"
"Please, Ethan, don't embarrass your kingdom because of me," she said, reaching out to touch me. I dodged her hand and sighed. "Be thankful my parents like you, or else, you wouldn't like what I'd do to you."
"But I think we should be familiar with each other before our wedding night," she said softly.
I smirked and walked away. "You can't even wait for us to fvck, huh?"
Her eyes widened in horror, then her face turned red. "No… you…. ahhh not that prince!! Why are you acting like a city boy?" she groaned, running after me.
"I mean we should start talking, going out, and getting to know each other better. Like tomorrow, you're going somewhere, right? I want to come along. I heard you'll be there for some days."
"So that's why you're here…" I muttered. It was obvious she already knew my plans before I did. Must be Mother's doing. To her, getting Elena pregnant would make the marriage unavoidable.
"Ahh… not that, actually, it's not even my idea, it's the queen's… hey!!!" she yelled as the guards stopped her when I entered my private suite.
"How dare you stop me! I'm his wife!!"
I didn't bother to look back. She had no right to step into any of my spaces.
As I walked to the balcony, my phone rang. Elijah's name flashed on the screen. I picked it up and snorted, "I've been calling you since"
"Wait, Ethan, are you busy right now?" he cut in, sounding rushed.
"Nope," I frowned in confusion.
"I heard Duncan himself is already in our kingdom. If he doesn't stop now, I'll kill him."
"No. We're not allowed to kill before our coronation."
"Fine, but I know he's doing this on purpose, using my father's absence to his advantage."
"What do you want me to do?" I sighed deeply.
"Come."
"Today?"
"Right now," he said and ended the call.
Not long after, Thomas walked in with a smirk. "You're enjoying yourself, huh?"
"Enjoying what?" I asked, turning to him.
"Your wife…"
"Don't think I don't know what happened yesterday, Ethan. You're bold, huh? Letting her sleep in your room?"
"Yes, I know." I raised a brow.
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So how are you going to protect her?"
"Why do you care?" I said and turned to leave.
"Fine! How's Elijah?"
"Going to see him now."
…..
Reaching Jonas Kingdom, I saw Elijah sitting coldly on his father's throne, his fists.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," I said, taking the sword from his hand. "Let's go."
We headed for the cave where the sacred sword was kept. The place was heavily guarded, filled with advanced war equipment from the foreigners with whom we did business. They'd been really helpful.
….
Allison's POV
I stared at the flower Rosie was holding in a daze, this flowers look familiar… even if I couldn't understand myself, I still remember this flower or isn't this the same flower I saw in the bathtub last night?
"You're curious about it?" Rosie chuckled and dropped it into a sack. "The queen ordered it for next week."
I tilted my head. "What's it used for?"
"It's part of the ritual."
I blinked. "Ritual?"
"Yes. It'll be torn apart and placed inside the bathtub. It helps fuel the mark. Prince Ethan must make love to Princess Elena before the wedding," she said with a little laugh. "She won't be alright the next day, especially by evening."
My eyes widened. "You mean like… fever?"
"Exactly. She'll burn up, and then she'll be bathed with these flowers. There's a woman named Maria, she'll lead the ritual."
I stared at her, shocked. "There'll be candles… and white clothes?"
Rosie nodded. "Of course. You know how the ritual goes."
Wait, what?!
"You don't have to pity them," Rosie continued. "If Princess Elena isn't sick on her wedding day, it means the prince has marked her. The ritual will be complete that night. After that, she becomes the queen."
'Are you okay my queen?'
'Watch your tongue, my queen'
Ethan's voice echoed in my head. My heart skipped. Oh no. With what Thomas said in the throne hall and what happened last night…
Ethan had marked me!
Thinking about it, my steps quickened as I ran to my room in panic.
This can't be…
Ethan, why? Why are you doing this to me?!
Just as I was about to enter my room, I caught a glimpse of Prince Thomas. I stopped and moved toward him. "Prince Thomas, please, there's something I want to ask you."
He raised a brow, then turned around and started walking away. He seems to already know why I'm calling him.
"Wait! Prince Thomas!" I called, running after him. I boldly ran in front of him, blocking his path.
"What is it?" he asked, rolling his eyes helplessly.
"Please, I want to ask you something…"
"About your mating ritual last night?"
My eyes widened in horror. So it's true… yesterday's incident was actually a ritual! "Ahhh!" I gritted my teeth, this is what I've been trying to avoid!!
"See, it's already done. It can't be undone. Whether you like it or not, you're now a queen, because your blood is already mixed with his."
"But I don't want this! Why did he do that without telling me?" I groaned. "The ritual isn't complete since I wasn't willing!"
Thomas chuckled. "There's nothing like 'willing' when it comes to rituals. Even if you were dragged into it, once it's done, it's done."
He paused and looked at me with a smirk. "Very soon, you'll be banned from wearing maid clothes or doing maid work."
I stared at him in disbelief. Won't that alert the queen?
Thomas turned to leave, then stopped midway. "Just know this, there's no such thing as a secret relationship with Ethan. He'll claim you both in secret and in public. Get ready to face my mother." With that, he walked away, leaving me frozen on the spot.