“Strength lies in the heart of a man. And your heart is too weak. Be strong, my Love.”
“You are gone now… And it’s already broken. How can I ever be strong now?”
“I am always with you, in your heart. Am I not?”
Her words were the whispers from the depths of his heart. He wanted to be with her, hold her again. He could still feel her warmth in his heart, but that was all he could feel now, and it was not the same anymore. His heart was restless.
“Lyanna…”
“Wake up, Love.”
He wanted to ask her something, but another voice whispered in his ear. The soft touch of those plump lips lingered on his cheek.
“Helen.”
He softly answered and opened his eyes to behold her charming smile.
“Yes. Now get up, the dinner is ready and getting cold.”
He wanted to lift his left hand and check the watch, but the soft weight of a sleeping girl had his left side pressed under her.
“What time is it?” He asked Helen.
“Nearly 11 pm.” She answered. “You have slept for more than 7 hours.”
“Oh.”
His body was still craving for some more sleep, but he had to admit that he was hungry as well. He hadn’t had anything in lunch today and only had a light breakfast.
“I will be in the dining room in few minutes. Let me sleep some more.” He told her and raised his head to sip her lips.
“Come on! Stop behaving like a child.”
“Okay… Just a few minutes.” He answered and closed his eyes again.
His arm protectively wrapped around the girl that had her head rested on his chest.
Perhaps Helen had gotten the message. She didn’t push him anymore to get up.
“Don’t miss out on the dinner or Ilsa will eat you alive.” She advised him before leaving.
His little Missus had made the dinner herself. Ilsa rarely did so. He could count the number of times she had done so on his fingers.
“Oh well… I will have to eat this dinner. Don’t want her to crush my bones.”
Even though he couldn’t see it, he felt her lips curve in a smile against his chest.
“How long have you been awake for?” He softly asked her and felt her body shudder.
Asaya was awake. He had known it the moment he had opened his eyes. She still protectively had her arm wrapped around him. It was as if she was refusing to let go of him, or was too scared to let go of him. And she was futilely pretending to be asleep.
“Silly girl.” He gently stroked her auburn head and planted a kiss on it.
She had a distinctive flowery aroma that was similar to that of Helen but not the same. And somehow, it soothed his heart.
“Little bird, how long have you been awake for?” He inquired.
“A while.” She tightened her arm around him and tried to hide her face in his chest.
“Don’t you feel tired?”
She didn’t answer back but only shook her head.
He knew that she wasn’t tired at all since she had her awakening. It will take a couple of days for the blood in her veins to settle down, and quite possibly she won’t even sleep in this duration.
“Alright, sit up. I want to check something.”
Asaya reluctantly parted from his embrace and sat by his side on her knees. She kept her head lowered, and the blush on her cheeks explained the reason for that. It had been several months since he had slept with her. And this time, Arianna was not accompanying her. The little girls used to sleep with him almost daily, but things changed after they hit puberty. Shazan seldom accompanied Asaya to sleep now. It was all in respect to Helen.
She had attained the same hair from her mother, but her eyes were a little different from Helen. They were deep brown almost to a shade that could be mistaken for black. Yes, those eyes were the same as his and Arianna’s.
“Pay attention.”
He drew his hand in front of her.
“Do you see anything?” He asked her.
Asaya curiously looked up at him and tilted her head just like Rose would do.
“Not my face, little bird. My hand.”
“Oh.” She giggled and then looked at his hand.
“Nothing.” She answered after taking her time.
“Concentrate.” He said to her.
She obediently kept her eyes on his hand and her brows furrowed in concentration. When he realized that she was doing her best, he released his aura around his hand. The aura of a person existed within him. It was the essence of life which would come out when a person stepped on the myriad road. And only Amazeros could see it. Some Amazeros were inherently good at stealth, whereas some had to work hard to attain the level of stealth where others would not able to discover their Aura. He had work hard for it.
When he released his aura, he saw her eyes widen and shine in amazement. She was dumbfoundedly looking at his hand, and when he released the aura all around him, her eyes traced all over him.
“This…”
“You already know what this is.”
“But…”
She just looked at him. Yes, she had no words to voice a question. Perhaps her mind didn’t know how to react to this, or perhaps there were too many questions that she didn’t know which one to ask first.
“It’s beautiful.” She settled down on her admiration after a while.
“What shade is it?” He gently smiled at her.
“Violet. Deep Violet.”
“Deep Violet? Is that even a color?” He teased her.
“It just feels like a deeper shade of Violet. It’s as if more concentrated.” She answered him seriously.
“The Silverstein bloodline inherently has Violet shaded Aura.” He told her. “The concentration of the color could be taken as a symbol of the person’s strength.”
“Oh.” Asaya nodded.
Shazan could see that she had already figured out that she was a Zeros. Her eyes were scanning her body to find the shade of her aura. However, her search would prove futile.
“Your first lesson as a Zeros.” He patted her head and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. “You can only see your Aura when you are strong enough.”
Asaya disappointedly nodded her head.
“Brother.”
“Yes?”
“What shade is my Aura? You can see it, right?” She asked him.
He wanted to answer her question, but it was not the right time for that.
“You can ask Arianna when you meet her.” He smiled at her and said.
It was as if the color drained off her face when she heard Arianna’s name. And soon her eyes were wet.
“Brother, I didn’t…”
Her mental state was facing the aftereffects of her awakening. It intensified all of her emotions.
“Shush… I know you didn’t. I trust you.” He planted a kiss on her forehead and pulled her to sit in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and rested her back against his chest. “Tell me what happened last night.”
His words brought peace to her heart. Usually, he would use his powers to calm people down, but to her, he had never done so, and perhaps would never do it. He hated influencing the minds of the people he loved, and he rarely did so. However, he had never in his life influenced the minds of Arianna and this girl in his arms right now. And then, of course, there was Roselyn. The three of them were perhaps the only people in his life he had not even subconsciously tried to do it too.
“Asaya.” He called out her name.
“We were all gathered in the private room after we had dinner with our classmates and juniors.” She said and looked up at him. “Do you remember the girl with the curly hair?”
“Olivia Angelo?”
“Yes. You met her at my birthday party last year.”
Shazan recalled meeting an enthusiastic girl. Who despite her enthusiasm, kept herself under control and never neglected her manners. He had a good impression of her. However, right now he didn’t want to have any good impression of someone related to Michael Angelo. And that curly haired little girl was Michael’s daughter.
“What about her?”
“When people took their leave, it was just me, Arianna, Maira, and Olivia left in the private room. Arianna wanted a margarita, and so I had to go to the common room to get one for her. You know how lazy she can be at times.”
Asaya took a pause here, and he still couldn’t figure out what might have happened.
“Olivia came with me. When we reached the bar side, her brother was there with his new girlfriend. She is one of our classmates. He tried to engage me in a conversation, but I ignored him, and so he shifted his attention to his sister. He said something to her about their upcoming trip to the UAE, and Olivia was very tensed after she heard him mention that.”
Shazan had an idea of why Olivia was tensed about her upcoming trip to the UAE. The businesses Michael Angelo indulged in knew no bounds. However, he didn’t tell his guess to Asaya. He didn’t want her to be worried about that little girl.
“What happened after that?” He asked.
“I was worried about Olivia. Something was bothering her, but she wasn’t telling me about it. She excused herself and told me that she was going home. I saw her off to the car, and then went to the bar and picked the margaritas that were ready.”
Asaya looked up at him.
“Brother, I don’t know what was wrong with those drinks. I didn’t have one, but when Arianna and Maria had them…. Maira was mad at me for something… I didn’t understand what was happening. Then Olivia’s brother entered the room with that girl….”
She narrated everything to him as she held back her sobs. Her fragile heart was anxious that she had unintentionally hurt Arianna and Maira.
“Shush… Everything’s fine.” He squeezed her in his arms. “Arianna’s fine and Maira is not mad at you anymore. It wasn’t your fault.”
“But… Arianna is not even picking up my calls.” She said and cried.
“She will call you back when her mood is better. You know she considers you a sister, and she deeply loves you and cares about you. Don’t worry.”
“Mhm…” Asaya weakly nodded.
“Let’s go freshen up. We have to take our dinner.”
Shazan said to her and got off the bed.
“Brother.”
“Yes?”
“Are you staying here tonight?” He expectantly looked at him.
“Yes.” He wasn’t planning on staying here tonight; He couldn’t bring himself to say no to her. A gentle and beautiful smile crept on her face when she heard his answer.
“Good.” She nodded. “Mother has been missing you. You didn’t come to see her in over a month.”
“I have been busy, little bird.”
“I know.” She said and stood up on the bed. “Just come to see us more often, okay?” She planted a kiss on his cheek and jumped off the bed to run out of the room. “I will be in the dining room in 15 minutes.” She said.
Shazan stood there with a pale smile on his lips. He knew what was inside her heart; The longing to be with him and Arianna and the other girls she addressed as her sisters. He always wondered if he should have forced Helen to live with him at the Palace; If he shouldn’t have left the decision on her. They were now stuck in a time where they were both unsure if the truth they have kept in their hearts should be revealed or not.
The thoughts that occupied his mind hadn’t gone away even after a few splashes of cold water on his face. However, they did settle down after he entered the room and saw the smiles on the faces of the women he dearly loved. He planted a kiss on Ilsa’s head and sat next to her.
“Thank you.”
“What for?” She curiously looked at him.
“For being mine.” He told her.
She blushed at his words, but she still kept an aloof expression on her face.
“Get some more sleep, and perhaps you will finally learn to appreciate me more.”
“Your words reflect who actually needs to appreciate whom.” He sighed. “Now get up and serve dinner to your husband.”
Her face reddened, but before she could complain, Asaya and Helen burst out laughing.
“I will serve it to you, brother.” Asaya stopped laughing and stood up from her seat.
“You are only spoiling him, Asaya,” Ilsa advised, “He needs to stop behaving like a prince all the time.”
“Oh really?” Shazan looked at her. “If I remember right, a prince must always behave like a prince. And I am a Prince.”
“Yeah right, the wise Black Prince.” Ilsa grumbled.
Shazan knew that the words had unintentionally escaped her mouth. And so, he had only palely smiled to her in reply.
“Shazan…” Her voice shook to the turmoil in her heart.
“Here, brother.” Asaya served him his plate and soup and sat right next to him. The clever girl was good at reading the mood of people.
He filled a spoon of soup and brought it to her lips. He didn’t need to say anything to her. Her cheeks reddened, but she happily took what he had offered.
He filled the spoon again and this time offered it to the lamenting Ilsa. He gently smiled at her and nodded to her. She was sorry for what she had called him, and her eyes were almost brimming with tears.
“Eat.” He told her and she accepted it.
It didn’t take long as table soon resumed the jolly atmosphere. Helen happily told them how good were the designs Renesme had made for her new range of clothing. Asaya was curious if her Renesme sister had made some designs for her as well, and to her joy she had. However, Helen told her nothing more than that and asked her to wait for them to get ready to see them.
He excused himself after dinner and returned to his room. The plan had changed now, and he needed to make a call to Cauis to let him know of it.
“Yes, Lord Shazan?” Caius answered the phone.
“Have you prepared everything?”
“Everything’s ready. All of them are at Angelo’s Roxen City Hotel’s suite.”
“Is his daughter there as well?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t keep her in the same room as the rest, and let her dog stay with her.”
“Okay.” Caius didn’t ask for any reason and complied. “You will not be coming tonight?”
“No.” Shazan sighed. “I will be there in the morning.”
“Are there any instructions?”
“Nah.” Shazan smiled. “Get some rest. No need to stay up.”
“Thanks.” His voice was already drowsy.
The moment he ended the call, a pair of soft arms hugged him from behind.
“Helen.”
She didn’t answer him and only tightened her arms around his waist. The warmth of her body and her dancing heart were asking for attention. She wanted him, needed him, but she couldn’t voice it somehow.
There were certain things he wanted to talk to her about, but now only the agonizing urgency in his heart and loins ruled his mind. He turned around and carried her to the bed. Wrestling out of his clothes he pressed himself between her legs, pinning her under his weight.
He captured her soft lips, teased her dancing tongue, and inhaled her warm breath. His member was hurting him, as it looked forward to diving in the valley it belonged in. His hand grabbed onto her fleshy thigh and squeezed it before snaking its way under her chemise. The soft layer of panties was torn open by him. He didn’t go on with any foreplay and lined himself against her entrance.
They were both drowning in their lust, and her pained expression as he barged his way inside her, added to the fire in his loins. Her nails dug in his back as his waist moved. Her insides were ravaged by him, and the willing victim facilitated her assailant with the wetness of her lust.
She moaned and screamed with no shame; it was her nest, and she was in arms of her man. Her writhing body tried her best to reply to his invading thrusts, and his name was on her lips from time to time.
He showed no mercy to her, his hands were all over her body and inside her chemise. At some point, he grew impatient to the layer of cloth separating their skins, and he obliterated it to shreds. He pressed his weight on her, pressing her soft mounds against his chest. He planted wet kisses on her neck and nibbled it in urgency when her walls squeezed him in pleasure.
Her body shuddered and she screamed loudly to her orgasm, but he didn’t stop. He kept pounding inside her, getting lost to her seductive moans. And finally, he did reach the point where he couldn’t bear the pleasure anymore, and erupted deep inside her. Her legs protectively wrapped around his waist, and she bit his shoulder in the heat of the moment.
Shazan helped himself on his arms and affectionately looked at her pleasure-soaked face. Nine years they had been together for, but he had only found himself growing more attracted to her with every passing moment. And the thing that had not changed over the years was the lusty shyness in her eyes. He leaned in and pressed his lips on her forehead.
“I love you.” She whispered and hugged him.
He teasingly nibbled her earlobe and whispered back.
“I love you, Helen.”
He didn’t let her rest more and moved inside of her again. He wasn’t tired, and the dawn was still hours away. He wanted to pour his love inside her to his heart’s content.