Chapter 57

Draven remained unbothered as all his attention was on inspecting every inch of skin on her back. There was no such fire mark, only ugly burn scars stretched over a bony skeleton. Though Ember had regained some weight, it would take her body time to gain a normal amount of healthy muscles and fat. Currently, she was still so skinny one could clearly count the number of vertebrates on her spine.

However, the King’s only concern was finding that mark. One could hear him gritting his teeth in frustration.

“Turn around,” he instructed again.

His angered voice demanded absolute obedience. She remembered how she almost choked earlier and was terrified that if she didn’t follow him, he would snap her neck.

Holding her ripped dress up to cover her front, Ember clumsily turned around. Though her face was lowered, he could see tears streaming down her cheeks.

Draven scowled at her appearance. He could not understand her reaction. He simply wanted to check something on her body. If an outsider were to see her, one would think he was physically abusing her.

‘Is it that difficult for her to cooperate?’ Then he realized he didn’t tell her anything about what he was doing.

‘Doesn’t matter.’

He didn’t bother to explain anything to her. He just wanted to leave as soon as he confirmed the presence or absence of the fire mark.

Draven held her chin with his gloved hand and made her look up to inspect her face, but was met with her terrified emerald green eyes. He found it difficult to move his eyes away from them, as if they held magic in themselves, reeling him in.

‘How could you have her eyes…?’ he could not help but wonder. His intuition was telling him, it wasn’t just a similar colour—it was the exact same eyes as that woman in his dreams.

On the contrary, Ember nearly fainted in terror upon meeting his gaze, and she shut her eyes tightly to not look at those red eyes, leaving Draven with nothing to see but her small tear-stained face riddled with injuries.

Unknown to her, her reaction angered him.

‘Ungrateful creature!’ The hold of his fingers tightened on her tiny chin and she whined a little in pain, but still, she didn’t open her eyes. ‘If not for you summoning me every time your life is in danger, if not for your eyes, do you think I will even have the interest to spare for a disgusting thing like you?”

He loosened his grip after inspecting her scarred face and her neck, but even as his eyes traced down the curve of her thin shoulders and pronounced collarbones, there was still no sign of anything close to a tattoo or a birthmark resembling a fire symbol. His gaze travelled across her bare skin, stopping at her arms that were still covered in sleeves and the chest part of her dress which she was clutching like her life depended on it.

“Hands!” he ordered as he let go of her chin.

When she finally opened her eyes to look at him like he was an evil monster, he felt his temper rising once more.

“Show me your hands.”

In response, her hands clutched her dress closer to her chest and she looked unwilling to let it go. An unpleasant thought popped into his head.

‘Could this creature be thinking—’

“Human, I told you already that I have no interest in your body. Stop acting like a victim and cooperate,” he said looking straight into her tearful eyes.

“Hands!”

His voice sounded like he lost whatever little patience he had left this time.

Ember moved, but she only put forward her left hand, while the other was still kept on her chest, holding her dress as she closed her eyes once more.

Riiiiip!

Without hesitation, he completely tore the sleeve covering her left arm, ripping the bandages as well. Once he could not find anything on her arm or wrist, he eyed her right hand.

“The other.”

Obediently, she reached out her right hand, using her left hand he had finished inspecting to hold her dress and cover her chest. He held scarred hand, and once again, she heard the round of cloth ripping. The other sleeve of her dress was gone as well.

Draven’s forehead creased as he inspected her arm.

‘There is still no mark.’

He eyed her hand that was holding her dress. “Let it go.”

She opened her eyes, not understanding his intention, and his flat gaze met hers.

“Your dress, let it go.”

Ember wanted to protest, but no word came out of her mouth. Her tearful eyes sneakily moved to look at the door, expecting Leeora to show up, but his next words made her entire body freeze.

“With me here, no one will dare enter this house.”

It was difficult to guess what exactly he was implying. Was he telling her that she didn’t have to worry about someone entering and seeing her without clothes on, or was he telling her that she should not expect anyone to come and save her from him?

“Don’t test my patience, human,” he said with a warning gaze.

This overbearing man kneeling in front of her, towering over her frail body, looked fiercer with each passing moment. She felt like this was a nightmare, and she had to wake up. Those red eyes of his lacked even a hint of warmth, as if he was staring at her like he was inspecting a lifeless object.

In his opinion, it would have been easier if she was a lifeless object. He would have finished checking for the fire mark in a minute, unlike now when he had to tolerate her reaction and waste his time by talking to her.

With shaking hands, Ember let go of her dress, letting the ripped fabric slide down until it pooled around her lower abdomen.

=====

Dear readers, this month’s top fan of the novel will be included in the novel as a cute character or something precious. Six days to go to increase your fan value and be a part of “Devil and Witch” series. Feel free to ask if there is any question.