Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Night Of Survival

“Don’t you know? There are Demon’s recently lurking around the forest and it’s by the Lord’s mercy you two are completely fine.” The middle aged woman candidly explained to the both of them while handing them a cup of hot tea.

The being who was sitting beside Annalise suddenly raised a brow in an inquiring manner but it was rhetoric. What did she mean recently? Did they stop before?

It’s been a long time and he barely knew how the world evolved now, but he was sure of one thing, more Demon traps would have been made because the ancient rulers made it clear before he lost consciousness that every weapon had to be repolished.

Annalise smiled in appreciation to the kind woman before receiving the hot cup of tea. They both sat on the mat, close to the fireplace which had dry woods burning in an orange-yellowish flame and leaving the living room at the mercy of its warmth.

“So you see..” she continued, “this was the reason why I had to be cautious before letting anyone into my home, most especially at the dead of night.”

“You don’t have to explain.” Annalise politely interjected, “we appreciate the fact you showed us this much hospitality and we can’t thank you enough for it.”

She casted a side glance at the stranger who calmly sipped his tea without uttering a word and her expression changed. She didn’t notice it until now but this mysterious being was intentionally letting her do all the talking while enjoying his cup of tea.

.....

And she was here wasting her saliva for the both of them.

Such an ungrateful being! Even a thank you hasn’t escaped from his lips, he should at least show a little gratitude to the woman who had warmly invited them to her home. He doesn’t even look like someone who lacks morals.

“What is your name?” The woman unceremoniously asked, drawing Anna’s attention back to her and she smiled, not wanting the thoughts of the stranger to spoil her mood.

“Annalise.”

The ignorant being who barely said a word throughout the discussion suddenly paused as her name made its way into his ear, like a sweet lullaby which only irritated him further. So her name’s Annalise.

“What about your brother?” She questioned while diverting her gaze to the mysterious handsome young man who was equally staring at her. Annalise already opened her mouth to speak but inadvertently left them hanging when she realized she didn’t know the name of the stranger sitting beside her.

That’s right, he never told her.

She awkwardly sealed her lips while lowering her gaze, looking hesitant but immediately regained her posture to avoid the woman noticing. If only he had told her his name earlier this wouldn’t_

“Roshan.” He finally spoke, gaining both Annalise and the woman’s attention, “the name’s Roshan.”

The lady finally smiled and felt content with the fact he had said something, she was starting to worry if he was a silent person or a loner.

“Okay, but you need to hurry up and get changed, your clothes are still wet and you need to come out of it before you catch a cold.” She heartily suggested.

~

“You just had to tell her we’re siblings.” Roshan finally got a chance to lay out the complaints he had been bottling inside of him the moment they were left alone in a room.

Annalise who was pacing back and forth while thinking about their predicament suddenly paused after hearing his complaints, turning around to meet his unreadable, yet cold gaze.

“It was a hasty decision I had to make without thinking it through, at least I didn’t go mute like someone with a zipper on their lips.” She countered back, and wanted to say more but immediately held her tongue when she noticed a pair of deadly beams glaring her way.

He suddenly got up to his feet, causing the baffled Anna to take a quick step back, keeping as much distance as she could from him.

“Look where your brilliant idea has landed us,” he sarcastically commented, “now we’re meant to share a room together!” Clearly he was pissed, he didn’t want to be around this young woman for even a second and now he’s meant to stay with her, in the same room, all night.

Annalise, who was finding his complaints to be a little too much, equally stood her ground, “we’ll survive, we survived in the bushes without killing ourselves, we’ll do the same tonight.”

He scoffed bitterly before nodding his head in approval. “Fine then, let’s have it your way, but we’ll see who gets to survive the night, me or you.” He sounded calm, but there was a tiny trace of dread in his tone which made Anna gulp in full uncertainty.

What does he mean by that phrase?

Before her eyes, she watched as he took off his chlamys before proceeding to undo the knots which held his armor vest together. He took them off and was left in his brown tunic which he started to undo as well.

With horrific eyes, she watched him undo one knot after another, exposing the fair skin that was hidden inside and her pupils finally dilated.

“What are you doing??” She questioned in vexation while balling her hands at her side, but the evil being only smirked in response, a smirk she depicted to bring her nothing but absolute troubles tonight.

“Surviving.” And he continued until all the knots were undone, leaving a tantalizing glimpse of his bare upper body to her gaze. She gasped, immediately turning away with her face contorted in half rage.

“Don’t you have any shame? Undressing before a woman who isn’t your wife?” She snapped, unwilling to deal with his immorality but she only heard him chuckle in response.

A chuckle that sounded so hypnotic and enticing, yet held some sort of deadly tone which she found difficult to comprehend with, who was this man??

“I have no shame,” he responded while taking a single step towards her, “but if you’re worried about that, then I can make you my concubine to say the least.” He suggested in a nonchalant manner but that response only made the fire inside of her burst excruciatingly as she spun around to look at him.

He just crossed the line and she wasn’t going to take any of it this time around.

“What did you say to me?” She demanded, taking a step towards him as well while looking up to meet his bored gaze, “a concubine? Do I look that cheap? What do you take me for? Forget about being a concubine, I won’t even be a maid to an immorally nostalgic being like you!” She shot back, hoping to hit a nerve inside of him but instead, his hazel-green eyes glinted in amusement, adding to her fury.

Roshan couldn’t hide the glint of amusement which flashed in his eyes at her sudden courage, he never expected her to turn incredibly feisty all of a sudden.

He was tempted to crush it.

“I haven’t even started, and you’re already proving to be a viscous cat.” he mocked while tilting his head slightly to the side, but Anna wasn’t caught out for his ill words tonight.

She already has enough on her plate.

“You don’t know me, so watch the venoms you spit out of that mouth of yours next time.” She strictly warned, half of what triggered her anger was the fact she won’t even be alive to hold the wedding she had dreamed of having, and here he was, making fun of her by calling her his concubine.

They held gazes for a few minutes as the room grew tense, with only the sound of rain pattering against the window. Calming her racing heart and regaining herself once more, she realized she was still staring at a half-dressed man.

Roshan noticed her gaze had suddenly lowered but he wasn’t done yet. Never in his life had he been challenged by a woman and it hurt his pride to see that it was none other than this mere mortal standing in front of him.

He grabbed her arm the minute she planned on walking away and before Anna could realize his plan, her back was already against the wall and he trapped her right in his middle, towering over her and declaring full dominance, but her glares remained intact.

“Let me go!” She warned, lowering her voice this time around since they were in someone else’s home, but his hold around her arms tightened instead as he pinned them against the wall above her head.

“You_”

“You claim that I don’t know you when you barely have the slightest idea of who I am. Yet you dare to challenge me!”

“Who you are holds no sort of importance to me.” She enunciated without a trace of fear in her tone, he only sensed pain which sort of confused him.

Her words were affecting him to the deepest part of his system, he was so sure that if he had a heart, he would be heartbroken by now but fortunately, he didn’t have one.

“It’s a night of survival, is it not?” His eyes suddenly glimmered in a beautiful, yet seductive way as he looked her over, to the point it made her shiver relentlessly. Her heart sped due to how tempting his deep baritone voice became, like an alluring whisper that was meant to drown her into its depth.

“And what do you mean by that?” She forced herself to ask when he promptly leaned even closer, bringing his lips to her ear as he whispered.

“That it’s your turn to undress.”