Chapter 152

152 Caught in hay

“You also entertain me, and seems to me I do have a lot to learn from you.”

Jasmine smiled at that. “Oh, we have a lifetime ahead of us, so there is enough time.”

Food was brought forth, two steaming bowls of fish soup. Jasmine blew onto the hot spoon and brought the liquid to her mouth. As the taste filled her lips, she turned to the woman;

“I am sorry,” Jasmine started. “I know I talked about this place being my prison, but can I cart you away to the palace instead? I don’t think I would be able to resist this place anymore.”

The cook gave another one of her laughs. Zavian, already eating himself, shook his head in mirth.

“Believe me. I have tried.” He said.

“How does silver and gold sound as a fair wage?” Jasmine asked.

“I have tried that too, ” Zavian answered. “Nothing can pull her away from this place.”

“You heard it from the King yourself, my Queen, “, the cook said. “Now let me leave you to eat. And let me know if you need anything.”

.....

“I would definitely need a second serving, but let me finish this first, ” Jasmine said. “Before you go, can you please give the guards outside a large bowl each?”

The cook was touched and agreed. As Zavian watched Jasmine eat, he knew he had made the right choice, and if anything, the least he could do was do right by her, whether he loved her or not.

....

Penelope did not miss the jar of liquid that was exchanged between the two men at the stables.

She had done a fine job of avoiding the Commander General for days and wanted it to remain that way. All she had to do was master his movements, and keep an open ear for his footsteps. But when she had come to the stable to clean it that morning, she didn’t expect Azriel to come there, and with one of his officers in tow.

So when she heard the footsteps, she ran behind the stacks of hay to hide. From there, she could make out both of them standing, their voices low, indicating they didn’t want to be heard. If they knew she was there, they would probably have her head for it, and no one cared for the life of a maid, so she was careful to even breathe, evening it out so she was as quiet as a mouse.

“How many horses in total have been given?” He asked his subordinate.

“500 so far.”

“Good, that is a good number, but we need to up it. Have the new set of horses been procured?”

“Yes, they are on their way down here.”

“Good. And I need something else from you.”

Azriel stepped closer to the man, and Penelope could not hear a thing he was saying. She saw the man nod at intervals, and after Azriel was done talking, the man took back the jar of liquid and left the stable.

Azriel sighed and paced a little. He rested his hands on his hips, looked skyward, and closed his eyes. Penelope waited patiently, and from where she watched him, he looked stressed with something.

“You can come out of hiding now, Pen,” he said, sending Pen jolting with her back and hitting the wall behind her.

She was in deep, deep trouble.

Penelope stepped out from behind the stacks, her fingers laced together for comfort. Her heart hammered in her chest, and sweat broke out from her forehead. Azriel stood with arms akimbo, and she could tell he was pissed.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

“I was only cleaning up this place, my Lord.”

“And you hid behind the stacks of hay?”

“Only when I heard footsteps approaching, my Lord.”

Her head was downcast, so as she heard him move, she could see his shoes in her line of vision. A finger under her chin lifted her face up, so she was staring directly at him, and she sucked in a breath.

“If I didn’t know better, I would say you were hiding from me,” he said.

“I wasn’t, my Lord.”

Azriel’s lips twitched with the tiniest hint of a smile. “There are some things not meant for your ears, Pen. And even if you want to avoid me, hay...” he used his other hand to pluck out the hay stuck in her hair,” isn’t a great hiding spot.”

“I assure you, my Lord, ” she said. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“Well, because I made sure of it.”

He knew she was there all along? Of course, he would. With his heightened senses, she had forgotten he would detect her human self at once.

“I would be out now to go about my duties, my Lord, ” Pen spoke, lead still lowered.

“I didn’t say you could,” Azriel interrupted.

Penelope kept mum, her eyes still holding his gaze, and the perfection of his beauty hurt her eye, in a good way, if that was possible. She willed herself to not let her eyes wander anywhere else, especially those lips that she had found herself thinking about more lately.

And the women he had been with. What was it like? A bad sort of curiosity had gotten her seeking a question to an answer she wasn’t willing to find. She had always prided herself on self-control, dismissing demons and nobles as if they were nothing but disturbances she didn’t want in her life, but this demon was in her life to wreak havoc, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Except for maybe one thing.

“I want to go back to the palace,” Penelope blurted out.

Azriel was taken aback with her reply; he didn’t think that would come out of nowhere. He blinked and swallowed; letting go of her.

“Well Pen”, Azriel started, “The King has given me permission to have you here. From what I know, new maids have been replaced, so I doubt you can go back.”

“I can’t stay here.”