Chapter 78: THE NIGHT OF A KING AND QUEEN
Arella sat in her office that night, working on more coronation plans, the soft glow of the candlelight and firelight flickering over the parchment in front of her. The day had been a whirlwind for her. She had had dinner with her brother and had ensured he retired to bed before finally retiring back to her office for more work.
The king had been unable to join them because he had used up a big part of his day to watch as Arella tried on her gowns. Her brother had taken up all of her time, telling her all that she had missed in the demon realm. The child that had been born and the engagements that had been made.
To some extent, she was sad to have missed all that she had not been able to see in her hundred years in the human realm.
A soft knock at her study door pulled her out of her thoughts. Before she could respond, the door creaked open, and King Varziel stepped inside. His eyes scanned the room before settling on her.
"You are still working?" His voice carried a tinge of concern. "It is late, my queen; let us go to bed."
Arella set her quill down, rubbing her temple after she did so. "There is still so much to be done and so little time. The seating arrangements alone are a nightmare. If I did not have Velmoria helping me, I would have died from overwork long ago."
His lips pulled up in a smirk as he crossed the room, his movements graceful as they always were. The moment he got close enough for his scent to reach Arella, wetness had already pooled in the juncture between her thighs. "I imagine no one would want to be seated next to someone they despise," he came to a stop, standing opposite her, leaning on her desk. "Politics over dinner—such a dangerous game."
"I do not quite understand it," Arella leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms and wings as she did so. "If you hate someone so badly, why go to an event that they are attending?"
"That is where you are mistaken, my queen." He said as he picked up the parchment she had been working on, "This is not just any event; it is the coronation of the new queen. There has not been a queen for years now. Only a fool would refuse to come."