He ChoseThe Wrong Daughter

Ryophlira POV

When I finally stepped out of the steam and walked back into our master quarters, the chaotic, blood-slicked traces of my awakening had been completely erased.

Ari had already cleaned the space, leaving the room pristine. Resting on the center of the plush mattress was a white gift box containing a fresh set of clothes she had laid out for me. I picked it up, my fingers tracing the delicate fabrics of the lingerie set.

It was a stunning, white piece featuring soft lace ruffles, intricate strap details cutting across the midriff, and dainty pearl-and-floral chain straps tied off with neat silk bows and underwear to match. It was going to get some taking use to having to wear this. I slipped the delicate fabric over my skin.

Sitting cross-legged on the edge of the mattress, I stared blankly at the dark wood floors, replaying the recent events in my head. My family was a ruin, an international war was knocking at our gates, and my own husband was keeping secrets I couldn’t even begin to fathom. I desperately tried to map a logical path forward.

CRASH.

A sudden, earth-shaking shout echoed from the hallway, and the stone walls of the bedchamber literally began to vibrate. The doors flew open with a violent slam.

In walked Yue-Senn, completely stark naked save for a white towel slung precariously low around his hips, with my brother Riegthar storming right on his heels, his face flushed with uncharacteristic fury.

"Your husband is a fucking creep!" Riegthar roared, pointing an accusing finger at the Yue-Senn.

"Your brother is a goddamn pervert!" Yue-Senn fired back, his jaw clenched as he glared over his shoulder. I blinked, rubbing my temples as a headache began to form.

"What the hell happened?"

"I was peacefully taking a bath, and your psycho brother just walked straight into the room!" Yue-Senn hissed.

Riegthar let out an exasperated sigh, throwing his hands in the air. "I didn’t know anyone was even in there! It was completely dark!"

I let out a long, exhausted sigh. I swear, these two behaved more like bickering, competitive biological siblings than my actual brother and I ever could.

"Both of you, enough," I commanded, my voice cutting through their shouting.

"Yue-Senn, you know damn well we have guests staying over—turn on the lights next time you use the bath. And Riegthar, learn how to knock before entering a private wing. Now get out."

Riegthar grumbled something entirely incoherent under his breath, rolled his eyes, and slammed the heavy double doors shut behind him, leaving the room in a sudden, thick silence. Yue-Senn stood by the entrance for a moment before he slowly began walking over to the bed. I tried to look away, but I physically couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

When he finally stopped directly in front of me, he leaned down close, his damp, pitch-black hair framing his face. Droplets of water from the bath glistened against his flawless, chiseled chest and sharply defined abdominal muscles. His striking green eyes locked onto mine, burning with a soft, dangerous heat, and the candlelight hit him in such a way that it looked like a literal halo of glowing light and soft white flowers were blossoming all around him.

My heart did a frantic flip in my chest.

Hiccup.

I clamped a hand over my mouth, my cheeks exploding into a fierce blush. Oh my god, why am I actually seeing imaginary flowers floating around this man? I need to seriously get it together.

Yue-Senn’s lips curved into an amused, devastating smile at my reaction. He pulled away slightly, sitting down right next to me on the edge of the mattress, the scent of fresh apple, vanilla and rose rolling off his skin.

"What’s the next move, my Queen?" he murmured.

Before I could answer, his large hand reached up, gently tugging the pins from my hair. He watched with a quiet, intense fascination as the thick strands fell loose from the bun, cascading down over my bare shoulders.

He leaned back against, his eyes slowly roaming over the white lace of my lingerie. As his gaze lingered on my exposed skin, I could visibly see his towel shift as he began getting hard.

I quickly turned my face away, my pulse hammering. "I need you to get a specific poison for me. It’s called *Never Fear*. I need it by tomorrow morning before I meet with the East."

Yue-Senn didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his warm hand slipped up my arm, his fingers brushing against my skin as he slowly slid the pearl-beaded strap off my right shoulder. I instinctively caught the falling lace with my fingers, still strictly avoiding eye contact.

"Isn’t that particular highly poisonous to your kind, little bird?" he asked, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly vibration.

"And how are you so entirely certain that I can just magically get it for you?"

"It is lethal to dragons," I whispered, staring at the bedsheets. "But I know you can do absolutely anything when you put your mind to it."

I felt the mattress shift as he leaned up, his chest pressing into my side. He leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss against my bare shoulder, causing the white strap to slip completely down my arm. I sharply turned my head to face him, our lips now a mere hair’s breadth away from touching.

He leaned in to seal the distance, but I quickly threw my hand up, pressing my palm flat against his lips. "Wait."

Yue-Senn paused, a flicker of confusion crossing his eyes. Without a word, he gently but firmly wrapped his fingers around my wrist, pulling my hand away from his mouth, and slammed his lips against mine in a deep, kiss.

A sudden surge of defensive panic flared in my chest. I pulled back forcefully and struck him landing a solid, echoing punch straight against his jaw.

THWACK.

I froze, my eyes widening in pure shock. I couldn’t believe I had actually punched him, and I was even more stunned by the fact that he hadn’t even attempted to block or resist the blow.

Yue-Senn merely wiped a tiny stray smirk from his lip, a wide, wicked smile stretching across his face.

"Do it harder next time."

"Are you completely insane?!" I breathed,

clutching my knuckles.

"For you? Absolutely, yes."

"Just listen to me for a single second, please," I pleaded, my voice trembling as the weight of my questions caught up to me.

"I have something critically important to ask you... Did you know that Ail had feelings for you?"

Yue-Senn’s smile faded into a neutral expression. "Knew? No. But I certainly noticed that she might have held an unspoken interest in me back then."

"Riegthar told me everything," I whispered, my chest tightening. "He said you guys used to kiss and hold hands in the gardens."

Yue-Senn let out a soft sigh, reaching out to trace my jawline. "We were exceptionally young, Ry. She kissed me, I never initiated a single thing with her. And I was simply attempting to be a proper gentleman by allowing her to hold my hand, but that was as far as it ever went. I never wanted her."

A massive, overwhelming wave of relief washed through my entire body, so intense that I almost hated myself for letting my jealousy control me. I took a deep, breath, steeling my resolve for the real question.

"Did you forge the peace contracts between the nations?"

Yue-Senn’s fingers stilled against my skin. His eyes darkened completely. "Who told you that?"

"Answer me, please. And I want the absolute, truth, Yue-Senn."

He stared at me for a long, beat before his jaw tightened. "I did."

I immediately stood up from the bed, tearing myself away from his touch as a cold horror gripped my chest.

"Why would you do something so monstrous?! Do you not see the sheer, devastation you have caused across the realms?!"

"I did it because I wanted you," he stated flatly.

"That doesn’t sound completely creepy at all," I snapped, my voice rising.

Yue-Senn stood up from the mattress, the towel hanging dangerously loose on his hips. I instinctively took a sharp step back as his massive frame loomed over me.

"My ultimate goal is quite simple, Ry," he said, stepping into my space with an unyielding intensity. "I want an absolute, unmatchable power that no ruler in this world can ever challenge. I want to rule over all the collective nations, and to successfully do so, I absolutely needed you by my side."

"You are sick."

"How is wanting the power to protect what’s mine considered sick?" he countered, his eyes flashing with a soft glow.

"That’s the thing, Ry I did think about every single consequence. Did you never stop to wonder why I didn’t forge the Southern contract and left it exactly as it was?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "What?"

"The South is the one nation I want to see burn into complete ash and entirely disappear from the map," he hissed.

"There were only two single variables that I failed to calculate in my entire master plan: your sister’s psychotic, obsessive hatred for you... and falling completely, irrevocably in love with you."

My breath caught entirely in my throat. I stared at him, my voice a barely audible whisper. "Say... say that last part again."

"Falling in love with you," he repeated, stepping close enough that I could feel the radiant heat radiating off his bare skin.

"I gladly destroy every single thing and person that was stands in the way of making you permanently mine. Now that I finally have you, I am never letting you go. I love you, Ryophlira Aidiriel Vhaelor Kageyama."

The rest of the world completely dissolved into white noise. I couldn’t hear the looming threat of war, the betrayal of my sister, or the politics of the crown the only thing echoing in my skull was the weight of him saying he loved me.

I remembered our very first night together, when he had spoken those words and I had written them off as a beautifully crafted lie. But hearing him say it now, over and over with such honesty, devotion, made my heart beat entirely too fast.

My body felt as if it were burning from the inside out. Where are those screaming, vengeful dead to pull me out of this intoxicating spell when I actually need them?

Driven by a sudden desire for him and instinct, I crossed the small distance between us with a quick, desperate pace. I leaped up, throwing my legs around his waist. Yue-Senn instantly caught me, his arms locking around my body without a single second of hesitation.

I tangled my fingers deep into his damp, dark hair, yanking his head down to smash my lips against his.He let out a low, rough growl into my mouth, his grip tightening instantly. One of his powerful hands pressed firmly into my lower back while his other arm slid under my thighs, squeezing my flesh as he returned the kiss with a desperate, crushing hunger.

I could feel his heart racing against my chest.

Still locking our lips together, he strode across the floor toward the heavy writing desk. With a single, sweeping motion of his hand, he ruthlessly hurled the inkwells, scrolls, and books off the surface, sending them crashing onto the floor.

He lifted me up and placed me firmly on the edge of the dark wood. Without breaking the kiss, his hands gripped the delicate lace of my white lingerie and ripped it down the center, tearing the fabric apart completely.

The silk fell away, and my breasts popped out into the cool air of the room. Yue-Senn immediately cupped one breast in his palm, squeezing the sensitive flesh ruthlessly. I let out a loud, breathless moan straight into his mouth, my arching spine pressing me further into his touch.

He pulled back from the kiss by a fraction of an inch, his breathing ragged as he stared down at me. Looking up into his dark, desire-filled face, my eyes turned completely glossy with. "Can I have more of you... please?" I begged, my voice a broken whisper.

Yue-Senn didn’t say a word. He slammed his mouth back down on mine, kissing me significantly harder this time, his tongue tangling with mine as my hands gripped his broad shoulders for dear life. One of his large hands slid behind my neck to hold me still, while his other hand slid down, parting my thighs and sliding directly between my legs to press against my vagina.

His fingers slid against the slick, hypersensitive folds of my skin. "Wet already, I see," he murmured against my lips between hot, heavy kisses.

I felt like I was completely losing my mind, my sanity unraveling with every single touch of his hands. He pulled his mouth away from mine, dragging his lips down the column of my throat.

"Adding a few more fresh details to this beautiful artwork won’t hurt a bit," he growled. He clamped his teeth gently against the skin of my neck, sucking until the bruising heat left a trail of dark, heavy hickeys.

He pulled back from my neck, panting as his glowing green eyes locked directly onto mine. Reaching down, I grabbed the edge of the white towel wrapped around his waist and yanked it downward, letting the fabric pool uselessly onto the stone floor. His massive, length sprang free, fully exposed and pulsing between us.

Why does it have to get this incredibly big every single time? I thought, my vagina throbbing in response to the sight.

A smirk spread across Yue-Senn’s face. "When you look at me with that hunger in your eyes, Ry... I find it entirely impossible to control myself."

"Don’t hold back," I breathed, my fingers digging into his shoulders as I hooked my legs tighter around his hips. "I am ready."

I reached my hand down, wrapping my fingers tightly around the tip of his dick, using my other hand to anchor against his neck as I violently pulled him down to drown me in another kiss.