The next day, Anna showed up at the barracks. The first person she met was Tristan. She’d spent the whole night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Each time she closed her eyes all she saw was blood. All she heard was crunch.

"I’d like to bury Villis’s body."

Tristan offered her a charming smile. "That won’t be necessary, your highness. General Leon and I have taken care of it."

Anna rubbed her temples. No matter how much she soaked in medicated water, she still felt wilted and groggy. "Why?" She groaned.

"There’s nothing you need to trouble yourself with, your highness. Word has been sent to his people, he met his demise at the hands of an Empath beyond the palace walls."

Anna snapped her gaze back at him. "Why Empath?" She asked.

"They’re the ones known to be quiet brutal in their methods of stamping out one’s existence." He said, smiling like he was just delivering the best news of his life.

A chill ran down Anna’s spine. "Where’s Leon?"

"He joined the soldiers on an expedition."

"You let them go on an expedition without any devices?! They could die!" Anna exploded, her eyes wide.

"They won’t die, your highness. These men are highly trained. And the General is with them, don’t you have faith in your husband?"

Your husband.

My wife.

The way Tristan said it...almost angry.

Anna shuddered, shaking those unpleasant words away. "Just call him General, or Leon."

"Does calling him your husband make you uncomfortable?" Tristan questioned, his voice dropping an octave.

Anna stared blankly at him. "What does it matter to you?"

His eyes scanned her face, down her neck and back up to her eyes. Darkness filled his naturally blue eyes. But when Anna blinked, it was gone.

"I’ve spoken to the stone supplier, he’s ready to meet us. We should go, don’t you think so?"

He’s creepy.

But he hasn’t done anything that shows he’s creepy. Aside kill Villis, of course. And touch me with bloodied hands.

Still, her spirit wasn’t relaxed with him.

"Very well. I’m going alone." She announced, gathering her gown in her hands.

"That’s not adviced your highness. As you said yourself, we are without devices. Anything could happen to you. I’m coming with you."

The last thing Anna wanted was to be alone with him.

"Fine. On one condition." She said.

"Whatever it is." Tristan agreed.

Anna left and returned with Ray. "He’s coming with me, with us."

"I’m coming too," a playful voice said from behind.

Anna gasped, pleasurable shivers coursing down her spine. She spun around, coming face to face with Kai. He was fully dressed, his hair casually swept over one shoulder. He looked handsome with a dangerous edge.

He flashed her a grin, shark fangs glinting in the morning light. "Hi," he waved.

Anna wanted to throw herself in his arms. Instead, she cleared her throat and waved back. "Hey."

Tristan looked between them, his brows furrowed.

Ray, blinking back the sun, also showed confusion. After he followed Anna and found out what she did with the severed head, his distrust for Kai grew. The Princess had no idea what she’d just done, allowing Kai to eat someone again, even if that person was dead. And true to his suspicions, Kai was intrigued.

Ray wiped the sweat off his brow and sighed softly. Anna noticed this and her heart sank. She walked up to him and pulled him to the side. "Hey, you know you don’t have to do this right? The sun isn’t good for you and—"

"Your highness," Ray took her hand and offered her a sweet smile. "I appreciate your worry. But I’m not a mythical vampire that burns up in the sun."

"Well vampires come from bats, and they all share the same..." she trailed off, a light pink dusting her cheeks. Ray found the color adorable. The pink would have matched her eyes, if they were still pink. "Sorry, that was a bit rude."

"I can handle a little bit of sun," he said, holding onto her hand tighter. "The only problem is where I get exposed to it repeatedly and more often. Other than that? I’m fine." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

She didn’t look convinced. Ray’s cold heart warmed over. She’s worried about me. I should set her heart at ease, she’s not supposed to worry about me when she has so much else to do.

"I’m fine, your highness." He said again.

"Are you sure? I mean these two aren’t the best escorts but I don’t want you to be hurt."

Hurt? Ray would have laughed. He doubted Kai or Tristan could do any real damage to him. But he preferred to stay out of trouble.

"I won’t be—"

"Hey cutie! What are you two whispering about?" Kai appeared, throwing his arm over the Princess’s shoulder and pulling her away from Ray.

Bitterness filled Ray’s heart. Does Kai think he can touch the Princess anyhow just because he kissed her once?

Ray caught his thoughts, realizing how jealous they sounded. He didn’t care if Kai kissed the princess or not...he really didn’t care. Afterall, she didn’t belong to one person. She was married to all of them.

All of them.

Ray found himself looking at her mouth.

He quickly looked away.

"Your arm is heavy," Anna groaned to Kai but didn’t move his hand.

Ray saw that. To make matters worse, Kai snapped his jaws at Ray. A subtle warning to stay away.

She’s my wife too! Ray almost shouted. He calmed himself down, working his jaw till his teeth ground together.

"We should start getting ready," the General spoke, stepping up to the trio.

Every sense of danger Ray possessed went into overdrive.

This was the real reason he wanted to come with the Princess on this trip. This General, Ray didn’t trust him. Ray couldn’t read his thoughts, it was like listening to darkness. That’s impossible, even babies have thoughts. For him not to have thoughts it was a red flag.

He should warn the Princess.

"Your highness—" Ray started to say but Kai cut in.

"What’s the matter? What do you want? Why don’t you go back to your cave if everything is too much sensory information for you?" Kai snapped.

"Behave yourself," Anna scolded, finally pushing him away. "Ray, is everything okay?"

Ray, unfazed by Kai’s harsh tone, observed them. First he looked at at Kai, then Tristan. He didn’t like the heavy feeling in the atmosphere. He didn’t like how either of them looked at the Princess, especially Kai. The shark beastman looked ready to devour the Princess, leaving not even bones behind.

Regret filled Ray’s heart. If he knew better, he would have stopped her from going to Kai yesterday. But now it was too late.

"Nothing is wrong." He lied, smiling softly to dissuade her.

Meanwhile, Anna wasn’t dumb.

She knew Kai didn’t just show up because he suddenly forgave her and wanted to be around her.

She felt it when he touched her shoulder. She heard it in his voice.

He was hungry. And not just any kind of hunger, something more scary and intense.

For a while, she wondered if it was her fault after yesterday. Then she reminded herself it couldn’t be.

Kai was a shark, they were primal, bloodthirsty, and intense by nature. Plus he had been chained up indoors for days, surely he needed to satiate his bloodlust.

That was what bothered her.

The feeling simmering under everything that he will do something drastic on this trip.

She snuck a look at him from the corner of her eye. He was talking to Tristan, his composure relaxed and his eyes guarded. Then she looked a bit further and saw Ray watching the two of them, biting his thumb barely aware of what he was doing. Sweat dotted his brow, and his wings folded tightly on his back. His brows knotted together and his expression was unsettled.

Anna wished she could sit this trip out.

However bound by responsiblity, she went ahead.

She excused herself and returned to her room. After getting changed into more comfortable clothes of a shirt, pants and riding boots, she tied her hair up and kept her makeup and jewelry minimal. The goal was to blend into the crowd and not stand out as the Princess.

After that, she met with the men.

She wasn’t entirely surprised to see Kai and Tristan close to throwing fists, and Ray distanced from them under a shade.

"It’s like I have overgrown kids," she muttered under her breath. "This is exactly why I don’t want kids." She stormed up to them and instantly they fell in line.

"Looking cute, cutie." Kai said with a bold wink. "Good enough to eat."

"Oh shut up! You’re not eating anyone!" Ray snapped from where he sat.

"Not even a little bite?" Kai asked, his eyes intense as they roamed over Anna’s body.

Tristan smacked the back of his head. "Behave yourself. You stand before the Princess, act accordingly."

Kai rolled his eyes, then walked up to Anna and took her hand. With his gaze burrowing into hers, he kissed the back of her hand.

Before she could swoon, he turned her hand around and chomped down on her palm.