c h a p t e r N I N E | | Gabrijela Kavynier

The bright warmth streaming in from the floor to ceiling windows kissed Gabrijela gently on her face, causing her to stir awake. 

A sigh of content escaped her lips as she snuggled deeply into the familiar smooth silk sheets that covered the familiar soft bedding of the bed she laid in. 

Snuggling deeper into the sheets, she froze at the sudden thought of how her comforters smelt different than usual. Her dark brown eyes flew open only to be engulfed by a sea of black. Black ceiling. Black comforters. Black walls. A simple black room that only consisted of a large California bed, in the middle, that she was currently lying in. The total opposite of her own white and gold room that was fully furnished. Panic overtook her body as she sat upright. The last thing Gabrijela remembered was walking out of Grande Bar for a walk, everything else that happened after that was blank. She could not remember how she got here or where she was. 

Clumsily fumbling the comforters off her body, a sigh of relief sounded from Gabrijela's lips. Thank god I still have my clothes on. Nothing feels off. But I do reek of alcohol. Thank the Goddess I don't have a hangover. 

A knock on the door in front of her caused Gabrijela to startle at the sudden sound. Her head flew up just as the door opened and in sauntered the most beautiful man Gabrijela had laid her eyes on. Even more than him. 

The beautiful stranger had skin that seemed to gleam golden as the sunlight streaming in hit his naturally tanned skin. Even though his arms were crossed across his broad well-defined chest, his chiseled jaw was relaxed; A perfect example of indifference. But Gabrijela knew that it was just a façade. She could tell that he was on edge from how stiff the man's shoulders were. His tousled dark hair fell over his eyes as the man walked in and towards the bed. Even though the man seemed untouchable, due to the coldness that surrounded him, Gabrijela was not afraid of him. Instead she was intrigued by him. What had he gone through to make him so cold? Or was she just intrigued by his pretty face?

He was far different from the usual type of lover she always seemed to entangle with. They were usually men with a much more slender build and a charming, bright personality. But there was something about him that captivated her. His tall, well-built stature was pure muscle. His cold demure. She had usually found men like that unattractive. So, why was she feeling her heart leap in excitement? It had been a long time since her heart thumped so violently in her chest. She was worried that it would jump right out of her body if it thumped any harder.

The man's baritone voice rang through the empty room, sending tingles from Gabrijela's heart all the way down to her core. "I see you're a-" Running his right hand through his dark luscious hair, the beautiful stranger stopped mid sentence as his emerald green eyes met her dark brown eyes. Memories of what happened the night before rushed through Gabrijela's mind. 'Did he save me? Where is that Rogue now? He's going to wish he was never born.' Followed by dreams that seemed like fragments of someone else's memories, featuring the gorgeous stranger that had somehow climbed onto the bed and had his face so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath on her face. 

Oddly enough, this morning's events should have made her feel more repulsed by the idea of someone being in her personal space. Instead, she wasn't. 'Gosh I'm such a slut. He's so handsome.'

Her face flushed a light pink as blood rushed to her face. "Val-ddy." She instinctively and softly called out as she turned her face away from his. His warm breath tickled her neck causing her to suck in a deep breath of air as she felt tingles down her core. 'The sheets smell like him.' 

Her face flushed a darker shade of red when she remembered that, that was the nickname the owner of the new memories called him and that his real name was Valdus. Clearing her throat, Gabrijela tried to push the gorgeous stranger off as she called out his name loud and firm this time, "Valdus."

"Fuck." Valdus cursed, his silver eyes flashed back to their beautiful emerald green, as he backed away from Gabrijela. Gabrijela looked away from him, too embarrassed to look him in the eye. 'What is this feeling?' She had never shied away from anyone's glaze before. She either glared back in disgust or smirked in challenge. 

"I'm sorry. I-" Valdus stuttered, seemingly at a loss for words as he continued to stare intently at Gabrijela's face. 

Just as Gabrijela was about to reply, a familiar voice roared from outside. "I'll kill you all if she's missing even a strand of hair!"

The door exploded and a furious Conroy stormed in with a bunch of tall bulky warriors chasing behind him. His usual slicked back silver hair was a tousled mess on the top of his head. His eyes were a deep dark shade of purple. Gabrijela knew that he was mad. Mad mad. She needed to go calm him down before this room got destroyed; Or worse this whole place.

"Con, calm down. I'm alright." Gabrijela spoke out using her soothing voice that she had mastered over the years. With the number of children and refugees she had helped, it was no wonder she had mastered it over the years.

"Everyone except Sadfar out." Valdus' gruff voice commanded as he realized that even though the newcomer meant harm, the mystery woman, that had laid in his bed, seemed to have things under control. Even though he was curious as to how the mystery woman was related to Conroy Lancelot, he knew now was not the right time. Conroy might be a pet to the Kavynier Empire, but he was one of the strongest warlocks in the world. Valdus had never seen Conroy this furious before. Even when they were throwing backhanded comments with each other, Conroy had never once lost his temper.

"Damn it Gabby. Do you know how worried I was?" Conroy glared at his cousin, his eyes slowly lightening to a darker shade of their normal icy blue. Even though he was relieved that she was safe, he was still seething at the fact that things could have gone so wrong due to her carelessness. In addition, he found her in the lair of someone who had been looking at them with disdain. Did she not understand how much trouble this would have caused if something had happened to her in their hands? A war could break out because of that. Sure Conroy was willing to start a war for his cousin. But if it could have been avoided, why would he not?

"I'm sorry Con." Understanding that she had messed up, Gabrijela knew that it was time they made their leave. She could feel the weird tension that was rising between Valdus and Conroy, and Gabrijela was not sure she wanted to be caught in between them. 'Do they both know each other? Should I introduce them? But Valdus does not know my name either even though I know his. Feels weird to suddenly introduce myself now.'

Gabrijela must look ridiculous trying to climb out of the huge bed while holding the slit of her dress together so as to not expose herself. As she near the edge of the bed, her knee finally got caught in her dress. It was bound to happen, as she held the dress closer together, restricting her movements. Instinctively, Gabrijela let go of her dress as her arms swung up in front of her to brace the impact of the fall.

She let out a yelp of shock as she felt herself being pulled back by her waist and into something solid with a soft thud. "Be careful." Valdus' warm breath brushed against her ear, stirring something in her. Gabrijela could feel the heat radiating off his body and onto her back. Even though she hated unnecessary body contact with strangers, she oddly welcomed his warmth. They must have stayed in that position for a minute or so before they were interrupted. 

"Valdus. Alaric. Get your dirty paws off my cousin before I rip you apart." Conroy's words were filled with murderous intent as he stalked towards the pair. Making sure that Gabrijela had stabilized herself, Valdus let go of his firm hold on her waist as Conroy raised his right hand to help his cousin down the California bed. 

'Valdus Alaric? Why does that sound so familiar?' Gabrijela thought to herself for a moment before it hit her. Valdus Alaric, the notorious Alpha King of the Alaric Kingdom. Since the previous owner of the new memories had viewed Valdus as her lover, even though he held the title of Alpha Crown Prince, and the fact that Gabrijela had not interacted with the other Royals, it was understandable why his name did not ring any bells in her head until now.

"My apologies, Alpha King Valdus. I did not recognise you. I apologize for the inconvenience that my cousin and I have caused. May the blessings of Goddess Ermensinde be upon you and the Alaric kingdom." Gabrijela gave a small graceful curtsy in greeting. Even though there was no rule that royals need to bow or curtsy to one another, Gabrijela felt like she needed to show her respect for having imposed on someone else, what more a ruler of another kingdom.

"Why are you bowing to him, Gabrijela? He's a prick that doesn't deserve your respect." Conroy whined, feeling much more at ease now that his cousin was by his side and out of the clutches of his- their necessary acquaintance; They were unfriendly with one another but, only because the Peace Treaty had bound them together, they were not to be enemies. They were only acquaintances on the surface to ensure that another war would not break out.

"Cousin?" Safdar could not hide his surprise at the new found information. It was widely known that Conroy was the cousin to Emperor Kavynier. However, did Conroy have another cousin that no one remembered? That could not be. Conroy's mother was the beloved younger sister to the late Emperor Kavynier, while Conroy's father was an only child. Did the Kavynier family have another child that was unknown to the world?

Sensing the confusion, Conroy smirked deviously as he announced, "Yes. My cousin. The one and only ruler of the Kavynier empire, Empress Kavynier."