The Blood King's Bride
Chapter Sixty Three

The walk to the royal dining room felt like a walk of death to Elena. She held onto her

tray tightly, following other maids as they headed to the room. Once they reached, Elena was greeted by a long table. She wondered if Firoza was joining them and who else was because the table was too big for just the royal family. Before Calhoun had returned, his parents ate at a much smaller table. Now that she thought of it, perhaps he was having a royal meeting. Hopefully, he would be too busy to notice her there.

She took a stand by the side of the table, where all the maids stood as they waited for the table's occupants. Elena could feel her legs shaking. She didn't know why she was afraid. Wasn't

it better if she knew what Calhoun's response to her might be and got it over with? Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself, then silently waited for the room's occupants.

The first guests to walk in were some of the king's advisers. Elena had seen them when Calhoun's father held court proceedings for him. She had been one of the passing maids in the court. When the advisors finally settled down, Calhoun's parents, the former king, and the royal mother were the next to enter. Everyone gave a bow to them as they walked in. Calhoun's parents settled in, and so finally, it remained just one person. Elena breathed in slowly, trying to calm her breath. She thought nothing wrong was going to happen, trying to calm herself.

A hush spread through the room as Calhoun finally walked inside. He never failed to make Elena's heart pound, and hers was pounding so painfully due to the fear of being found out and how handsome he was as he walked down the room towards the head of the dining table. Everyone bowed to him as he walked to his seat. She had to admit, her lover was more handsome in his homeland. More attractive and powerful looking. Perhaps that was why she was afraid. If people like James, who were lesser than him, had agreed not to see her, why would Calhoun, much more powerful, want to look her way?

Calhoun's dark hair had grown longer, and it hung in waves over his shoulders. His arms

were bulky and screamed power. She imagined those arms wrapped around her gently. His walk, the way he carried himself, it all screamed power. Her lover was powerful.

He was the Blood king.

Perhaps she should start focusing on that fact. But before she could have any more

thoughts about it, Calhoun had sat down on his table. He looked around those that occupied the

seats, and then he commanded, his face set in a brooding frown,

"Let the food be served."

Elena thought this was it as her heart beat rapidly in her chest. She was finally going to

meet Calhoun, just not how she had thought she would.

She could feel her heart pounding as she walked over to Calhoun's seat. Once she reached, she bowed her head and served him, still

unwilling to look at him. She was almost done with serving, and she thought that perhaps

he was too busy to notice her because he hadn't said anything. But as she was about to leave, Calhoun asked silently, so silently that she was sure she was the only one in the room who heard what he said.

"Look at me when I speak to you."

Had he been speaking to her? If he was, then she was messing up her maid cred.

"Didn't you hear me?" He said a bit more loudly. Any more, and people would start to

notice the tension. The other maids were almost done serving the dishes, and Elena didn't want to be the last man standing once they were done serving the food. Taking in a deep breath, she slowly raised her head and faced Calhoun. Hopefully, if all things didn't work out, his reaction would be worth it.

*****

Calhoun felt his heart drop as he looked into the lovely face of the woman he had been dreaming of for weeks. Then his heart revived and began a rhythmic thumping as he realized that

Elena was in his kingdom. She was in the Blood Kingdom. So he hadn't been crazy.

"Yes, my Lord?" She said. He frowned a bit, wondering why she called him that when he realized that they were not in private.

"Come to my study after all these." He commanded. He saw her eyes widen and cool as she nodded her head in response.

She returned after serving his food, and Calhoun and his guests began to enjoy their dinner. Calhoun had wanted to discuss the kingdom's affairs with his advisers and his parents. His father had told him that it wasn't necessary, but he was looking for a way to avoid Firoza coming to him and avoid thinking of Elena. His chest had hurt just whenever he thought of her. Fate had a funny way of messing with people. The object of his affection appeared in the meeting he designed to forget her temporarily. He remembered as he walked inside the dining room, and the first thing that hit him with full force was the smell. He knew this particular smell because it was unique only to Elena, but at this point, he didn't let his hopes up again because he had perceived it all around the castle, and he hadn't seen any sign of her. He had chalked it up to him missing her terribly. And so he swamped himself with work, making sure to forget her. As he sat down and ordered the food to be served, he immediately noticed that the smell was coming off the one who served him. He studied her silently and saw that she had the exact build as Elena. His heart began thudding in his chest, and then he couldn't help but ask her to look at him. She did so hesitatingly, and his world crashed and rebuilt by itself when she finally did.

His love was finally here.

He asked her to come to his study when she was done. He wanted to end the meeting immediately and drag her out of the room. But he still had to maintain his perfect image as the king, so he was forced to go through the meeting. He passed secret glances at Elena, and he felt his heart skip. He, the most powerful king of the four kingdoms, felt his heart skip because of a girl. He was about smiling but caught himself, remembering where he was. He also noticed something immediately. His powers have calmed. Now that he thought of it, his powers hadn't been disturbing him ever since he entered his castle as they had been when he was on the road back to his kingdom. That should have been the first sign that Elena might be in the castle, as she was the only one who could calm his powers. But he was too laden with grief to notice. The meeting lasted for another hour, and Calhoun had about had it with the way his

advisers argued with themselves. They were the ones preventing him from talking with Elena.

He sneaked another glance at her and noticed that her head was bowed. Still, even at that, she was so pretty.

Fed up, Calhoun stood up from his seat with a bang. They all faced him, surprised.

Calhoun was hyper. He was thrilled. He didn't want to spend his happiness on some old men that couldn't decide for themselves.

"That's enough for today." He said. "We would continue our meeting tomorrow." Then with one final glance at Elena, he walked out of the room.

He would finally be with his love in private.

*****

Once Calhoun dashed up and left the room as he had done, Elena couldn't help but feel embarrassed for him. She watched as the guests slowly started exiting the room; his parents, included, looked just as confused as everyone seemed. She joined the other maids to pick up the plates when they were left alone, and Elena picked up Calhoun's plate and went for the royal kitchen. She noticed that he didn't eat much of his food and wondered why. When they all stayed with old man Porv, Calhoun ate her food a lot. She smiled as she remembered the look of shock and happiness that radiated off his eyes once he saw her. She noticed the secret glances that he passed her way, and whenever he did, it took all she had not to fall, blushing heavily. Calhoun was happy to see her, and she couldn't wait to see him. She arrived at the royal kitchen and dropped his plates with the servants who would wash them, and she began to make her way to the royal study.

Once she arrived, she took a deep breath before knocking on the study door. Receiving no reply, she slowly opened the door and walked in. Immediately, she spotted Calhoun at his

desk. He looked at her as she walked in, his expression not betraying his emotions. "Your highness," Elena said, bowing. "You asked for me to come here." The study was thrown into a heavy silence. Elena began to worry when Calhoun didn't answer her, and before she could ask him another question, she heard as he stood up and walked towards her in long strides. Once he reached her, he stood before her and placed his hands on her chin, slowly raising her face. He studied her face with such intensity Elena felt her knees weaken. She was about to ask him if anything was wrong when Calhoun swooped down and covered her mouth with his. The kiss he offered her was intense as it was powerful, and her legs immediately lost their use. Fortunately, Calhoun held on to her waist, drawing her into him tightly. He enveloped her lips, dragging his teeth above the top and bottom. He nibbled, licked, and caressed. Calhoun tugged on her lower lips, causing her to open up, and immediately he swooped in with his tongue, battling her for dominance. Elena couldn't stop the moan that came out of her mouth, and Calhoun seemed to like her response because he groaned, holding her tightly into his body. Immediately, Elena felt herself being carried, and Calhoun did this without breaking their kiss. He walked to his room connected to his office, closed it, and then walked them towards his bed. He placed her gently on it, surrounding her with his presence. Finally, when they both found it hard to breathe, Calhoun broke their kiss and started laying soft kisses all around her, from her eyes to her neck, to her head, her cheeks. Elena was overwhelmed with all the feelings that were building up in her. She dragged her hands through Calhoun's hair, caressing its end. "Calhoun," she moaned when he kissed a sensitive spot. Calhoun seemed to like her response because he kissed her again in that same spot. She released a very sexual sigh that had Calhoun groaning.

Suddenly, Calhoun's kisses started moving downwards. He kissed her throat, chest, and

the top part of her breast. When she felt his hands moving up into her gown, she got her senses

back.

"Calhoun, I miss you too. Let's talk first before anything else happens, hmm?" She asked,

her voice heavy. Calhoun loomed above her, and he studied her with such love in his eyes that Elena Couldn't stop the tears that ran down her face. She slowly caressed his face, outlining his eyes, nose, and mouth.

"I missed you," she confessed. "I missed you so much."

Calhoun smiled down at her, and he couldn't help but give her another short kiss.

"You have no idea how I coped without you. I missed you so badly my love," he said,

removing a tendril of hair that had fallen on her face.

"I missed you a lot."