The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 265: Meeting the Midnight Queen

Chapter 265: Meeting the Midnight Queen

"Do you think I’m looking presentable enough?" Annalise asked as she fixed the loose strands of curls that were falling around her face. She had styled her hair in a bun for a change to look mature and elegant in front of the Midnight Queen.

"You are looking absolutely stunning, Little Bird," Kenric answered her question as he came to stand right behind her and looked into the full-length mirror that was reflecting both of them back.

Annalise felt good to hear Kenric’s compliment but she would be lying if she said that it made her anxiety go away at all, she was just unable to help it.

It seemed like her husband also realized that as the very next moment, Kenric closed the remaining space between their bodies, and his hands snaked around her waist from behind as he pulled her into a tight back hug.

"Stop worrying, love. Stop thinking that you are meeting the Queen of the Midnight Realm and only focus on the fact that you are about to meet our mother. Alright?" Kenric offered a solution to make her feel less anxious.

A deep sigh escaped Annalise’s lips as she shook her head at Kenric’s intelligence. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You aren’t helping at all, Kenric."

"Oops! My apologies." Kenric offered as the realization dawned over him.

"How about I use some of my skills to make you feel good and forget about all your anxiety?" Came another offer from him.

Annalise arched her eyebrows high in question as she stared right into his eyes through the mirror. "We... we have to leave in a few minutes. We shouldn’t be doing anything inappropriate at this moment." Annalise found herself saying as her brain wandered to all the wrong places but she couldn’t deny that an insane part of her was nearly tempted to accept his offer.

She watched as the corner of his lips stretched into an arc as a ghost of a smile bloomed on his lips right before he spoke - "I was talking about using my spells to help you calm down. What can be inappropriate about that?"

"..."

Annalise was left completely speechless as she felt her cheeks burning up in embarrassment but a part of her knew pretty well that he was teasing her.

Pulling herself out of his arms, she put some distance between the two of them. Once again she tried to adjust her appearance even though there was barely anything to adjust.

She felt Kenric stepping closer once again and then the very next moment, she felt his soft lips against her temples as he planted a soft kiss there.

"Sorry for being playful. I must not make fun of you in a situation like this. My apologies." Kenric apologized genuinely as he played with one of her curls with his finger.

"What are you apologizing for?" Came Damien’s question as he and Valerius entered the room.

Annalise turned to face her other two husbands and immediately noticed how well they had dressed up for the event just like their youngest brother Kenric.

As for Annalise, she had chosen a lemon colored dress for the day with golden jewelry. She didn’t want to disappoint her Mother-in-law by dressing up badly for the meal but at the very same time, she didn’t want to dress up too extravagantly.

"For teasing her." Kenric confessed as he gave Annalise a warm smile.

"You sure know how to make her sad or unhappy, don’t you?" Damien reprimanded his brother as he came to stand next to Annalise.

"You are looking beautiful, Princess." His warm breath fanned her skin as he whispered the words to her right before he took hold of her face between his palms and then placed a soft and heart fluttering kiss on her forehead.

Annalise felt her heart filling with warmth as she allowed herself to enjoy the beautiful moment of peace that he brought to her in that moment.

"It’s almost time. We should get going." Valerius informed as he came to stand next to Kenric.

The sweet and calm feeling disappeared almost immediately as soon as the words entered Annalise’s ears and the anxiety was back.

"Valerius?" Damien’s tone made it pretty clear that he was very much disappointed with his brother.

On the other hand, Valerius too noticed the shift in his wife’s mood because of their newly completed mate bond. In the very next blink, he was right in front of her with his hands taking hold of hers.

"I know that you are very nervous about meeting mother and despite how much we will try to make you feel calm, it’s not going to help much. But I still want you to know at least one thing for sure..." Valerius brought her hands close to his mouth before he placed a kiss on the back of her fingers and then continued - "... the three of us will forever with you. Right here... by your side."

Annalise didn’t waste any time as she immediately threw her hands around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. The warmth that filled her entire body made her eventually feel calmer than before.

After a few moments, she finally pulled away and looked at her all three husbands. "Thank you for being here and trying to make me feel supportive. I will try my best to make... mother... like me."

The Princes smiled as they all nodded their head. Valerius took hold of her hand before all four of them headed toward the main palace where the meal was going to take place.

* * *

Annalise took in the beauty of the main palace as she walked next to Valerius while Kenric and Damien also followed. The four of them were heading toward the dining hall.

They finally arrived in front of the closed double doors of the dining hall which were immediately opened by the guards standing at post outside.

The interior was even more grand and beautiful when compared to the exterior and despite her worry for the meeting, Annalise was still overtook by curiosity as her eyes scanned her surroundings restlessly.

"Calm down, Little Bird. You can take your full time to take a look around the palace after the meal." Kenric teased her as they all made their way to the huge dining table that could easily accommodate over fifty or so people.

Annalise huffed in response before she took a seat on the chair that Valerius pulled out for her before taking a seat right next to her. Damien also settled down in the chair on her other side while Kenric took a seat opposite them.

"What a view." Kenric commented as he winked at Annalise who looked up at him and almost choked on thin air at his open shamelessness.

Their attention was pulled away from one another and toward the entrance as the double doors of the dining hall opened for a second time.

Annalise found her body moving even before her brain gave the order as she followed her husbands’ suit and stood up to welcome the Midnight Queen.

One look at the Dark Fae Queen and anyone would be enchanted beyond saving, she was that beautiful and... deadly.

Even from such distance, Annalise could feel the powerful aura of the Midnight Queen. Undoubtedly, her Mother-in-law was the most powerful person she had ever met in her life. She looked bold, elegant, commanding but also warm.

The Princes bowed to greet their mother and so did Annalise.

"It’s a family time, no need to be so formal." The Midnight Queen spoke in a warm tone as she took her seat at the head chair of the dining table before everyone else followed. It was at that moment Annalise realized that she was sitting really close to the Queen. This realization only caused her more panic.

She felt a hand finding hers beneath the polished wooden dining table and her eyes immediately found their way to Valerius’s face and she found him looking back at her with a reasurring look.

"You all really make a wonderful family."

The Midnight Queen’s sudden compliment almost made Annalise snatch her hand away from Valerius’ but she stopped herself right before she would have ended up a spectacle of herself in front of the Midnight Queen.

"Mother, she’s been on edge all this time because of meeting you. I can still feel her heart beating madly. Can you please let her know that you aren’t that hard to get along with?" Kenric spoke all of a sudden from the other side of the table, totally surprising Annalise who wanted to just disappear.

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