The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 94: Into Her Memories

Chapter 94: Into Her Memories

Annalise took a deep breath to collect her thoughts before she started speaking again, "Every royal agreement needs sacrifice from at least one of the parties involved, and since our empire was the one to ask for your help, we needed to make that sacrifice."

"A marriage alliance is always considered the best guarantee for any agreement and considering I was the only royal princess who wasn’t already married, I was chosen as the candidate for your bride."

There was a long silence following her explanation before Damien finally spoke, "Is that all?" His question made her finally turn her face to look at him.

"Do you think it’s not enough of a reason? Let me remind you again, My Lord - I’m the only daughter of the Grand Duke of the Seelie Empire and one of the princesses of the land. My family is devoted to putting the empire first and we did exactly that when it was needed. Besides, the royal edict didn’t give me or my family much of an option."

Damien immediately wrapped his arm around her as he pulled her back into his arms and whispered next to her ear, "Don’t be mad, Princess. I’m trying to understand things better so that I can finally make my decision. I hope my questions won’t offend you."

Annalise found herself relaxing, the anger that was rising inside her immediately got melted away at his warmth and affection. She could feel through the bond just how sincere he was.

"I..." Damien tried to speak but then stopped. However, she remained silent and patiently waited for him to continue which he eventually did after a few moments. "... Did your father or the King ever mention something about... about a plan... or something?"

Annalise stared at her husband in confusion, not understanding exactly what he was trying to imply by the word ’plan’. "They never did and I have no idea why you think that... mmph...!" The rest of her words were silenced by the sudden kiss that took her by complete surprise.

His tongue invaded her mouth as he kissed her deeply, his arm tightening its hold around her waist as he pulled her closer against his body while his other hand made its way to her hair as his fingers tugged on them lightly.

The kiss was fast, deep, and imploring. She almost felt like he was trying to seek something from her with that kiss... and she was indeed right about it.

-

Damien explored deeper into his mate’s emotions through the bond as he kissed her like there was no tomorrow. He and his soul both were pretty aware that how wrong he was to use their bond in such a way to peek into her memories but he needed to do that.

He needed to find if his mate was really as innocent as she appeared and his heart claimed her to be. He kept feeling like he had actually misunderstood her and she wasn’t fooling him and his brothers because there was no way he wouldn’t have felt any maliciousness through their bond if she had any sort of bad ideas toward him and his brothers.

And since he was torn between the feelings of his heart and the reality that he saw and heard in the Royal Palace, the bond was the only option left for him to find out the truth. His heartbeat was so fast as he kept imploring deeper into her memories, a part of him was so afraid about finding out anything that was not what he wanted to see.

He found her childhood memories with her parents, her learning about the history of realms and magic, her growing up learning about various rules and regulations that a woman should follow throughout her life, and then there was finally the day when she got the edict from the Royal Palace.

She was dressed in a simple but still very beautiful and elegant green dress that flowed around her as she walked. Her long platinum blue hair was styled beautifully with golden hairpins that matched perfectly with her jewelry. She was dressed according to her nobility and status as the Princess of the Empire, looking just as pretty as an angel.

He watched as she kneeled down in the front garden of her mansion along with her parents and staff as the royal edict was handed over to her. The shock and confusion were clearly evident on her beautiful face as she turned to look at her father.

The memories fast forward for the next few minutes, showing him exactly what he wanted to see. In the next part, she was in her father’s study - a place he recognized pretty well after he visited her home.

He noticed the desperate look on her face as she kneeled in front of her father’s study table while the Grand Duke continued to write something on parchment without sparing a single glance in her direction.

’Father, what’s up with this marriage edict? Why am I suddenly getting married to the Dark Lords of the Cursed Castle?’ Annalise asked her father, her voice filled with desperation as she sought answers.

’Can’t you see that it’s His Majesty who has decided this marriage for you? There’s nothing that can be done now, Annalise. The empire needs the Dark Lords and your marriage will be able to help in this matter. You should return to your room and start preparing for the marriage.’ The Grand Duke replied in a monotone as he continued with his writing.

’But why me? Why do I have to sacrifice myself? Why I have to...’ Annalise trailed off when her father suddenly slammed his hand against the table, making her jump and stop speaking immediately.

’If not you then who? Did you ever question all these years why you are the one with the grand title of the empire’s youngest princess? Did you ever question why you are the only daughter of the Grand Duke of this empire? While growing up with all the love and comfort, did you ever question why you were this lucky while others weren’t?’