Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 213: Nazia

Chapter 213: Nazia

The rest of their journey to Nazia was even more tiring than Ave had expected it to be. They traveled for hours on end without stopping for long to rest. Lucian only made brief stops for his wife’s sake to either give her water or the fruit they had packed with their things in the palace. The soldiers, who had seemed not to like her at first, were being much more considerate this time as they kept asking her and the rest of the girls if they needed them to camp somewhere.

Ave didn’t want to cause any delay to their journey, especially now that she knew why they had to put so much distance between them and the capital. Her life and Lucian’s were in danger, and the sooner they got to Nazia, the sooner they could make plans to take back the Empire before Elara ruined everything like she had in the future history books.

Ave slept for a whole night and woke up behind Lucian, and yet they hadn’t reached their destination. She was too exhausted to even admire Nazia when they finally got there the next morning. Her thighs and legs were numb from the cold and sitting in one position, and thankfully there was no snow in Nazia. However, winter still made itself known through the weather and cold.

Ave had dozed off several times during the journey to Nazia palace from the city. When the horse finally stopped, she blinked awake and found herself staring at the massive iron gates of Nazia’s castle.

The castle loomed before them, dark and imposing. Unlike the grand and sprawling palace of Pendragon, this one was smaller in size but no less intimidating. In fact, she thought it looked more intimidating than the Pendragon palace. Its high, pointed roofs were a deep charcoal color, and the stones that made up its walls were a shadowy gray, almost black. Even the guards stationed at the gates blended into the eerie atmosphere with their dark uniforms.

Ave dismounted the horse at Lucian’s instructions, and she watched as he walked up to the guards at the gates, who demanded to know who they were. After Lucian gave his identification, the men nodded and told him something which Ave didn’t hear. She saw Lucian turn to Zane and whisper something that made him frown before he nodded his head and turned to tell the other soldiers that they were all required to drop all of their weapons before being allowed into the Nazia palace. It was a rule of their kingdom that no guests could enter with their weapons.

Lucian’s soldiers, who numbered no more than fifty, grumbled about how dangerous it was to drop their weapons while entering a place they weren’t one hundred percent sure was safe. However, seeing how confident their prince was, they stepped forward one after the other and dropped their weapons with the Nazia soldiers at the entrance while Ave and the Pendragon siblings watched silently at the sides with exhausted faces.

Even though they had dropped their weapons, Lucian’s men were still searched thoroughly by the Nazia soldiers before they entered one after another. Ave couldn’t help but wonder why the Nazia soldiers were being this cautious about the small number of soldiers that came with Lucian. It was like they feared they would attack them or something.

Lucian walked back toward his wife and took her hand. "Let’s go," he whispered, noticing briefly how exhausted she looked and was yawning. He led her and his half-siblings into the palace, while his soliders were led to another quarter.

When they entered the Palace, Ave noticed there were no guards inside like in Pendragon. She only saw servants in strange outfits that revealed too much of their skin moving around the halls. They all stared at them strangely, with some whispering among each other with distressed looks in their eyes, as though the guests presence brought them discomfort.

They all had beautiful bronze skin that glowed under the dim lights of the halls, and their attire didn’t look fit for the weather as it left their arms and bellies bare. They had jewelry adorning their necks and bodies despite being servants. Ave wouldn’t have considered them servants had she not noticed them cleaning and dusting. They were too beautiful to be servants. Not to mention how curvy and young all the girls looked—no male servants, she noted. Their figures reminded her of ancient Greek goddesses.

"You’ve finally arrived, my brother from a different mother!" came a friendly voice from behind them that made Ave swirl around at the way the person addressed Lucian. She was met with a face she recognized, Prince Talinor. He was beaming as he walked toward them in a flowing white robe that showed his glistening muscular chest. He wasn’t wearing anything under the see-through white robe but a loose white trouser, a glass of wine in his hand, and he was barefoot, she noted when he came to stand before Lucian.

"Your Majesty," Lucian greeted him without bowing, and that brought a frown to settle on Ave’s face. Your Majesty? she thought as she looked at Lucian, who wasn’t looking at her because he was staring at the man before him, who howled with laughter at Lucian’s arrogance for not bowing to him. Since when did the prince become Your Majesty? she wondered as she watched their interaction.

"Only you can get away with that, Lucian." He patted his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "It took you days to get here when it would have taken you hours had you used your other form, tsk. And I see you brought guests..." He arched a brow as his eyes drifted to Ave, who stood beside him and the other two Pendragon princesses. But his eyes lingered more on Ave.

Ave couldn’t help the discomfort his stare was giving her, but she stood her ground and fought the urge to move behind Lucian from how his brown eyes bored down at her. She had been wondering what he meant by Lucian’s other form when his eyes came on her, and now she wished he would look away.

"Why is she with you? I thought you disposed of her that day?" King Talinor inquired with interest as he sized her up and down.

He was still staring at her when Lucian put himself in front of his wife and introduced her properly, "She’s Aveline Lucian Pendragon, my wife. It’s natural I’ll take her wherever I go, and I’ll appreciate it if you lower your gaze away from her," he said coolly as he knew how the men of Nazia treated women. They had no conduct when it came to women, and rulers always had the belief that every single woman in their kingdom and palace belonged to them and they could do as they pleased with them until they found their mate, which was why all the servants were adorned with jewelry.

Lucian wouldn’t allow his wife to be another man’s prey right in front of him—or should he say, a wolf’s prey.

Ave, who was blocked by the broad frame of her husband, was taken aback by the fact that he introduced her by her name to the man when they’d known her as Selene. She could see the confused frown on the faces of the Pendragon siblings and even Lydia.

King Talinor let out a bark of laughter at Lucian’s words as if he’d said something funny before he shook his head. "Changing her name doesn’t change the fact that she isn’t fit for someone like you. And don’t worry about me, I have no interest in human females." He remarked, his voice laced with a hint of disgust that made Ave’s confused frown deepen. What did he mean by human females? Weren’t they human? She wondered as she peeked her head from behind Lucian and saw as the king called for one of the servant girls moving around the halls.

When the servant girl came to stand beside him, smiling seductively, Talinor tugged her forward by pulling at the gold chain around her waist. He kissed her on the lips open-mouthed, which made Ave scrunch her nose at the act. She heard the Pendragon twin siblings gasp from the side and blush in embarrassment. He pulled away and whispered to the girl to show them to their rooms so they could freshen up then come down and eat breakfast with his family in the dining hall.

"We have a lot to talk about, Lucian," he remarked seriously, and, looking toward Ave one last time, he strode away toward the door he had walked out from. Ave didn’t know why everything about Nazia and the people in the palace rubbed her the wrong way. Something wasn’t right.

Lucian took her hand as they followed the servant girl up the stairs, which were also built with dark stones and dark rails, with a gray thick fur rug that led up the stairs. And just like the crazy king, the servants were barefoot with gold around their ankles.

Before they arrived at their own room, the servants showed Isolde and Celeste their room—they would be sharing one—and then they showed Orion his, next to his sisters’. The siblings looked hesitant to enter the rooms, glancing warily toward Lucian as if afraid that if he left them alone, something bad would happen. They had never been away from home before, and this was the first time it was happening without their mother to tell them what to do or how to act.

"Can’t we all ladies stay in the same chamber?" Celeste asked, unsure why she felt scared being away from Lucian and Ave in this strange castle with its strange king and servants.

"My wife stays with me. Go on inside, there is nothing to worry about," Lucian assured them when he noticed their wariness. They nodded and got inside, with a few servants following behind them with trays and folded clothing they would change into after freshening up. Then they continued to walk down the hall with the servant girl leading them.

"Since when was he king?" Ave asked in a whisper as they entered another room the girl led them to.

"He had been king from the beginning but kept it a secret from Pendragon as the means he used to become king would raise questions among the humans and..." Lucian stopped short as he realized he was giving out too much information he wasn’t supposed to when he hadn’t explained everything to her first. To tell her everything, she would have to know about him first, and he wasn’t ready to reveal that to her yet. He didn’t want to scare her away from him with the revelation that he wasn’t completely human but a monster. Not to mention when the full red moon was approaching.

Even though he would tell her about himself, it wouldn’t be until after the full red moon occurred in a few days.

Ave looked up at him when he stopped talking. What did he mean by the human? Wasn’t he one? She had suspected him to be a night creature before, but seeing how he didn’t look like the drawing in the spell book, she had thought otherwise. And now that she knew of the Empress being one, could it be that he was one as well and was hiding in a human form? She pondered. She had let this be for so long; asking him and getting to know him better would be the best now that she would likely be his wife until the end of time.

"Lucian, you—" she began to speak when a line of servants came in with the clothes and jewelry they would change into, and she realized if she wanted to talk to him about this matter and get a clear answer, it wouldn’t be in the presence of others. Especially when she noticed he looked relieved at the interruption and told her to go ahead and freshen up. He would do that in the next room so they wouldn’t keep the Nazia royals waiting on them too long.

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