It felt good to finally be at a place, indoors, away from the sun and not have to ride on the same horse with Ryder. He was seemingly protective of her. Maybe a bit too protective, and that worried her because she never could tell when he would switch and return to his normal self of not caring about anyone but himself.

She sighed and took in as much air as her lungs could allow, and she smiled. It was the first time she had been in Rocheveron, she had never gone too far from Dragonsbane. Heck, she had never gone too far from the castle in Dragonsbane, so a part of her was actually happy that she could be free in a way and go on adventures, but she had been kidnapped and even her kidnappers protected her as her family had done but they did not restrict her as much.

There was a sudden light knock on the door and Lyra turned away from the balcony and stepped back into the room. “Who is it? She asked. “Come in.”

The door was opened and a servant girl walked inside, holding a tray of food. On sighting the food tray, Lyra’s stomach grumbled and she looked at the girl in embarrassment and then chuckled nervously.

“Please set it down on the table.” She said and the girl did as she was told, she bowed slightly to Lyra, and then as quietly as she had stepped in, she stepped back out, closing the door behind her.

Lyra clapped her hands together and rubbed them in glee, her eyes already devouring the food set before her on the table as she made herself comfortable on the chair in front of the table, ready to eat. Although the dishes set before her were somewhat different from the cuisine of Dragonsbane she had been used to all her life, and also not too different from the food she had grown used to from Astaroth, she was eager to try out something different. She let out a breath of satisfaction and went straight for the drumstick.

Just as she let her teeth sink into the soft and well-cooked flesh of the animal, the door was thrown open forcefully, startling her. She turned towards the door with the drumstick still in her mouth to meet the angry glare of Ryder, she swallowed and her body went stiff. What now?

“What are you doing?” He asked as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Lyra frowned and tore off the part of the meat she had bitten. She placed the rest back on the plate and chewed what she had in her mouth. She kept her attention on Ryder but did not reply to him. He walked up to her and looked down at the food she was about to eat, then he looked at her, his face softened but she could tell he was still angry, but why?

“Do you just eat whatever is presented to you?”

She frowned but continued chewing, she had no intention of replying to him but just at that moment, her stomach grumbled and she looked away from him in embarrassment.

“Curse my luck.” She grumbled under her breath and reached out for the drumstick again, holding it firmly in her hand.

“You don’t just throw whatever is given to you into your mouth, Lyra.” He said to her, there was no hint of anger in his voice but his face was portrayed differently. “This is a different kingdom and we don’t know if they are enemies or allies yet. You don’t eat food from strange places.”

“Strange places like Astaroth?” She replied looking up at him, angry that he had just interrupted the feast she was supposed to have. He shot her a look and sighed then walked away from her. She frowned and turned away from him, bringing her attention back to the food on the table and she sighed. He was not wrong though, she should not just eat what she was given in a strange place and then he said he wasn’t sure if they were enemies or allies, then why were they still here?

She turned back to him to ask, but her words caught in her throat when she saw him and she gasped and stood up abruptly from her seat, her cheeks turning red. He had his back to her and he was shirtless, his body was magnificent and somehow she had the urge to run her fingers across his back. His back, was full of scars, battle scars no doubt but they were not disfiguring, rather they added to his masculinity and Lyra found the scars to be sexy, her breath hooked in her throat when he turned to her slightly but he wasn’t looking at her.

Just the sight of his nude body melted her, his swelled chest, well-defined abs, and his biceps, all these he hid under his clothes, and for good reason too. He was too tempting.

He brought his attention to her and she stumbled back a little, snapping out of her trance and she pointed a shaking finger at him. “Wh…what do… do you th… think you are doing ri… right now Ryder?!” She stammered.

He looked at her confused, opened his palm, and shrugged his shoulders. “What?”

“You are undressing in my room. What do you think you are doing?”

“I intend on staying in this very room…”

“But… but I was given this room. You are not allowed to, I will not allow you to.” Her finger still pointed at him. He walked towards her possessively and Lyra’s body trembled, she brought her hand back down to her side and held on to the table behind her.

He walked up to her and stood so close that he practically had her pinned between himself and the table behind her. She swallowed and turned her head away, her heartbeat accelerating and shivers constantly running down her spine.

She swallowed again and whispered. “You are standing too close Ryder.”

“I cannot let you out of my sight.” His voice was husky and deep, she wondered if he did what he was doing on purpose to arouse her because her body just refused to play it cool. “Because of what you are to me.”

She turned her head and looked him in the eye. “What am I to you?”

His hand came up to her hair and he stroked it gently. “You’re Khione. You are my Khione.”

She sucked in a breath, he was being gentle towards her which was rare, but she knew she was Khione as they had been mentioning ever since she had gotten to Astaroth, but then… “What does that mean? What am I really? What is a Khione?”

He looked her in the eye and a frown returned. “That is all you are allowed to know.” He spoke rather harshly and turned away from her, walking back towards the bed.

Lyra was stunned momentarily as she just watched him change suddenly and walk away. “What?”

“And you are not allowed to leave this room even if you are summoned but the king or queen of Rocheveron.”

She stomped her foot. “You want to keep me lock up here too?!”

“Except if you are in my company or Xanth’s.” He finished.

She crossed her arm over her chest and pouted. “I am no prisoner and I will do as I please when I please.”

He turned to her with a smirk and that caught her off guard, she dropped her hands and she suddenly became cautious, why would he smirk at her? He walked to her and she grabbed the table behind her again, turning away so she could at least get to the balcony and keep a distance between them both, but Ryder seized her arm and pulled her to himself. She gasped and yelped.

“Ryder, no! Let go!”

He turned her to himself and she could still see the weird smirk on his face, did she anger him again?

He wrapped one hand across her waist and the other hand went behind her neck, and without giving her time to react, his mouth came to her neck and he bit into it. Lyra shut her eyes and let out a painful scream as her body went lax and she allowed Ryder to hold her up.

“You’ve done this before,” She said as he pulled away from her, she stared into his eyes and her fingers came to her neck where he had just bitten. “This, you have done this before.”

He blinked once with no readable expression on his face. “You recall.”

She looked away from him, her fingers still massaging that spot on her neck that had now sealed. “Hazy, but yes.”

“Red is a dangerous color on you, Lyra.” The voice replayed in her head.

He looked away from her and replied. “That was a bonding mark to keep track of your whereabouts.”

She looked at him again. “And this?”

“Same thing.” He said, he wanted to tell her that it had been thirty-eight years since he had done that but he wondered if that would be too much information for her to recollect, so he held back. “Just think of it as an upgrade.”

“I never knew bite marks needed upgrades.” She chuckled and he smiled, it was the first time she had seen him smile, and dare she to say that it was beautiful. “You should smile more often, Ryder.”

He caught himself after she said that and the smile vanished from his face quicker than it came. “Show me your hands.”