40. Chapter 40

Chapter forty

N iks mind raced with uncertainties as he followed his friend from the storage closet he'd been with Haven in. He hadn't meant to let slip that he'd never bedded a woman before. While Nik honestly didn't mind that Haven knew, it wasn't something he told a lot of people, or rather, anyone. Nik wasn't waiting for something special but he had his reasons behind his intact virginity. He just hoped he hadn't freaked Haven out or upset her with his accidental rejection.

Nik wasn't sure if he should seek her out later or not, he wanted to speak to her about what happened but he couldn't risk either of them getting more involved than they already were. It wasn't until Nik noticed that his friend was leading him the opposite direction of his fathers office that he was able to pull himself from his thoughts.

"Where are we going?" Nik asked

Delroy was leading Nik in the opposite direction of the ball. Wherever they were going, he assumed his father would be waiting.

"Your room" Delroy snipped

"Why?" Nik asked hesitantly

"Because you reek of sex with a certain soon to be queen"

Nik supposed that made sense. Honestly, his mind was still a little foggy.

Nik smirked at the thought of what they had been doing in that storage closet. Risking a glance at Delroy, Nik grimaced when he saw the scowl on his face.

"I could hear her all the way down the hall" Delroy told Nik, still refusing to look his way.

What Delroy said should have given Nik a pause, no one could know what happened between the two of them but damn it felt good to be the one making her scream like that, to confirm her words from the festival. Nik simply couldn't wipe the self satisfied smirk off his face.

"If you're not careful, someone is going to find out." Delroy told him, "That someone being your father"

Just like that, Niks smirk was wiped away.

They came to the wooden door leading to Niks room. Delroy unlocked the door and entered quickly. Striding to Niks desk, he pulled out a small white crystal and held it out to Nik.

"Thanks" Nik nodded, taking the crystal .

Delroy simply nodded and headed back through the open bedroom door. The pair immediately headed to meet with Niks father.

Along the way, Nik activated the crystal and dropped it into his pocket. It would hide his scent for a while and hide Havens scent on Nik, something he was infinitely grateful for. If his father found out what had just gone on between them, it would make his fathers year.

Even though his chest buzzed with an unfamiliar feeling he had never felt before, Nik told himself he needed to try harder to stay away from Haven. The two of them could not become involved like that again.

Nik did his best to put the memories of her out of his mind for now, instead choosing to focus on whatever ungodly thing his father had chosen to summon him about. As they turned the corner down the hall from his fathers office, Nik finally broke the unusual silence that had descended over him and his friend,

"Let's go find out what the miserable bastard wants"

***

*HAVEN*

On the way back to her room, Haven walked with a spring in her step. Maybe it was the orgasm, maybe it was finally knowing what Niks lips truly, felt like against hers, either way, she couldn't bring herself to be disappointed about missing out on speaking with the council members at the ball. Not when the memories from tonight would be keeping her warm for a long long while. For now, she just had to change her clothes and then head back to the ball.

Haven hoped no one would notice her outfit change. If they did, Haven had to hope they wouldn't bring it up seeing as she didn't have a proper answer for them. Either way, she was headed back down to the great hall as soon as she was changed, there might still be some fae worth getting to know. Gods knew she needed as many friends as she could get right now.

As she neared her room, Havens feet stalled. A chill crept over her spine, instantly setting off warning bells in her head. Something was wrong, Haven couldn't physically see anything amiss but everything in her was screaming for her to turn the other way and find someone to check things out with. Haven decided to ignore those feelings, instead stepping closer to the door. Even if she could find someone, come up with an excuse as to why she was only dressed in a cloak and convince them to come with her, asking someone to help her check out her room based on nothing more than a feeling didn't exactly scream, ‘Powerful Queen'

Everything looked the same as when she left earlier but there was a feeling hanging in the air, like someone had been here not that long ago. Whoever had been down this hall was not supposed to be here, Haven could tell that much.

As far as she knew, everyone was at the ball. No one should've been anywhere near this part of the castle. The only thing of importance in this part of the castle was her room. Romans' room was three halls away, closer to the guards quarters. There wasn't another soul staying in any of the rooms in this hall, a fact that she had found odd at first. At the time, Haven had figured that with everything else taking place, the fact that she had a very private room wasn't important enough to ask about.

Wishing she'd brought her dagger, Haven forced her feet into motion. Creeping the last few feet towards her door, she brought her magic towards the surface. Even though she couldn't do very much with it, Haven assumed she'd be able to shoot her magic at someone and then run if it actually came down to that. Testing the knob, she found it locked, just as she left it. The door still being locked did not immediately take away her hesitance; if someone had the ability to get into her room then they likely could have locked the door behind them.

Retrieving the key from where she'd hung it on her necklace, Haven unlocked her door and eased it open. Quietly stepping inside her room, she found nothing amiss. Haven checked the bathroom and then the balcony, under the bed and in her closet. Everything was just as she left it. Nothing appeared out of place. Furrowing her brows, Haven surveyed her room again. After again finding nothing, she told herself that she was just being paranoid. There wasn't a single sign that someone had been in here. No drawers opened, the balcony doors were still locked, all of her papers and notes were still in the drawer of her desk. Not even the sheets on her bed had been displaced.

Haven took a breath and decided she must be letting Romans words of war and the stress of the past few weeks catch up to her. That had to be what was going on. She repeated the words to herself, attempting to calm her heart. It didn't work very well but she kept trying nonetheless. After all, she couldn't fathom why someone would break into her room if they weren't going to take anything or weren't lying in wait.

Walking over to her bed, Haven intended to remove Niks cloak and change her clothes. She wanted to get back to the ball. As soon as she got within a foot of the bed, immense exhaustion washed over her. Weird, since she hadn't been very sleepy before entering her room. Drifting closer, Haven allowed herself to collapse onto her sheets. She couldn't remember her bed ever being this comfortable. The soft mattress seemed to reach out and hug her, wrapping her in warmth and a false sense of safety.

Havens eyes closed of their own volition. Sleep sounded so good right now, she couldn't remember why she had been worried. There was nothing in her room that would harm her. What was the worst that could happen if she gave into this feeling and let herself take a small nap? Haven couldn't see any reason not to. She couldn't remember why she had been planning to leave her room in the first place.

Haven had one last fleeting feeling of panic before sleep claimed her and everything went black.