After about twenty minutes, the bathroom door finally opened. When she stepped into the room, her hair was still damp, but her complexion looked slightly less flushed. She wore a white satin nightgown with a robe draped around her. She seemed much calmer than before. As she scanned the room, she found Ivan sprawled on the sofa in the corner near the window, with one arm covering his eyes.
She thought he had finally fallen asleep, she quickly padded across the floor and went to her cupboard to take out a spare blanket. She then walked over to where he lay motionless and gently unfolded the blanket to cover Ivan. As she pulled it up to his chest, her eyes lingered on him, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. Soon a small smile formed on her lips and she whispered, "Thank you."
After that, she left his side and turned off all the candles and finally lay down on her bed, pulling the blanket over herself. She stared at him on the sofa a while before her eyes slowly closed, carrying her off into dreamland.
After her heartbeat and breathing steadied, Ivan finally removed his arm from his eyes and turned his head to look at her. He had never truly been asleep, instead he had extended his senses toward the bathroom, just to make sure she was okay. He had only calmed down when she finally emerged from the bathroom and her fresh, floral scent, uniquely hers reached his senses. He had pretended to be asleep because he didn't want her to be overly conscious with the thought of him being in the same room as her, and delay her much needed rest.
His intense eyes lingered on her innocent, beautiful appearance before he quietly rose from the sofa and padded over to her. She lay there peacefully, her hair sprawled across the bed, her long lashes brushing her cheeks, her lips slightly parted.
He reached his hand to brush against cheeks, only to pause midway and decided against it and whispered, "You are one troublesome princess"
Giving her one last look, his eyes turned serious and he quitely stepped out of her room. It was already going to be midnight soon and the ball was likely over by now. He walked ahead, with his purposeful footsteps echoing against the floor.
The rage he had been suppressing began to surface, radiating off him in waves. Just a couple of rooms away from his and Eve's, he stopped and knocked on one of the doors. After a few seconds, it was opened by none other than Damien.
One look at Ivan, and Damien knew something serious must have happened. Before he could even ask, Ivan walked into his room and said "Call Cece, we need to talk."
Without asking any questions, Damien went to Cece's room, which was right next to his and knocked. Cece opened the door, frowning when she saw Damien standing there.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's Ivan, he wants to speak to us." Damien replied in a serious tone, something that was rare for him.
She nodded and shut her door and followed Damien. When they entered the room, they both noticed how Ivan's aura was radiating with rage and worry immediately took over them.
Cece asked, "Ivan, what happened?"
Ivan turned his molten orange eyes to them and said in an icy voice, "Many things could have happened if I hadn't reached in time. I smell foul play here and I won't be satisfied until I have blood on my hands."
Both of them frowned and Damine said, "Whose blood are we looking for?"
Ivan remained silent for a moment before replying, "The one who drugged Evelyn today, with what I suspect to be an extremely potent aphrodisiac."
His revelation shocked both Damien and Cece.
Cece who could not believe something like this happened, asked in a quivering voice, "Wh-Where is she?...Is she okay?" Dread filled her at the thought of anything bad happening to Evelyn.
"Nothing happened to her, I found her before anyone else could have reached her while she was under the drug's influence," Ivan replied. He then added, "She's sleeping in her room now, but she was extremely frightened earlier."
Before Cece could insist on going to her, he added, "I suggest you visit her tomorrow morning. It won't be good to wake her up now when she just fell asleep."
Damien, who was furious that something like this could happen to Eve, whom he saw as her sister, asked in a cold voice, "How can anyone even get their hands on it? Aren't the ingredients banned to make something like that?"
"It is, someone must have bought it illegally or had some with them here. I also don't think me being called to an emergency meeting was just a coincidence. Luckily, my father shut those nobles up before they could drag that pointless meeting on any longer. I want both of you to fill me in on everything that happened while I was away."
Damien and Cece recounted everything they had witnessed and it all pointed towards the guy who had approached Eveyln with a drink.
"Call Alex tomorrow, I want every store to be searched for any illegal potions or drugs being sold in the market. If this happened once, it can happen again. It's best to destroy the root of it all. Put everyone who came into contact with Evelyn or any of you under investigation. Although that scrawny little rat I saw hovering around her seems the most suspicious of them all, I'll personally send him to hell if he's involved." he instructed Damien.
Damien gave a sharp nod, his voice low and edged with warning. "Consider it done, but Ivan, be careful as it likely that whoever is behind this isn't acting alone. They're backed by someone powerful, likely from within the royal court since everyone here is from a noble background. If we move without proof, even a whisper of accusation could be twisted into a weapon against you. The nobles have been waiting for a reason to undermine your father's rule, and you're the perfect target if this goes sideways."
Ivan's lips curled up slightly and said, "I have already considered that, I'll gather every piece of evidence I need, but one thing is certain, that person's blood will be on my hands. Only then will I truly be satisfied."
"We're always with you, brother." Damien said firmly.
Cece, who had been quiet, had been carefully observing Ivan. She knew her cousin had always been cold and distant, with a strong sense of retribution towards those who deserved it. But what surprised her was the intensity of the rage he felt towards whoever had tried to harm Evelyn. She had never seen him affected to this level, that it felt personal.
Normally, had this happened to any other woman, he would have still launched an investigation and let the authorities punish the culprit for their wrongdoing. But for him to personally get involved and be out for blood, as if someone had harmed his own, made it hard for Cece to grasp that this was the same Ivan she had always known.
She didn't need to ask if anything had happened between him and Evelyn when she was in her vulnerable state, because she knew one thing about him, that he would never take advantage of a defenceless woman. Her earlier threat to him was only to remind him to be careful with Evelyn, because she was her dear friend and Ivan didn't do relationships. He only had late-night companions, if ever, and although those women pretended to accept his rules, she knew how many had suffered from broken hearts whenever they tried to get Ivan to commit to any of them. She didn't want Evelyn to go through something like that, as she saw her as someone who would want a devoted partner.
'Just what is going on with him?' Cece wondered.
After discussing some more, they all left Damien's room and called it a night.
When Ivan entered Evelyn's room, he saw that she was still sound asleep, blissfully unaware of anything around her.
He walked silently back to his spot on the sofa, undid his shoes and lay down, closing his eyes to get some much needed rest. But peace was far from tonight. Minutes later, he heard a soft rustle from the bed, then came a barely audible murmur "I.."
His crimson eyes snapped open and he turned his head towards her just as she shifted slightly, her brows knitting together and whispered softly, "..K-ai…" and as she did, his heart skipped a beat.
His jaw clenched. Kai? Who the hell was she dreaming about with such tenderness on her lips? And why did it sound of another man's name from her mouth make his blood run hot with irritation?
He walked up to her side and gently placed his hand on her forehead and the moment his hand touched her skin, her furrowed brows eased and just like that, she drifted back to her peaceful slumber as if it never happened. He stared at it for a second longer, thinking of finding out who this person named Kai was. Then, without a word, he turned and lay back down again but this time, his mind far from asleep.