Thanks for the support and comments in the previous chapter. I got motivated and here you go. Enjoy.

Chapter 77

Crown Princess Elora
Huticah

Elora's instincts had her on alert even before the intruder's hand clamped over her lips. Her eyes flew open, and her entire body tensed as she realized that the intruder was on top of her, effectively immobilizing her and silencing any potential outcry. She could discern from the weight and the oppressive presence of qi that it was indeed a man.

The man's hand felt rough and calloused, and his face remained obscured by the hood that concealed his features. Despite the moonlight seeping through the tent's darkness, she couldn't make out his face.

She quickly assessed her options, and it occurred to her that lifting her waist to unbalance him might be her only hope since his knees held down her wrists. However, her attempts were met with surprising resistance; he seemed to anticipate her every move, entwining himself with her body and thwarting her efforts.

A surge of fear coursed through her veins when his other hand wrapped around her throat. His grip was unrelenting, squeezing tighter and tighter, causing her blood to rush to her brain, and making her head spin. Just as she teetered on the brink of losing consciousness, he released his grasp, deciding to have her hair as his next victim.

It was knotted into a tie for sleep but he pulled it apart until it was strewn all over the pillow. She could not deny how afraid she was as quick breaths came through her nose. Panic and anxiety surged through her because she was struggling to regain her composure.

A sinister chuckle emanated from him, a chilling sound that sent shivers down her spine, as he reveled in her distress. Her hair losing his interest, he let it go and outright touched her breast.

Elora's breath caught with a muffled gasp. She felt so helpless pinned beneath him, his hand over her mouth, and without the ability to scream for help and have him stop.

All she wanted to say was that she was a mother. She had a child at home waiting for her return. Tears brimmed in her eyes as images fleeted in her brain of Yun Xiang growing up without his mother. They eventually spilled over, and it did not take a moment for him to notice she was crying.

Removing his hood, she realized he wore a mask that covered his forehead all the way to the tip of his nose, holes in it that showed his eyes.

He cocked his head slightly, releasing her breast and deftly catching the solitary tear on the pad of his thumb. His gaze lingered on the glistening droplet for a moment before he turned his attention to her, locking eyes with her as he brought his thumb to his lips. With a deliberate and unsettling display, he licked the tear off his thumb, his eyes never leaving hers.

Her eyes widened in sheer horror as she watched his disturbing act. The subtle satisfaction that played on his lips sent a chill down her spine, and as he continued to gaze at her, she noticed the glint of his teeth. It made the situation all the more unnerving.

He could hide himself from her all she wanted but she had imprinted him into her brain. Each night they spent together and he had gone on top of her, he looked like this. His smile and teeth, they were as well forever memorized for her to remember.

When he let her go, freeing her mouth as well, he smiled in satisfaction to see her not scream for help. He knew she had figured him out and probably the idea that she did not take long to know who he was all the more pleased him.

In an instant, he moved with such lightning speed that she had no time to draw another breath. He yanked her forcefully against his chest and crushed his mouth against hers with fierce intensity. Her entire world shattered into a million pieces in that electrifying moment.

The kiss further cemented that it was him, Yuwen Hong. He kissed her like she was an eternal enemy, at the same time it was as if she was his eternal love. His fingers grasped her hip with an intensity that suggested his very survival hinged on that grip.

Yuwen Hong plundered her mouth as if he had come out of a desert where he never tasted water for a year. Their kiss was the tittering of yearning, frustration, and immense helplessness. She hated and loved how much she enjoyed it.

She moaned with want when he shifted his hips against her and had her feel his hardness rubbing between her legs. She raised her hands to push him away but instead grabbed fistfuls of his robes, rolling him over to be on top of him.

Clothes started to fly and litter all over the floor. The makeshift bed started to rock and cry from their weight as it was meant for one person. She could not help but moan in ecstasy and it would be no surprise that the guards were going to look at her with knowing eyes the next morning. Yet, she did not care.

Yuwen Hong did not help by neglecting to cover her mouth. He made sure to roll her over and took charge, making her cry louder. It was his mission to ensure the whole campgrounds would know he was inside her and plowing their princess.

"A year has passed, and only now I get to touch a woman," he said each word with a thrust.

Her heart softened and welcomed his vicious thrusts. She was a mess with mindless moaning and whimpers as he pounded into her.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. Letting yourself go at the hands of the man that will take the lives of your people in a few hours," he derided.

Immense guilt seized her. Her nails dug into his flesh, a combination of reflex and desire to retaliate for his mental manipulation. A satisfying grin crossed her lips as he let out a pained hiss in response to her trailing her internal fire down his back.

In response, he intensified ramming into her, his groans, her cries, and the forceful slapping of their bodies becoming the sole audible echo in the tent. Their bodies were drenched with sweat and nothing they were doing was sweet and sensual. They just wanted to reach an end and be rid of each other by cutting off the thread that connected them.

But they were fighting a losing battle. Hate or love, they could never be rid of each other anymore. Not with the reality of a child between them.

With a heavy heart and a profound sense of resignation, she slowly loosened herself from him. As she did, a deep ache seemed to clutch at her heart, its grip a painful reminder of the complexity of their situation. Everything was imbued with a level of difficulty that weighed heavily upon her shoulders.

Her mother gave her best to her. What would she make of it if she saw her do this and betray the people of Furia? She furiously lodged his shoulders to have him stop. No lust could have her continue.

He did not stop, however, he sped his tempo and his thrusts lost rhythm becoming careless and unrestrained. She knew when he became like that he was about to climax.

"You will not dare!" she snarled.

He pressed against her and stilled as a loud groan came from him. A familiar pulsing could be felt in her core as he poured his seed into her. And she hated him all over again.

He had not changed. He would never change. Red consumed her vision and instead of screaming about how he was so heartless, she lay there motionless.

He gave her a kiss on the forehead in thanks before he was dressing. If he had forced this on her against her will, she would feel better. In that way, she was not a traitor.

"You know this war is unnecessary if you come back to me." He was putting on his leather caps on his wrists. He threw away the mask to the corner, no longer needing it.

Elora did not reply. She just blew her magic and lit the candles on.

"I will not spare all of them tomorrow. Huticah killed my father and I must seek retribution," his voice was venomous and so hateful. "If you know what is best, step off and let me serve my filial petty."

"My sister is married here."

"Only her I will spare," he dismissed it as no more than a convenience.

As anger surged through her, her wings unfurled with a thunderous flutter, casting an imposing shadow. Her eyes blazed with fury as she unleashed a torrent of scalding fire, a searing inferno directed towards him. In response, he swiftly drew his dragon sword and held it aloft before him, its gleaming blade shimmering with an otherworldly luster. The fiery onslaught met the ethereal weapon's edge, and with a mesmerizing display of power, the flames sputtered and withered into nothingness. Their intensity was quenched by the sheer presence of the dragon sword.

And now she understood the reason behind its legendary name—the dragon sword. It possessed the extraordinary ability to not only repel magic but also dispel it with effortless grace, as if the most potent enchantments were nothing but fleeting illusions in its presence.

He let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "You hate me," he muttered, the words almost a whispered confession to himself. "Broke my heart by sleeping with another man the chance you got." He roughly sheathed his sword back into its cover. "While I couldn't stop thinking of you for a single day, unable to lay a finger on another woman, you became pregnant."

That confused her train of thought. Yuwen Hong was so stubborn in everything and it was hard to agree on any national matters. Yet deep within, he loved her, and he had never stopped.

Consumed by fury at the mere thought that another had laid their hands on her, he departed without uttering another word. As he left, the room seemed to exhale a collective sigh of relief, returning to a heavy silence that enveloped everything. It was as if his presence had been but a fleeting and tumultuous storm that had passed through, leaving no trace behind.

She stood up and his seed licked out of her, smearing her thigh.

Yuwen Hong was silly. He was oblivious to the fact that their connection had never truly waned, as they were bound together by the presence of Yun Xiang. Yet, she knew better than to let history repeat itself. She had no intention of getting pregnant again, not after the harrowing experience she had endured with Yun Xiang's birth.

With resolute determination, she focused the fiery energy within her toward her womb, destabilizing it. She was well aware that her womb would no longer be a welcoming place for a child to take root for another year. However, the near-death ordeal she had gone through during Yun Xiang's birth was a stark reminder for her to not be careless, and she was not willing to risk it again.

S.V