THIRD PERSON POV

Venus pulled the sheets tighter around her body and stepped forward. "What's wrong?"

"Lady Beysha fell unconscious," the doctor replied.

"Show me," Venus blurted, picked up her skirts, and rushed after him.

Dramon hooked onto her arm.

"Not now, Dramon, I have to go see—"

He kicked the door shut on the doctor's face and pulled one of his tops over her shoulders. "You cannot walk around in our bed sheets, wife. I'll get you new clothing as soon as possible. All they have available is Lady Life's clothing, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to be in those." He smirked and kissed her cheek. "Not that you would fit in them."

Venus frowned and tugged away. "What, did I get too fat while I was fighting for my life?"

Dramon dragged her back into his arms. "I meant that she is not as curvy as you; not as appealing."

His comment still rubbed her wrong, because it implied that he studied Lady Life to make that conclusion.

"I'll be back," she grumbled as she tied a towel around her waist. "Beysha needs me."

Dramon followed her. "If you think we are getting separated, think again."

They rushed to the medical wing together, and Venus noted there were barely any men lingering around, other than the curious guards.

Beysha lied on a bed as doctors work over her.

"It was probably the paint I've been using that made her sick," Venus commented as she touched her friend's hand. "I left the bucket with her in the shed, and the fumes must have contaminated the air." She sighed. "I should have known better."

"We will examine the paint," a doctor made a note on his notebook.

"When will she be back on her feet?"

"We can arouse her back using the scent of the Camahiri flower, but we will let her rest instead. She needs it." His eyes scanned Venus. "You should rest as well. I am not too familiar with human anatomy, but your heart rate was quick when we last studied you."

She felt Dramon press into her back and knew there was no escaping this verdict. He would tie her to the bed if needed.

"We will alert you if she awakens."

Venus gave the other female one last look before returning to her room. She crawled under the covers, and Dramon kneeled beside her.

"Food will be up in minutes," he stroked her cheek. "How do you feel?"

"Tired and not hungry."

"You have to eat," he countered. "You regurgitated everything."

Her lip quirked a little. "All over her dress, too. What is her real name, by the way? I don't want to call her Lady Life."

"I don't know," Dramon admitted. "I never cared to ask."

"Lady Greed it is," Venus shut her eyes. She groaned back to consciousness minutes later when Dramon wakened her.

"You need to eat."

She bit into the chewy, seasoned slab of meat he brought, ignoring everything else on the plate. After three swallows and a gulp of water, she rolled over.

"Venus, eat more."

"I'll get sick again," she groaned. Her body was aching, and her belly seemed to have shrunk.

"Should I get the doctor?"

"It's not that serious. I just want to rest."

She ate tidbits throughout the day, and her energy slowly returned to her. That evening, she changed into one of the beautiful gowns the tailor made for her and rushed out the door. She met Dramon in the hall, who had just returned from work.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Yeah, to see Treysa."

"Without me?" he frowned.

"Well, you were working."

"I don't want you walking around by yourself."

Venus shrugged. "I'll be fine with all these guards. I didn't escape one prison to enter another."

Instead of arguing with her, he took her hand and led her outside. A small army followed them. When Dramon looked over a shoulder, he saw the obnoxious red of Lady Greed's dresses as she lurked at them. That woman was going to be a problem.

Treysa became violent as soon as she smelled Venus, and the two collided in a whirlwind of petting, licking, and whimpering.

Dramon fell to his knees and touched both of his girls. A ball formed in his throat, and he had to clear it multiple times.

Treysa protested when he lifted Venus by the waist, thinking he was taking her away. All he did was swing her atop Treysa, so the two could run laps. Venus looked like a goddess. Her face wrinkled in joy, her laugh blooming life into the gloomy palace, her dress dancing along with her arms.

Over the next two days, they spent a great deal of time playing with Treysa. Normally, Treysa couldn't stand being in the palace for more than three days and required recurring trips into the wilderness, but she didn't seem to mind now that Venus was back.

Venus and Beysha both recovered from the paint, and Dramon brought his work into his bedroom so he could watch over her. That night, he laid in bed with Venus pressed against his side. He stroked the skin of her back that her dress revealed and kissed down her face. Other than with words and looks, he hadn't showed her how much he missed her.

Rising, he kissed her slowly.

Venus' hands remained on his bare chest as he hovered over her and gently nipped at her lips. She tasted like gasoline, so his hunger quickly roared. He dove for her neck and left quick, loving marks, and went south in search of her sweet spot. He pulled down the straps of her dress and rolled a nipple into his mouth.

When Venus inhaled deeply, he grinned and doubled his enthusiasm.

"S—stop."

Venus sat up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Apologies," Dramon touched her back. "Was that too rough?"

"I don't... want to do that."

He nodded and lifted a thigh to put some distance between his raging erection and her. "That is alright. Did I hurt you somewhere?"

"It just didn't feel good." She blew a breath, as if growing frustrated.

"Why is that? Should I get the doctor?"

"I don't know. I don't want to talk about it. Can't you live without sex for a while?"

Dramon noted she was being more short-fused than usual. Not wanting to set her off because of a meaningless argument, he pulled the sheets up over her body. Sex could wait. Venus's comfort always came first.

Venus let him hug her, and her irritation quickly dwindled down to guilt. Dramon had been a gentlemen since she came back, not forcing answers or decisions out of her. He was observant and put her health before his work.

She had never rejected his touch so aggressively. It worried her. His tongue felt awful against her sensitive nipples. And that had never happened before.

Did they lose their spark? Is sex no longer pleasurable? What happens if it's not?

_ * _

When she woke up, she found Dramon working on his corner.

"Winds," she greeted groggily and shifted her dress straps into place.

"Winds," Dramon returned. "Centres said he wants to see you."

That made her smile, because beside all the drama with Centres, the older man still meant something to her.

"How is your appetite?"

Venus shrugged. "It is alright. Same as always."

Dramon set his paperwork aside and stood. He wore long pants, and nothing else. His hair was a mess, and the beaming sunlight landed on his abs as if pointing to the end of a quest.

Instead of feeling aroused, she felt nothing. That realization wiped her smile off her face.

Dramon pulled a platter from the nightstand and brightened the crystals above. "This came in shortly ago."

"I slept through that?"

He nodded.

That's odd.

Now that she thought of it, her guard had been low since she arrived. Before, if someone so much as passed by her tent, she would have awaked. It's unheard of for her to sleep through a stranger entering her room.

She slipped out of her short nightgown and into a longer dress.

"Dramon?"

He scanned her and smiled. "You want to wear trousers, don't you?"

"Yes, please."

He chuckled. "I will ask the tailor to prepare some."

"Thank you." Her eyes moved to something she hadn't noticed before— a crystal box on his work desk that contained.... were those her sandal and brush?

Her heart shrank when she realized Dramon held onto some of her items when she vanished. It made her feel even worse about rejecting him the previous night.

She pulled her gaze away to the plate and found that her appetite was gone. She tried to eat anyway, pushing food around with her chopsticks until a stern glare from Dramon had her tasting it. It took her an hour to finish half the plate.

Fires. That toxic paint must have done more damage than I thought.

She and Dramon played with Treysa in the afternoon, and then she got ready for her meeting with Centres by taking a bath. Dramon wasn't very excited about facing his father. The blood between them still boiled.

She walked beside Dramon to the official library, not that there's much in it anymore.

Centres looked out a triangular window, his arms behind his back.

"Winds, Centres. Long time no see," she smiled.

"Hello, Venus." He turned and regarded Dramon. "Would you mind giving us some space?"

Dramon snorted. "No."

"Dramon..." Venus drew out. "I'll be out soon."

He looked at his father, then his wife, and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

"Let me see you," Centres expanded his arms and came closer.

Venus took his hands. If possible, Centres looked older and tired. Even passing his throne to Dramon didn't relax the lines on his face.

"I am so glad you are safe, Venus. You are a jewel."

She scoffed a little. "Don't be silly. I just got lucky."

"You have made so many sacrifices..." his gaze fell. "And here I am, asking for more."

"What do you mean?"

Centres released her hands and turned to the windows. "You are young, Venus, and you hate the palace as much as Dramon does. Your free spirit would crumble in here, and Dramon would hate seeing it happen. He would abandon the palace to make you happy."

A needle pieced through her intestines, stitching them together in a mess of thread and blood. It was a horrible feeling.

"What are you asking?"

His eyes were sad. "Who will take care of Xelor, my child? I cannot do it. I am on death's door. Dramon is the only son I have located."

"So he has brothers?"

Centres shook his head. "I am a poor excuse of a father, because I do not know and don't know where to look. Dramon is the only son I was able to track in adulthood."

"And..."

"I need you to leave, Venus. Leave and fix what you can at the forefront. I am a horrible man deserving the depths of the Underworld, but I want to at least leave this world knowing that the planet will survive. It will not survive without Dramon in charge."

He wanted her to leave Dramon a third time. He wanted them to separate and live the rest of their lives working for the world and not themselves.

Venus froze between the possibilities.

Her world, or her lover. Who was she supposed to choose? Was she selfish for wanting to leave with Dramon and let the palace catch fire? Was she evil for wanting to retire before she reached 30, already exhausted from all she's endured?

I don't know.