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He checked the stables for any missing horses and asked the groomsmen, but everything was intact. The gardens were checked next, and the courtyards. The worry in him grew with every search, and he was quicker in his steps back to the castle, hurrying past room to room in search.

When he reached the library, he was surprised to see her between the shelves, sitting on the floor, legs drawn to herself as she stared at a closed book. Relief washed through Zavian, and he sagged against the shelf.

Zavian’s gaze shifted to the book, and he stiffened. It had been one of Lilah’s favorites, something she indulged in her pastimes.

“What are you doing here, Neera?” Zavian asked.

Neera still kept staring at the book. That was when Zavian noticed her disheveled state. Her hair, now grown to sweep her shoulders, was not the silky smooth silver but stuck out in different parts. Her dress was one of her recent fashions, only that it was a short one, something he hadn’t seen on her. On her exposed legs, there were scratches and soot-like stains on them.

“Neera,” he knelt next to her. She smelt of ale. “Have you been drinking? Did you leave the castle grounds?”

Neera slowly dropped the book, and she stretched out her legs. She lifted her eyes to meet his, and Zavian became speechless stunned by the warmth to them, almost like the other Neera’s, almost like Lailah even.

“Why did I come for that book?” Neera asked him.

.....

“What?”

“I don’t know, I found myself wanting to read it,” she said.

Zavian didn’t know what to make of it. “I most probably would have mentioned it to you before.”

Neera nodded slowly, her eyes glazed over. “Yes, that explains it.”

“We should get you cleaned up, you are a mess,” Zavian said.

Neera scrunched her brows in confusion, and she looked at herself. She gasped at her state as if noticing it for the first time.

“Where did you go to, Neera?” Zavian asked again.

“I was on castle grounds if that’s what you are trying to know.” She snapped at him. “Or am I not allowed to roam around here too?”

And just like that, the Neera that he was growing used to was back, and her eyes were back to those ice-cold violets.

“I was worried about you, that’s all.”

“I can take care of myself just fine,” Neera said through gritted teeth. She rose and swooned a little. Zavian’s hand reached out to steady her, and she shrugged it away.

“Let me cover you up,” Zavian said, noticing the length of the gown was much shorter when she stood. He began to shed off his tunic, but Neera was already marching to the door.

“Wait,” Zavian said. “You can’t prance around the castle like that.”

“And why can’t I?”

“You are Queen, Neera,” Zavian proceeded to unbutton his shirt. It would do more covering up than the tunic would. “Let’s just hope no one had seen you in that.”

He gave her his shirt. In reply, Neera folded her arms in refusal.

“You aren’t going out like that,” Zavian repeated again.

“For goodness sake, it’s not like my legs will seduce the entire castle.”

“It is a matter of duty, Neera.”

“Well, duty did not stop you from marrying me now, did it?”

Zavian sighed, his shirt still held out to her. “Wear it, Neera. And don’t make me wear it for you.”

She snatched the shirt from him, and wore it, leaving it unbuttoned as she marched out of the library. Zavian, already donned just his tunic over his bare chest, grabbed her arms and whirled her around.

He buttoned the shirt for her, and her small frame drowned its length, flowing down to her knees. She still wore that frown as he did so. Although covered, it did nothing to hide the smell of alcohol on her.

When he was done, he held her close to his side and led her out of the library. He saw one of the guards and instructed him to call off the search.

“And have the maids draw up a bath for the Queen immediately,” Zavian said.

Neera try to resist his hold as they walked back to the chambers, and Zavian’s grip was steel. Once behind the closed doors, her temper was matching Freya’s.

“Stop treating me like I am a child!” She yelled. “You worry about me, I didn’t ask you to. You drag me around, I didn’t ask you to. You complain about my dressing, I didn’t ask you to!”

“Did you drink and pass out somewhere?” He asked her.

“I didn’t ask you to ask me that!”

“Neera,” Zavian began in a cool voice, hoping it would do enough to lower her anger. “I love you. It is only natural of me to want to protect you and worry about you.”

“I didn’t ask you to love me.”

Between the day before at the picnic, when she had kissed him herself and had a decent conversation and this current moment he stood, Zavian could not point out anything that had gone wrong.

Yes, Neera didn’t ask him to love her, just like she didn’t ask to love him, but love never sought permission. He wanted to tell her all of that and more, but Neera was ticking, and he didn’t want to be the cause of the explosion afterward.

“Have you had any sleep?” Zavian asked instead. If she was in the library all night, then she must be sleep deprived and hence, the cause of her crankiness.

Neera frowned. “Please stop, I am saying please because I don’t usually beg. But I need you to stop.”

“Okay,” Zavian complied. “I will get to business, and you should get to whatever it is you want to get to.”