The second night in Seien wrapped Raymond in a heavy veil of exhaustion, he was busy all day looking for items, his muscles finally uncoiling as sleep claimed him. But rest was fleeting; soon, his mind twisted into something far more vivid, a dream that pulled him under like a current he couldn't fight.
In the haze of his subconscious, Ellora appeared, her black hair like midnight silk over her bare shoulders. Her blue eyes locked onto his, sparkling with a hunger that mirrored his own buried desires. Raymond's arms encircled her waist, pulling her close until her provocative body pressed flush against him. Her curves molded to his frame—full breasts heaving with each breath, hips swaying in a rhythm that ignited fire in his veins. She was warmth and temptation, an incarnate of the answered desire within him, her skin smooth and fever-hot under his roaming hands.
Ellora's soft moans escaped her lips, low and breathy, vibrating against his ear as she arched into him. "Raymond," she whispered, her voice sent shivers down his spine. He tasted her sweetness, felt the way her body trembled as his hands slid down. In the dream, her moans grew louder, more desperate, as she called his name again, "Raymond..."
Just as he began to explore, the dream fractured. A sharp knock echoed through the room—or was it in his mind? Raymond jolted awake, heart pounding, sheets tangled around his sweat-dampened body. But the space beside him was empty, cold. No Ellora in his arms, no soft moans or provocative curves. Just the dim pre-dawn light filtering through the shutters and the lingering throb of unfulfilled desire.
Before he could shake off the fog, the door creaked open. Ellora stepped inside, her presence as striking as in his dream. She wore a disheveled thin white gown. The neckline dipped low. Her black hair was tousled, framing her face, and those blue eyes met his with a knowing glint—or was that his imagination? He was certainly shooked by the glint, real or imagination.
"Raymond, are you awake," she said, the same melodic voice that had haunted his dream. "We depart from seien today, the knights are ready"
His gaze betrayed him, lingering far too long. It started at her lips, parted slightly as she spoke, then drifted downward. The gown's thin material did little to hide anything. Her breasts rose and fell with her breath. Heat flooded his cheeks; his body still primed from the dream. He forced his eyes back up, but the image burned into his mind.
Ellora tilted her head, a faint smile playing on her lips as if she sensed his turmoil. "The next destination is the elf forest," she reminded him, turning toward the door.'' Grandpa asked us to get water from the jewel river for the ceremony''.
She slipped out, the door clicking shut behind her, leaving Raymond alone with his racing pulse. He sat up, flushed and confused, running a hand through his hair. The dream replayed in fragments—her moans, her body writhing against his. It was absurd, this unfound desire that he couldn't explain. Ellora was his wife in name, nothing more, bound by duty and his old man. Yet as he swung his legs over the bed's edge, he couldn't deny the his desire. The elf forest awaited, but so did this unanswered desire for her. He was replaying memories in his head thinking of when things started going south, this mystery even made him consider if he had met her before the marriage. Suddenly he remembered the monster attack, she seemed to be hiding something, she definitely knew that he was watching her but didn't react as if that was the expected, no she looked amused.