Cursed Without A Crown

10 | Till We Meet Again, Oh Kingdom of Gold

Judah moved away from his bedside and stopped in front of the mirror, giving his hulking, handsome frame one last look before he set his sights on the glorious, dark green coloured ceiling.

His stomach sunk. He was surely going to miss all this.

It took only a couple of seconds for Judah to realise that Kora hadn't replied to his nude comment, and this coerced him into turning to see what exactly had succeeded in silencing his pestering half-sister.

The first thing he noticed was that Kora hadn't stepped away from the door, and he couldn't quite place his finger on the thought, but the Oroden princess didn't look herself.

Her long silver hair curtained each side of her pale face, and the nightgown she wore appeared to be of the same shade as her ghostly appearance. As usual, she stared in his direction, never right at him, so he forced himself to assume that she was just having another irksome episode.

Noticing her standing quietly with eyes shimmering in their normal silver, Judah cocked his head to the side and continued to study her. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if she realised that she had yet again barged into his bedchamber without knocking.

And that little pervert had the audacity to chide him when he'd done the same.

"Pervert," Judah muttered, then frowned when Kora still refused to react, starting to get slightly agitated.

"I said, I am naked."

She blinked, as if just realising where she was, before opening her mouth to say, "I did what you asked."

At that change in tone, Judah's heartbeat lost track of its pacing. However, he took the misstep as a product of anticipation and exhilaration. Not fear.

Definitely not fear.

"Good. Very well then."

Sucking in a deep breath after a failed attempt to relax his nerves, Judah took a step towards the door, prepared to leave his beloved private chambers without looking back, but the next words that echoed from Kora's mouth halted his movements just before he could pass her by.

"Why are you doing this?"

That single, harmless question was what made Judah pause. He stood right beside her then, mere inches away from the barrier that would be a step further into an uncertain future.

Why was he doing this, she asked. Well, that was certainly a question he by far did not have a cheeky answer to. And although reeling from her recent inquiry, Judah didn't need to be a genius to picture what was wheeling in that strangled mind of hers.

So, to avoid sounding like a fool, he began to disregard her comment with a simple shrug of his shoulder. That was, until it registered a second later that she would miss the action, which then resorted to him changing the topic to relieve himself from the discomfort.

"I hope you are aware," he cleared his throat and transferred the bag's burden onto his right shoulder, feeling a tad bit uneasy for some peculiar reason, "that you might not see me again, little witch."

"I am aware," she replied with hardly any emotion, which he had to admit, wounded his pride far more than he cared for. It also stole the words from his mouth, leaving him speechless in Kora's presence, something that had never happened before.

Lord, this is getting a tad bit awkward.

Finally giving in, Judah twisted his body to the side, staring down at the top of her silver head as it only reached the centre of his chest. Which was, he reckoned, an inch higher than Naomi would ever dream of achieving.