Aaron nudged me a little about the waist, and I fell into his arms, my backside landing on his lap. He tightened his arms around me as he said, "You produced so much nectar that it needed all seven of us to erase your qi nectar and ease your heat."
I could only stare at him.
All seven of them? Good Lord!
I felt hot with embarrassment from head to toe at hearing this. I couldn't believe all seven lords had...
I swallowed hard, my body shaking.
Felix, naturally, chuckled in amusement at my shocked reaction. I turned to give him a good scowl in annoyance.
"It's not funny," I said tightly. "I'm really embarrassed. Now how am I supposed to face them? I mean, it's okay with you two and, of course, Geoffrey and Caleb. But it's different with Lords Noah, Victor, and Ethan."
Aaron said, "If you want to know the truth, Alfie, even Noah, Victor, and Ethan enjoyed easing your heat." He gave me a devilish grin that made me suspicious. "Though, Ethan was against it at first and even refused to enter your cabin."
"Did he now?" I asked, not surprised at all. The fact that the three lords enjoyed taking care of me must be a lie. I had no doubt about it. Felix was teasing me, I decided.
"Well, I wouldn't blame him," I said. "I personally don't think it's fun to ease a girl's heat and—"
"Now, how about something to eat?" Felix cut me short. "You haven't had anything substantial for two days."
His comment distracted me from what I was saying.
I asked, "Did I actually eat during those two days while I was in heat? I'm surprised."
Aaron nodded. "When a demon lord's mate is in heat, she can function normally—well, almost, except for the fact that she's in heat and won't remember much after it's all over. Of course, we helped feed you."
Did he just emphasize the word feed? Did this mean I was so out of it that I was like a toddler who didn't know how to eat by herself?
Again, I felt my face flushing hot with embarrassment.
I wriggled in his arms so that he'd let me go. "About that breakfast. I'll clean myself up, get dressed, and we can go down."
"There's no need," Felix said.
I turned to him. "To what?"
"To get dressed." He smiled darkly as his eyes roved over me. "You're enchanting in that nightgown, darling."
I blushed severely, feeling self-conscious again. I asked, "Who put it on me?"
"I believe it was Geoffrey. Or was it Caleb? Does it matter? All that matters is that you look great in it."
I guessed it didn't matter, but I kind of hoped it was either Ruth or one of the girls who had undressed and then dressed me.
Speaking of which...
"Where's Aria and everyone else?" I asked.
The door opened then, and Lord Ethan walked in with a large silver tray in his hands. He said, "They're not here. Obviously, they can't enter, let alone see the place."
I was confused by what he meant and asked, "Why can't they enter here?"
Wherever and whatever this place is.
The man placed the tray on the coffee table and then lifted the lid.
Voila! Delicious-looking sustenance greeted me enticingly. I instantly started salivating at the sight of the fare.
Lord Ethan took a seat on the opposite sofa and made himself comfortable. "Eat. I'm sure you're starved."
I wondered if every one of the lords was worried about my well-being, especially since I hadn't been eating properly for the last few days due to my heat episode.
I didn't waste any time and leaned forward, reaching my hands out for a piece of savory pie. As I was doing so, I felt Lord Ethan's gaze on my chest. Feeling self-conscious, I pulled back in a hurry.
He asked bluntly, "Why are you acting embarrassed?"
I just stared at him. Why would he ask me that question? Really? Why shouldn't I be embarrassed in front of him? When I was dressed like this and he was looking at me like...
Like he wants to eat me up.
Felix said to Lord Ethan, "You know Alfie doesn't remember much after she went into heat."
Lord Ethan frowned darkly. He was about to say something but shut his mouth again.
I knew he had helped in easing my heat, as Aaron had told me. But the fact that I didn't remember much about what had happened during the affair remained. Despite how intimate it might have been with him sucking the nectar out of my nipples and pussy, I just didn't remember, and that...
Oh God! Had I just pictured Lord Ethan sucking me down there? Stop. I needed to stop imagining that right now, especially when the man himself was right there in front of me. Not to mention Felix and Aaron.
Aaron leaned over and poured me a glass of juice. I thanked him politely and then drank to my heart's content. After all, I was very thirsty. Once I was done, I asked, "So where are we again?"
I was asking Felix and Aaron, but it was Lord Ethan who answered me. He said, "This is Rosehaven. It's a sacred place."
Yes, I'd heard that from Felix only moments ago. But what did that have to do with Aria and everyone else not being here?
He continued. "Rosehaven has a high-tier magic shield, second only to the Aurora Barrier itself."
I nodded in understanding as I savored the pie, tasting the creamy cooked egg inside.
"It's similar to the barrier we had on the seventh floor of our buildings in Acaedien."
So the barrier was protecting Rosehaven and turning it invisible to the naked eye, which meant only a few could see it. I suspected it meant that only those with very high qi levels, such as the lords of Acaedien themselves, could see and enter this place.
Then again, what about me? How did I get in here in the first place? Surely, my qi level couldn't be so high that I could enter. Unless Geoffrey had done something.
It had to be that, then.
I reached my hand out and took a piece of the scone this time. It even already had butter, jam, and cream on it. I bit into the soft, fluffy pastry, along with the sweet jam and creaminess of the butter and cream, which tasted like heaven. I ate to my heart's content as the three lords began discussing this and that, and then Aaron said, "Geoffrey said Aslan will be arriving tomorrow."
Felix flicked his gaze to me. He said, "He probably wants to know what all the fuss is about."
Lord Ethan snorted. "No doubt."
Aslan? I chanted the name in my head. Aslan. Aslan.
Then a light bulb dinged inside my head, and I choked on the food I was eating. I coughed loudly as Aaron asked, "Alfie! Are you all right?"
Lord Ethan said, "Take your time eating, Alfie. No one is going to steal your food."
When I managed to stop, I reached for my glass of juice. I gulped down the rest of it in one go. Feeling better, I said, "Lord Aslan."
Lord Ethan looked at me, his sky-blue eyes dark. To me, he seemed agitated or something.
He sighed as he raked his fingers through his hair. Then he took off his jacket and came over to me. I watched in surprise as he wrapped the jacket over me around my front.
"Your state of undress is distracting," he said bluntly. "You're practically naked."
Felix burst out laughing while Aaron agreed with a nod of his head.
I shifted his jacket about me so that it sat better on me. I said, "Thanks for the jacket. And I did want to change, but..."
"But there's no need. Alfie is a sight to behold," Felix said, grinning darkly. "And I enjoyed watching her."
Lord Ethan ran his fingers through his hair. "I agree she's a sight to behold, but it's still fucking distracting." He returned to his seat. Then he said, "Lord Aslan. You looked surprised when we mentioned him. Did you know him?" He shook his head. "Scratch that. You wouldn't know him."
I smiled. "I don't know him, but I saw him in my dream."
That, as predicted, got all three men's attention.
Aaron asked, "You saw him in your dream?"
I nodded. "Yes, I did. I must admit it wasn't that pleasant of a dream and—"
I paused my speech because I suddenly felt strange. My body felt...hot and my skin sensitive. My breasts felt hard and my nipples...
I panicked as I felt something leaking out of my nipples.
All three men were looking at me. Then they glanced at each other as if they were suspecting something. Aaron, being the closest one, with me in his arms and on his lap, moved his head closer and sniffed me. On the other side, Lord Ethan was still staring at me, his eyes dark. He suddenly said, "Fuck!"
Felix said, "Alfie, darling, you're in heat again. You just gave off a very strong sweet scent."
I felt myself shaking at the realization that I was in heat. Again? Looking at Aaron, I said softly, "I thought it was all over. What happened?"
Felix said, "This is rather...strange. Usually, once the heat is gone, it's gone until the next wave, which is around three months later."
So that was what it was supposed to be like? The heat would come once every three months? And it would last one to two days? Or was it until all the nectar was drawn out? I'd bet it was the latter.
Could this be the reason why some women would become insane and driven to destruction? Because they had no one to ease their heat? Or that it wasn't drawn out of them completely? And the feelings and the needs were so overwhelming that they couldn't think straight?
God, I didn't know. But I did know I needed to research more on this topic. After all, I didn't want to be ignorant.