20 Claiming What Belonged To Him

"What did you find?" Kenric asked Damien as soon as he and Valerius returned to the basement. Unlike the upper floors of the castle that were now brimming with light, the basement was still filled with the usual darkness that resided in it.

Damien had skipped the breakfast as well as the morning tea, but Kenric and Valerius stayed back to accompany their wife for a couple of more minutes before they too left to meet with Damien and talk about his findings.

"Nothing," Damien stated as he tucked a loose lock of his hair behind his ear while ignoring the surprised and confused look on Kenric's face.

"What do you mean by nothing?" Kenric asked when Damien refused to give any further explanation.

"It's simple, Kenric. I found nothing because I was unable to read her. My powers didn't work on her. As for why? I have no fucking idea." Damien responded as he spared a quick look in his younger brother's direction.

Kenric ignored the look that he got from Damien and instead, turned to look at Valerius who was silently staring at the dead fireplace built in the very center of the room.

"Did you already know?" His question was directed at his eldest brother this time. Valerius was the most powerful among them and also the one who always had the answers to any question, and if he couldn't give a specific answer, he still could give something to work on.

Valerius let out a small sigh before he moved to take a seat on one of the couches before replying, "To some extent. Something about her isn't as normal as it seemed. Ever since she stepped on these grounds, the castle is no longer the same as it was before her arrival. Things are changing and in the best way possible."

The room was silent for the next couple of minutes before Kenric spoke, "What if we are thinking too much about this and it's actually nothing?" Even he knew how futile his words sounded at that moment.

"Do you really believe that all this is nothing and she is just someone normal?" Damien questioned as he looked at Kenric with a little smirk decorating his lips. "A nobody who's able to reverse the curse of this castle whenever she touches something? A nobody who can make all three of us kneel in front of her?"

Kenric opened his mouth to respond to that last statement that Damien just threw out at their faces but stopped before any word could have left his lips. What was he supposed to even say? It wasn't like he could deny the fact that he was immensely attracted to her. Every time she's around him, he just wanted to stay as close to her as possible.

A frustrated sigh left his lips as he also took a seat on one of the couches. "What now? What are we going to do with her?" There was a hesitation in his voice as he looked up at his brothers with question-filled eyes. A part of him was scared to know their answer - he didn't want to lose her.

The realization hit him hard. The way his heart, soul, and powers were reacting to her presence was anything but normal. He had next to no doubt at this point that she was someone important to him, and his brothers.

"We will have to find out about who she really is and what is her relationship with the three of us. Until then, she will live here with us as our wife with the respect and responsibilities that she deserved as the lady of this castle." Valerius declared as he stood up from his seat and after giving his brothers a quick look he disappeared from the room.

*****

Kenric once again found himself walking through the empty hallway of the first floor. His legs moved on their own as something pulled him towards his destination.

It didn't take him long before he found himself standing at the foot of the stairs, his eyes landed on the small frame of his wife who was sitting on the floor with dozens of portraits surrounding her as she cleaned them with a wet cloth one by one.

Something fluttered in his heart and he found a small smile making its way to his lips as his legs moved again and he found himself walking towards her. "Are you trying to see whether our theory is right or not?" he asked as he took a seat beside her on the floor.

He watched as she hurriedly looked up at him, surprise filling her beautiful ocean eyes and her lips moved slowly but no words came out at first. It took her a couple of seconds to sort out her thoughts and only then did she speak, "My... Why are you sitting on the floor? Let me ask Garon to bring a chair for you..."

Kenric didn't even realize what he was doing as his hand moved on its own and he placed a finger against her soft and warm lips, silencing her in order to stop her from getting anxious over such a small matter.

"Let me sit here with you." It almost sounded like a request and it shocked him just as much as it shocked her.

Thankfully, she nodded her head in approval as she relaxed and he too pulled his finger away, immediately feeling the loss of the softness of her lips. "So?" he returned to his question while trying to find a topic that could distract his thoughts.

"Yeah... sort of. I... I'm sorry if I..." Annalise once again seemed flustered as she started apologizing for what she was doing but Kenric once again stopped her. However, instead of his finger, he used his lips this time.

Everything happened so suddenly. He didn't even realize what he was doing until his lips were already pressed against her warm ones. He should have pulled away and apologized for his impoliteness, however, he did nothing like that. Instead, he closed his eyes and deepened the kiss - claiming what belonged to him.