章 27: Petty Prince
She stared at him. "Have you thought about working with me?" He had asked her if she wanted to die. She ignored his question. If he tried to kill her, she would know.
But that was something he wouldn't do.
Disgust flashed in the prince's eyes.
"I know your secret and I presume you know about my brother's?" she asked. The man knew more than what he was willing to say.
"Are you trying to blackmail me into working with you?"
She smirked. "You can think what you want. But I want my brother to live. So… I am going to work with you. I keep your secret and you keep my brother's."
"And if I don't?"
She froze when he suddenly moved forward, decreasing the little bit of space in between them. By now, she could already see his intricate eyelashes, curled and long and as black as ink.
"What would you do, Lady Cassandra?" he taunted. "Do you think telling the people about me would change anything? Do you think my father would allow you to taint his name? The least he could do is poison you. Of course, that is assuming you will survive today's hunting games."
She hated that she could not see any visible emotion in his dark red eyes. Cassandra blinked. "The King wanted to kill me and frame you."
The absence of surprise in his eyes told her that he was already expecting this. "So, you wanted to live. You provoked him and you are now running towards me, wanting to have me as an ally."
"I didn't provoke him! You did!" The moment the Prince had asked for marriage from the king, their fates had already been sealed. The King and the Crown Prince would never want Hunter to have a strong backer – Meaning they would do everything in their power to ruin this marriage.
He scoffed.
"You can… let me go now," Cassandra said.
"I am not planning to do that."
Her face darkened, senses on high alert. She had come here confident that she would see in advance if he would attempt to kill her. Were her abilities going to fail her this time?
When it came to brute force, he was undeniably stronger than her. In a fight, he could defeat her by using his swordsmanship and speed alone.
However, she wasn't a pushover either. She could create a huge fire around her body that would protect her from him. But that would cause tremendous damage to the place surrounding them.
Her mind immediately started calculating all the options that she had. Killing the prince in self-defense wouldn't be too good for her family.
She heard him let out another snort before he asked, "You're not planning to burn my tent, are you?"
She met his eyes.
"You are?" he asked. He leaned a few inches back and smiled at her. The smile was beautiful, otherworldly even. But to her, it felt like being stared at by a predator. It made her skin crawl.
She thought of kicking him, but that might not probably work. She immediately stilled, hand clenched, preparing to summon the hottest flame that she could. Physical attacks wouldn't do any harm to a dark one. Unless, of course, you had the strength of a Lycan.
Her flames were the only thing that could save her.
"You look like you are about to kill me," he stated in a whisper. "What happened to… working together?"
However, before she could answer him, he lowered his head and brushed his lips on her neck. "Quit thinking," he added. "He is coming…" He tilted his head, a little smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
Cassandra's eyes widened, her lips parting just as he captured her mouth with his. The spice from the wine earlier filled her nostrils. He smelled like alcohol and musk and strangely, lemon too.
Cassandra unclenched her fist, preparing to unleash her flames.
She should have.
But she didn't.
Instead, her mouth opened hungrily under his hot and demanding tongue. He broke the kiss only for a single whispered word that she couldn't understand before he slid back into her lips, devouring, tasting, consuming.
"My… Gods…." A man's voice interrupted them. It was followed by a loud thud.
Cassandra and Hunter sat up in a jolt.
"Your highness…" Hunter said as he gave Cassandra a slight smirk.
"Younger brother… you and…" The man was staring at Cassandra's scarlet face. "Lady Cassandra of the La Roche Family…"
Cassandra stared at the Crown Prince before she calmly stood up and curtsied. "Your highness." Despite her flushed face, she managed to stay calm and stop herself from exploding. Not from embarrassment, but from anger.
Raw… anger.
Prince Hunter had just done the thing that she did back on the training grounds. He must have smelled the crown prince or heard him coming. And that's why he had kissed her.
The worst part was actually that she had responded. She had kissed him back!
"How come you didn't announce your presence?" Hunter stood and started closing his shirt. "Ah, forgive me for not introducing my fianceé. Lady Cassandra, please meet my older brother, the crown prince of Zealandia, Prince Hiram Corvus."
The crown prince stared at her, amused. "Lady Cassandra, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I had heard a lot of rumors about your… beauty."
"Thank you, your highness," Cassandra said. By now, she had already calmed down. As someone who had lived outside of this continent, kissing in public wasn't enough to embarrass her. Did Hunter think being caught while kissing him would embarrass her?
How naïve.
If anything, she was angry that she had actually liked it.
"Well, then I originally came here to offer a toast to both of you. I wanted to congratulate you on your engagement. But my wine..." The Crown Prince's gaze was gentle. The smile on his face looked kind and maybe even angelic. He looked down at the wineglass that he had dropped earlier, looking embarrassed.
The man actually looked like the exact opposite of Hunter's perpetually grim face. She gave the crown prince a gentle smile in response. "My apologies, your highness. Some emotions are just too much to handle. I told my beloved prince to avoid doing such shameless acts in this place but… Prince Hunter is just…" She bashfully lowered her head and side-eyed Prince Hunter's face.
Who would have thought that Prince Hunter was also petty like her? This similarity was rather… unexpected.
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