to die tonight, murdered by my new wife.” He leaned in for another stolen kiss.
“What?” I gasped, pulling away. The fog in my mind quickly cleared as his words hit home. He's married! Wait, I’m married. This couldn’t go on.
Scared at the feelings he was dredging up and overwhelmed by new sensations he was stirring in me, I roughly pushed him away. His back hit the wall, followed by the crack of his head. I winced at the sound.
He stilled when he caught sight of a woman coming down the hall, dropping his hand from my waist and clearing his throat. Not wanting to be caught in the middle, I stepped back behind him as he approached the noble lady.
“Yasmin,” he breathed out and straightened his clothing.
“Xander,” she replied curtly, and my head snapped up when I heard the prince’s name. The drunken lord I had been bantering and sharing a heated kiss with was none other than my husband. How ironic.
Yasmin stopped in front of Xander, her eyes never leaving his face, not even acknowledging my presence. “Is this it, then?” she asked. “The end of us?”
“No,” he breathed out. “Despite my circumstances, we can be together.”
Her beautiful blue eyes teared up, and she blinked prettily. “Words, my prince. Your words mean nothing to me when you have gone and married another, and I will not be your whore. You have made me look like a fool in front of my family and friends, and I am no fool,” she hissed. “You are the fool who has pledged himself to a daughter of Eville. Do you not understand what you’ve done? Do you not know the ruin you’ve brought to our kingdom?”
“My kingdom,” Xander said stiffly.
Yasmin’s eyes widened at being contradicted. “W-What?”
“It is my kingdom, not yours.”
“I meant no offense. It was a mere slip of the tongue. For goodness’ sake, we were engaged to be married. We had dreams for the kingdom of Baist. It isn’t a dream I can so easily give up because you tell me to. I can’t give up on you. I won’t. Please, tell me you haven’t given up on me… on us.”
This wasn’t a conversation meant for me. I stepped farther back into the shadows and watched as a spectator at what I had stolen.
“Yasmin, I—” He faltered.
“How will you save your kingdom now?” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she turned and left down the hallway.
Her rejection seemed to undo him, and he leaned his head against the wall and rubbed his temples. Then he noticed I was still standing in the dark with him.
Frustrated, I turned, but Xander was quick, his arm pulling me back toward him. “Now do you understand my predicament? I will probably be murdered in my sleep tonight.”
“Yes, you probably will,” I heartedly agreed, plotting all the ways I could murder him without leaving evidence. I had already decided on six different methods when he distracted me by leaning in close, my breath catching.
Xander snatched another glass from a passing tray, raised it in a toast to his almost bride, and downed the whole glass. Here he was, my husband. And though handsome as the stories said, he was drunk, and I couldn’t help but let it mar my opinion of him. It was obvious he didn’t know who I was.
“Today is your wedding, sir,” I said stiffly.
“Don’t you think I know this?” Xander snarled at me. “Why do you think I’m here with you, drowning my sorrows in a drink? My one chance to save my kingdom, and I had it stripped from me as they forced me to marry an old hag. Now I’m doomed.”
“Do you have no feelings for others at all?” I gasped.
“The only feelings I need to consider are mine.” Xander stepped closer and reached for me, and I had a flashback to only a few hours ago, when he was blinded with hatred for me, refused to touch me when he thought I was his wife. Yet now, under no coercion other than alcohol, he had both touched and kissed me, not because he loved me, but because he found me beautiful and mysterious. I couldn't care less what deadline he had or his problems. He would never come near me again. This was not love but lust.
“Do not touch me!” I threatened, turning on my heel and storming away.
He made to follow me, but with a wave of my hands, I made sure his boots stuck to