noble person I have ever come to know."
I wasn't lying to him or reciting pretty words to make him feel better. I spoke the truth. The only other person who might have come close to him was Darrien, and while he was the picture of chivalry, standing and fighting for a noble cause, he could never be described as good or compassionate or even kind. He was merciless in his pursuit of what he believed was just cause and wouldn't hesitate to cut down anybody that got in his way. Torture, murder, extortion were all fair game if the means justified the end. His definition of morality was the outcome that yielded the best results for the most people.
Zander possessed more concrete notions of right and wrong. There were some lines he would never cross, no matter the consequences. I figured that out when he requested my assistance to help find his sister after she was taken. Darrien would have skinned me alive for the betrayal, regardless of what may have been developing between us, and my cooperation afterward would have never been a choice.
"I want to dance."
I stood up and gently tugged on Zander's arm urging him to stand with me. In truth I would have been content without doing so, but I remembered the look of pure elation on Zander's face when he spun me around the ballroom in the High Palace. He made every attempt to cheer me up when he saw shadows move beneath my eyes, and now I understood why he was so persistent in doing so. It felt like a knife to the gut to see him in angst.
The couples dancing in the open space in the middle of the room bowed to us then shuffled off to the side at our approach. I would never become comfortable with people reacting to me as if I were royalty. My betrothal to Zander had technically made me so. The thought unsettled me. I wasn't royalty, I didn't come from any haughty bloodlines, and though I'd lived in a palace from eight to seventeen years old, I had never been wealthy or treated with any type of importance. Belial called me his ward, but I was more like a slave forced into servitude.
I shook off thoughts of Belial. Now was not the time. Zander always chased the shadows away and I wanted very much to return the favor. His effort started off half-hearted. I decided he needed a little prodding.
"I thought you had better skills than this," I teased him.
I spun myself out and back into his arms. When our bodies connected I flung my arms around him then pressed my lips to his. It wasn't a chaste kiss. I filled it with every bit of love and every bit of passion that I felt for him. When I pulled back to study him his warm amber eyes had deepened into a golden blaze.
"Skyler you are a walking conundrum. You blush at the mention of us sharing a bed then you follow it up with a kiss like that. It's not fair you know. To kiss me like that so close to us retiring to our room for the evening. I think I may end up on the floor after all."
He was right. I was a walking contradiction. I fought back the blush that wanted to color my cheeks. It was the first time he had so openly admitted to desiring me that way. It sent little fireworks exploding through my body. I mentally shook my head, admonishing myself for the direction of my thoughts. Now was not the time.
Chapter 14
I stood in the oversized bathroom that connected to our sleeping quarters staring at myself in the mirror. The girl looking back at me wore a white dressing gown and had her hair pulled into a messy ponytail.
Zander waited for me on the other side of the door, in a room, with a bed that I was supposed to sleep in with him. Logically, I should not have been as nervous as I felt. We had already slept together inside the makeshift tent on our way to Garrett and I had tried to seduce him. But when matters of love and the heart were concerned, logic flew out of the window. This was the first time we would be alone in a room together and we were now betrothed whereas we weren’t before. The new level our
I wasn't lying to him or reciting pretty words to make him feel better. I spoke the truth. The only other person who might have come close to him was Darrien, and while he was the picture of chivalry, standing and fighting for a noble cause, he could never be described as good or compassionate or even kind. He was merciless in his pursuit of what he believed was just cause and wouldn't hesitate to cut down anybody that got in his way. Torture, murder, extortion were all fair game if the means justified the end. His definition of morality was the outcome that yielded the best results for the most people.
Zander possessed more concrete notions of right and wrong. There were some lines he would never cross, no matter the consequences. I figured that out when he requested my assistance to help find his sister after she was taken. Darrien would have skinned me alive for the betrayal, regardless of what may have been developing between us, and my cooperation afterward would have never been a choice.
"I want to dance."
I stood up and gently tugged on Zander's arm urging him to stand with me. In truth I would have been content without doing so, but I remembered the look of pure elation on Zander's face when he spun me around the ballroom in the High Palace. He made every attempt to cheer me up when he saw shadows move beneath my eyes, and now I understood why he was so persistent in doing so. It felt like a knife to the gut to see him in angst.
The couples dancing in the open space in the middle of the room bowed to us then shuffled off to the side at our approach. I would never become comfortable with people reacting to me as if I were royalty. My betrothal to Zander had technically made me so. The thought unsettled me. I wasn't royalty, I didn't come from any haughty bloodlines, and though I'd lived in a palace from eight to seventeen years old, I had never been wealthy or treated with any type of importance. Belial called me his ward, but I was more like a slave forced into servitude.
I shook off thoughts of Belial. Now was not the time. Zander always chased the shadows away and I wanted very much to return the favor. His effort started off half-hearted. I decided he needed a little prodding.
"I thought you had better skills than this," I teased him.
I spun myself out and back into his arms. When our bodies connected I flung my arms around him then pressed my lips to his. It wasn't a chaste kiss. I filled it with every bit of love and every bit of passion that I felt for him. When I pulled back to study him his warm amber eyes had deepened into a golden blaze.
"Skyler you are a walking conundrum. You blush at the mention of us sharing a bed then you follow it up with a kiss like that. It's not fair you know. To kiss me like that so close to us retiring to our room for the evening. I think I may end up on the floor after all."
He was right. I was a walking contradiction. I fought back the blush that wanted to color my cheeks. It was the first time he had so openly admitted to desiring me that way. It sent little fireworks exploding through my body. I mentally shook my head, admonishing myself for the direction of my thoughts. Now was not the time.
Chapter 14
I stood in the oversized bathroom that connected to our sleeping quarters staring at myself in the mirror. The girl looking back at me wore a white dressing gown and had her hair pulled into a messy ponytail.
Zander waited for me on the other side of the door, in a room, with a bed that I was supposed to sleep in with him. Logically, I should not have been as nervous as I felt. We had already slept together inside the makeshift tent on our way to Garrett and I had tried to seduce him. But when matters of love and the heart were concerned, logic flew out of the window. This was the first time we would be alone in a room together and we were now betrothed whereas we weren’t before. The new level our
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