She is the Princess, and he's her guard. A lust that's forbidden.
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Princess Celeste Lawerence is a snotty, rebellious, and vain temptress. At least, that's what the kingdom of Alvera says she is. Landing every one of her personal guards in exile or...
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Gray Anderson
I spent the rest of the day jumping through hoops and running around like a chicken with my head cut off (which I was confident Celeste enjoyed, based on her pleased grin). I had to delegate a carriage for the journey, contact the stable managers for horses, and recruit one or two more guards to accompany us for her protection. Amid this, Celeste went to inform her parents of her short trip, which I was thankful for because it saved me from doing it.
I was worried the queen might pry into me with questions about the nature of this trip, which, in honesty, I wasn't even entirely sure of Celeste's motives for. But whatever they were, I had an inkling they had to do with her quest for more information.
Her starvation for answers surprised me more than I'd like to admit—or ever would. As the princess went off, I found myself alone with my rampant mind, and as I willed to keep it off her, it was nearly impossible. Images of her shocked, even horrified face as she learned of the attacks plagued me with curiosity. At first, I figured her surprise was all a well-orchestrated act to keep responsibility off her.
I rolled my eyes at it at the moment until I witnessed her complete determination for more answers consume her. I saw more passion behind her wild blue eyes than I ever witnessed strewn across her parents' faces. That passion and unrest made her look completely different from the two people ruling this kingdom.
It rocked my initial view, stirred the waters inside my head, and swarmed me with this curious feeling I had calculated her wrong. How off I was? I didn't know. She tattered back and forth from a woman trying everything in her power to derail me to barely noticing I was around when her mind was set on something.
And when she actually heeded my advice yesterday, despite herself or her agenda to ruin me, I felt a disturbing curiosity squeeze at my chest coupled with a thought that would only land me in trouble.
Was there more to this woman than I thought?
I shook my head and buried the idea. Exploring that, in any capacity, could cause detrimental effects. I knew how to analyze enemies, and it was better to protect your own back than waltz into uncertainty. That's what got people killed.
My heartbeats felt heavier against my ribcage, rattling that curious, uncertain feeling throughout my whole body. Because I hadn't completely figured her out yet, her perfect porcelain face, blue eyes, and raven hair consumed every space in my mind.
As I helped the stable managers strap the two white stallions to the carriage, a chill spread fire down my back. My mind wandered to the smooth, nearly ethereal edges of her face. The temptation on her lips elicited a near siren-like noise every time she spoke. And the way her glacier eyes narrowed at me, turning her face shades of powerful.
Spending every moment with her recently made it more evident how these men before me fell to her. She barely needed to seduce; she just needed to exist. That fact made me rethink a lot about her, about her methods, and her reasons. What once fit so perfectly in my mind now had missing pieces.
