Clandestine

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

"Hold on." Sam says rubbing her forehead. We both were finishing our last lap around the flight field. Lucky and Cyrus made it a game to see who could finish the fastest. Giving Sam and I some much needed alone time.

Cyrus was smart today. Kept his space. Xander also made sure we were never alone with each other.

To say today has been awkward would be an understatement. The tension between the squad was strong. Thank god for lucky, he does his best to make jokes and keep the energy light. Him and Sam are walking sunshine.

"That was so much in like thirty seconds." She lets out a breath, "Okay, first... You met his dad? The king."

 "Ugh yes. I thought he was going to kill me." I run my hand through my hair, brushing strands out of my face. Yesterday was one of the craziest days of my life. I almost died... I killed Lucinda... Faced the king...

"I didn't." She shrugs like it was nothing. "I was fully convinced Xander would get you out of it."

"He doesn't have say over what his father orders." I say quietly, my gaze falling to the rocky path under our feet.

"I know. But I don't think he would've cared. He's ready to kill anyone for you." She says, "Maybe he wouldn't have killed his father but he would've killed anyone who even tried to get close to you." She stops talking for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin, "Although I can see him killing his father if the king tried killing you." She shrugs her shoulders. The sunlight adding a sparkle to her eyes. "He's very protective of you."

"I know." My cheeks heat at the thought. He is super protective. Something I was not used to. I've never been with a guy, but I've had boys like me. None of them were super protective like Xander is.

Cyrus was protective... I shake the thought quickly. Xander could probably hear my thoughts from here and that would just be embarrassing.

My thoughts around Cyrus have been a mess. In a short time he became someone I grew very close to. I felt safe with him. The feeling wasn't the same one I get with Xander, but I would be lying if I said Cyrus didn't make me feel safe as well.

It breaks my heart that he told my secret the way he did. He knows I could be killed. Even though he kept his space today, I have this bad feeling pulling at my heart. I hate that I'm such an emotional person. He betrayed me, yet I could feel myself wanting to forgive him.

She gasps, her hand flying over her mouth. I look at her for a moment, my brows furrowing. "What?"

"You're going to the ball with the prince!" She nearly screams.

"Shh." I grab her arm, pulling her to a stop. "Don't scream it." I don't know why I'm still embarrassed. I wasn't ready for people to see me as the princess. I'm not ready to be the princess. Yet after yesterday, I'm sure everyone knows by now. Everyone wants the prince, it wont take long for word to get around that the prince has found his princess.

"I'm sorry." She says quieter. Her smile wide, spreading into her eyes. Her dark curly hair was pulled back in a low bun, leaving a few stray curls to fall around her face. "I'm just so happy for you!"

I couldn't help but smile at that. "I don't want to go." I start dragging my feet across the ground again. Sam knows me more than anyone, she knows how my anxiety is. If I wasn't going to the ball with the prince, and I had the chance to just attend the ball, I wouldn't. I hate attention. Sam is the same way, she would've skipped the ball to chill with me.

Her mouth falls open, "You have to. This is something we've always dreamed about and now you have the chance!"

"I know." I mumble, shaking my head. This is something that every little girl dreams about. Going to a magical ball, finding prince charming, getting that happily ever after.