In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 20: Inevitable~BONUS: ZAYN'S POV~

ZAYN'S POV BITCHES! YA'LL DID IT!

This is a flashback to the Princess's birthday, just a telling from good 'ole Zayn. Lemme know what you think!!!

Zayn walked into the banquet hall, aware he was interrupting the Princess's birthday, but it was important to give the appearance of being as demanding and self-centered as the rest of the Royal family of Mullingar. He was dancing along a dangerous line and one slip up put him in the gallows, and the rest of Dalitrise in peril. No one could afford that, so here he was, taking a risk to get one more critical ally. Everything depended on the outcome of his venture here.

He had come to share the existence of the resistance with the Princess, in the hopes that she wasn't the type to betray under the idea of getting in Murdoch's good graces. Her cooperation was crucial, because he needed her to agree to the marriage proposal in order to make time for the resistance to come to full power. As well, if she considered it, with no knowledge of the resistance, then the marriage was the most practical move anyway. But there could be trouble. His counterparts had warned him of her stubbornness and petulance. Oh, by the gods, he hoped they were wrong.

The Royal family of Elysium came into view. Strong, wise King Jonathan frowned at Zayn for a moment before schooling his expression into one of welcome benevolence. Obviously, he was a better actor than his daughter, whose expression, visible even from a distance, told Zayn that he was a vile enemy, an interloper and obviously not welcome.

As he neared, Zayn captured the full scope of the Princess. She was stunning, though not yet in the full flower of womanhood. The stark contrast of her pale skin and black-brown hair was its own fascination. However, the true defining feature was her eyes, close to the dark shade of her hair and glistening with a shrewd intelligence that made him feel as if he were on display, all his thoughts free to her scrutiny. They were piercing, to say the least. It was a struggle to move his attention back to the King and Queen, pretending to pay his respects.

Decorum dictated he greet Jonathan and Fayette first, but the minute he could he brought his gaze back to the Princess. He took her hand in his, recognizing that it was as smooth and soft as he had expected from royalty, but the magnetism of her eyes was compounded ten-fold the moment their hands touched. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to the silky warmth of her hand and it felt as if a fire had ignited beneath them.

This was dangerous, more dangerous than the resistance, more dangerous than anything he could have forseen.

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Okay, I was originally going to just have the above part from Zayn's POV, because I already had it written, but I decided I wanted you guys to have more (you're welcome) and it helps develop the plot more, so here's something from the present time period, after Zayn agrees to help Kalysta and she gets help from Delia and William. That's why it took so long for the update. :\ my bad!

Okay here ya go!

Zayn went to find Louis the moment he left the council chambers and his most recent meeting with the Princess. Louis was the only one he could trust on such short notice. And Louis had to be there at the ship before the Princess arrived.

It worried him that she was traveling the roads to the sea all by herself, and at night too. There was more of this that relied on her than he wanted to admit to himself. If anyone could pull the nations of Dalitrise together, it would be her, with her strength, her fire, and her ability to get what she wanted. He couldn't fathom how she'd managed to make him agree with her. She'd arrived at his room, making demands and throwing him so far from what he knew, from what he was comfortable with. He'd been warned of her abrasive manners, but no one thought to tell him of her commanding presence, the way she filled a room and made it so that no other purpose was important but hers.