-HER-

"Let me down!" I protested immediately after he scooped me up and followed one of his men towards the Palace's back exist.

"You're coming with me," He growled. I tried to struggle against him, but he was determined. The more I tried, the tighter he held onto me.

"This is kidnapping!" I yelled at him, "You're kidnapping a princess!" I said, trying to get him to put me down, but he looked more determined to take me away.

"That's even better. You'll make a good queen," He had the nerve to say that to me at that moment. I almost punched him in the throat, but it didn't affect him. His eyes were set ahead while he hurried through the endless mage of corridors to get out of that place. Whoever tried to come our way, the man leading us took them down, but Alexandros didn't stop. He kept running.

"You dare say that to me!" I gritted.

"I'm putting it as it is," He confidently told me, hiding a smug look under his laser-focused face. I almost punched him in the face, but he somehow managed to duck while simultaneously running.

"I'm Theoron's sister, remember?" I said, wrapping my fingers around his throat, but that didn't phase him either.

"Even better. You can tell me a good lot about him so that I could destroy him forever," He said. I stopped my attempts to choke him and stared at him, unable to believe that he could say that at such a critical moment!

"You really think I would go against my brother for a mutt?" I asked, keeping my tone derogatory but still, it didn't matter to him.

"If you're still willing to save your brother after he tried to get you killed, then I must say, your judgement capabilities aren't that good, Theresa," He said.

"You can say that because I was trying to save you a few moments ago," I hissed.

"By saying that, are you trying to hint that you have feelings for me?" He asked. His question caught me off guard. I opened my mouth to snap back at him, only to find that I had nothing to say against that. I closed my mouth and glared at him instead while I felt blood rush in my face. Darn it!

We were out of the palace building, in the back gardens where more of Alexandors' men were waiting. Just in the distance, a carriage was waiting. I was still somewhat in denial that he wasn't serious about taking me to Cromeria with him but seeing all this arrangement made me realise how serious he was.

I panicked and started throwing a fit.

"No!" I put up with the struggle again, this time trying harder. "You just can't take me anywhere with you! There would be consequences!" I yelled, trying to manoeuvre myself. At one point, I managed to get down, but he was swift to catch me again. This time he threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried me to the carriage waiting ahead.

"You're coming with me no matter what you do, Theresa. I'm a man of my word," He told me coldly. I tried, but I couldn't move from my position.

"This will not end well, Alexandros. My brother will go to war with you over me," I tried to warn him again, not ready to give up yet, but things didn't seem to be in my favour. He gently placed me inside the carriage before he said grimly, "I've fought for you today. I am willing to fight for you again,"

"No!" I yelled, getting frustrated that he wasn't taking my words seriously. He was just saying those things in the heat of the moment so that I would go with him... or was he? "I'm talking about a full-fledged war," I tried, but my words only fell on deaf ears.

He got inside the carriage and closed the door before I could attempt to make a dash for it. As soon as he was inside, the carriage was moving, and within a few seconds, it was moving at full speed. Everything happened so quickly that I didn't have the time to react to it adequately.

I held onto my seat as the carriage almost flew down the slope of the citadel on which the Palace stood. I didn't realise that I was screaming at the top of my lungs until the carriage hit the ground with a loud thud. Meanwhile, Alexandros didn't look the least bit bothered. His eyes were only focused on me, and oh, there were still so many emotions in them that weren't going to go away so soon.

"You're getting yourself in a huge mess," I said.

"It could have been avoided if you hadn't stepped in between," He replied, "But I'm willing to go the extra mile for you,"

"Things are not as simple as you think they are!" I yelled at him, breathing fire. I was frustrated. "And don't ever think I will stay with you forever. I am going to flee the first chance I get!" I declared. This fuelled something inside of him. A new fire kindled in his eyes. It was as if he had been challenged. He saw me as a challenge.

"What makes you think I'm going to leave you alone after this?" He asked, his eyes scorching hot. A shiver ran down my spine. It was as if he was giving me a warning, "and that reminds me that you have a lot to tell me,"

"You don't know what you're getting into," I gritted. He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"You seem to think too highly of your brother, Theresa," He spoke. Contempt for my brother was clearly audible in his voice. "He is nothing but a puppet. I know how to deal with him and his snake for an advisor. I wouldn't let either of them get to you,"

"They aren't the only people after me," I muttered, digging my nails into my palm out of frustration.

How was I going to tell him about the shrine and Vittoria? It would get messy if he were to find out about my priestess title.

"Tell me, who else is after you. I have the power to deal with all of them. I will not let anything set us apart," He spoke with that zeal that made my heart flutter.

I didn't have any doubts about his powers. He was was the strongest and wealthiest king of all, but... there's Vittoria. I couldn't tell him about her for his safety. Even for a king like him, it could be lethal for him to interfere in the Shrine's business which he was currently doing by kidnapping me!

"What if," I started, knowing well enough that my following words might break his heart, "I simply don't wish to be with you?"

~