17 Dangerous

The silence inside the room was thick, suffocating, intimidating even. The prince presented her grandfather with an enchanted sword as a gift. The stillness that followed made the situation even worse.

"May I talk to you?" Cassandra asked, unable to maintain her calm facade.

"Absolutely." A smile appeared on his handsome face.

Seeing that he wasn't moving nor had any intention to stand up from the velvet chair that was supposed to belong to her grandfather, Cassandra added, "In private."

"Lady Cassandra… this…" Hesitation flashed in his eyes before he sighed. "An unmarried woman isn't supposed to talk to any man on her own. But since we are already engaged—"

"Your highness…" Cassandra stood, interrupting his words. There was no hint of irritation in her eyes but her solemn voice somehow made the man smirk at her. It seemed like her reaction amused him. Was he some sort of sadist? "Follow me…"

It was an order.

Something that surprised everyone inside the living room of the La Roche Mansion. She didn't wait for anyone to say anything as she walked out of the living room.

Her actions would be considered disrespectful by most people. After all, he was a Royal. But the emotions inside her were about to burst. It was the anger and irritation that made her feel like she was about to explode.

It was, of course, because of her fire element. Fire wielders were known as hot-headed and impatient. She could control the impulse most of the time, but around this man, control was useless.

"This was the first time that someone didn't dress up to meet me."

She heard his voice behind her. Cassandra tried to calm her breathing. "Stop thinking you are someone special. I could kill you in a heartbeat if I wanted to."

"Oh? It seems that Lady Cassandra is indeed what the rumors say?" He stood next to her. Just like Cassandra, his eyes were immediately glued to the statue of the Phoenix in the middle of the garden that they could see from the patio.

"Rumors?" she asked without looking at him.

"They say that the Lady is unconventional, impatient, fearless, and brilliant."

She snorted. "I want you to cancel this engagement." Again, she wasn't asking. She was ordering him around.

"No. Can. Do."

And she hated his direct answer. He didn't even ask why she wanted it canceled. "How could you marry someone you don't know?"

"I know you."

She frowned at that. Her instincts were telling her that there was some hidden meaning behind his words. "I took you away from your escort, got you in trouble, and used you as bait. And you still told the king that I saved you."

"First, you didn't kidnap me. You rescued me. I was helpless."

She didn't miss the mockery in his tone. She angled her head towards him, wondering what the hell his goal was. Before entering the forest, she hadn't seen herself marrying him. However, everything had changed after she had performed that bit of magic. Did he notice something about her? Did he notice that she had known that the demon would attack her the moment she used the chant?

Her gaze turned complicated.

"Lady Cassandra, I know I was born good-looking but please control yourself. Your grandfather and brother are watching us as if they wanted to behead me."

Her jaw dropped. The arrogance of this man made her want to faint and never wake up again.

"Why do you want to marry me?" she asked.

"You saved me. My body already belongs to you. And— "

"Can you stop acting? It is making me nauseous!"

His warm laughter followed her words. He held his head back, shoulders shaking as if she had just said the funniest joke of all time. Then he dragged his gaze towards her eyes. The smile on his face vanished. "You are an interesting creature."

Creature. The word sent shivers down her spine.

"And you promised to pay me if I became your bait."

"What? I didn't— "

"I almost lost my life because of your flames," he interrupted her. "Not even the demons that I fought made me feel such danger before." Then he looked at the statue of the phoenix as he slid his hand into his pockets. "By now, you already know why the demon appeared. That means, you already knew how dangerous I am."

She gulped. For some reason, it made her feel that he could read her like a damn book.

This person is dangerous! Alarm bells went off inside her mind. If she wanted to keep her secret, she needed to stay away from him.

"You look nervous," Hunter said, his words rich with amusement. "I understand." Turning his body towards her, Hunter smiled and lifted his hand. He was about to touch the strand of her brown hair on her face when she took a step back and grabbed his hand in an attempt to stop it and moved it away from her.

The contact, however, made her freeze.

It was as if hundreds of electric currents danced in her skin. Eyes wide, she lifted her head and met his dark brown eyes. Cassandra let go of his hand as if his touch had burned her, and took a step back. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"There was a– It isn't there anymore." He was staring at her without hiding the disappointment in his eyes.

His dark brown eyes.

Cassandra gulped. The visions were striking again. This time, it was because their skins touched.

What was happening?

How come she saw him with red pupils? Wasn't that a sign that he was a dark one?

How come she saw him ordering his people to kill the Sybill? To kill the one who could see the future?

The information inside her head exploded, dots that never existed before suddenly appeared in her eyes as she tried to sew together all that she had learned so far. The Prince had lost his ability to use elements because of some accident.

But what if it wasn't an accident?

What if it was because… he had turned into a dark one?

But then again, Dark ones don't have any sense of reason. Obviously, the Prince is still sane.

What the hell was going on?