Xiran was fuming, the rage that coursed through him like a typhoon was leaving him wanting to drown Jaguar in its strong current. The way he touched Aselia and led her away took everything Xiran had to not kill him. It tortured him beyond anything he could narrate in words. It was like taking away a part of his soul.

The way she stared back at him in confusion and yet fascination made it excruciatingly difficult to let her walk away from him.

He didn’t want Aselia to know about his existence yet, so he let it happen. But now he wanted to seek answers. The man said to talk to Casmian. Did that mean he knew Aselia was here? How could he endanger her life by bringing her to a place swarming with vampires?

Xiran knew they had protocols, and tight security and Aselia was smart enough to be using the scent-subduing serum. Yet, he didn’t want her here, especially with another man, who was ordering her around. How did she find it acceptable?

Prince Casmian was heading to the hall with his two royal guards when Xiran cornered him. The dark pits that his eyes had become and the way he approached the prince, instantly told him that Xiran knew Aselia was here. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Prince Casmian! I would like a word in private," he gritted out his words, trying to hold off the anger that was becoming his undoing. He had come here to get away from his stress-filled life, to have at least one day of peace and yet here he ended up having his heart trampled all over again.

Prince halted along with his guards, he knew he had fucked up and had to face the consequences. He tilted his head to his guards, asking them to leave him, they bowed and walked away.

"Why the hell..." Casmian didn’t let him finish.

"Not here, follow me," Xiran fumed like an enraged bull, ready to impale his victim with his sharp horns.

Casmian took him to his study, which was soundproof so no one could hear the private conversations he carried out there. He opened the door and held it open for Xiran to enter first, who stormed inside like a super-fast tornado and crossed his athletic arms and glared at the prince.

Casmian casually walked past him and leaned against his oak table and gave his attention to Xiran, who seemed on the verge of bursting out in flames of fury.

"Did you know Aselia was here?" The tenseness and rigidity of his body posture were unsettling, even to the prince. The greyish orbs were bloodshot due to the dilation of veins in them from the extreme anger he was experiencing.

"Yes!" Casmian replied with a small sigh.

"Why? I trusted you and yet you brought her here, endangering her life. Who is the man with her?" the flashes of him holding her resurfaced in his brain and he clenched his teeth so loudly that Casmian was sure few of them would fall out.

"Xiran! Just calm down. I meant well, I just wanted to keep her safe with my connections. So I spoke to Aldridge and sent my brother to be her personal bodyguard. He is trained by my ’OFA’, he is highly capable and has been with her for the past ten months. He saved her life when she got injured and was almost attacked by a vampire," Casmian calmly explained, feeling Xiran’s hostility towards Jaguar.

"A personal bodyguard? Ten months? Your brother? Are you hearing yourself? And you didn’t think it was important to let me know about these details? You hid that from me. Why?"

Xiran pointed his index finger at him, trying to digest all that information. It meant Yurian knew about him but never said a word to him. If Yurian knew then Frila probably knew as well. They hid such a vital part of the information from him. Xiran felt betrayed by the people he trusted.

Was that why he had to experience such excruciating pain in his heart because Aselia had been with someone else? The mere thought made his insides churn as if they were being ripped apart by some brutal force.

"Exactly fearing this reaction from you. I knew you would never approve," Casmian took off the red and gold mask he was wearing and placed it on the table. The silence followed before Xiran broke it.

"I had her security covered and I have every reason to be mad. She is ’MINE’ Casmian and I will not take it lightly if someone will try to get close to her," he leaned closer to Casmian and held his gaze with his burning one.

"You let her go, Xiran. Let her move on," Casmian spoke firmly, maintaining their eye contact, not backing down. Xiran flinched at his words, it seemed like the prince had just slapped him.

"That’s when I thought I couldn’t defeat my father. Now I know and believe I can, so I am planning on having her back."

"No one knows how long that will take Xiran. Do you think she will wait year after year when she doesn’t even remember you? She is an elf, not a vampire, she is not going to live forever. My brother is a better choice, he is a mortal like her and he deeply cares for her too. Besides Emeradius is the safest place for her to stay, and I will ensure no harm comes her way. As much as it pains me to say it, you must let her g...,"

The punch came so fast that Casmian had no time to dodge it. Connecting with his temple it sent him spiralling toward the bookshelves, toppling it over and Casmian landed on it, bewildered. He knew he had crossed a line there but Xiran needed to hear the truth.

"I am going to kill your brother, he will regret that he ever laid a hand on my girl," Xiran’s menacing words echoed in the study and Casmian knew they were doomed.