Hated by her lineage, Iliya Dalaminai dwells in self isolation, awaiting the day her cousin marries so she might escape the Throne.
Feared by the Gods, Sorein Chakrine's crown is mainly a relic put on display at royal ceremonies to ward off evil.
Wh...
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Sorein wanted to crawl out of his very skin.
He imagined his skeleton finding a way to unzip from his body and dig deep into the floor.
His insides were screaming at him to get up and get out. To flee back to Azuris. He wanted to get as far away from that cold, glazed over look in her eyes as she beheld him.
He watched as Iliya's fingers tightened into her dressing gown, kneading at the fabric. She visibly stiffened, curling into herself slightly.
The large space around them was beginning to flood with people, filled with the sound of shuffling footsteps and breathing.
No escape.
Sorein tried to pinch himself, only to find that the awful nightmare he'd fallen into was his own fault.
The entire problem could be considered his fault, he decided. Ruining their awkward and secret evening by losing his temper. Sorein had spent the last two years attempting to leash it, to keep his opinions and concerns to himself. But the young woman staring back at him had pushed him too far and the carefully crafted hold he had, slipped.
So Sorein did the only thing he could think of.
He lifted his gaze and stared right back.
~~~~~~~~
She couldn't believe her eyes.
Not when they stared at the tall, lean man in white slink down into the Fae section. His crisp, white collared shirt and unwrinkled slacks contrasted only by his shaggy black hair. The midnight waves even seemed to be on their best behavior.
Iliya felt the pit in her stomach widen and expand, so much so that she shrunk into herself in an attempt to make the sensation stop.
Sorein Chakrine towered over most but he was an entire head and shoulders taller than her. She hadn't seen him enter. She once wondered if he could out stealth silence itself; his movements were often methodical as if from another dimension.
This wasn't a hallucination.
She was certain this time, watching him find his seat.
When Sorein looked at her, she noticed him visibly pale. Iliya was certain no other would witness anything like it in all their years. The Prince was skilled at a great many things, but remaining masked to the world was his specialty.
Frozen in place, Iliya inspected him. She examined the way he straightened beneath her gaze, still and unmoving. As if this were a wild game of predator and prey.
She was entirely uncertain who was what in this circumstance, but her heart pounded violently against her ribs in anticipation.
Should she be the hunted, Iliya knew there was nothing to be done. Perhaps watch him stalk her until the final moment came and she no longer existed.
