Irresistible

Chapter 13

Blake had completely stopped talking to her and she had no clue as to why. As far as she was concerned she was the one that had a million reasons to be angry with him. Not the other way around. He hadn't abandoned his post as her guard but he simply followed her around and refused to speak to her unless it strictly had to do with his duties as one of her guards. He seemed unwilling to resume their previous friendship. Jade tried talking to him, she even tried to make him laugh. Nothing had worked. In the end, he had snapped, "I'm here to protect you not entertain you. If you're bored I suggest you find your fiancé and he can entertain you." Jade had been wounded by his cruel words and decided she wouldn't try to rekindle their friendship after all. Screw him! She thought bitterly and tried not to cry.

Jade spent her days with Raina and her evenings' training with Belladoris. Alec was busy getting his troops ready for the battle they knew was to come so she hadn't gotten to spend much time with him the last few days and she found herself longing for his company. He had promised to come and escort her to the dungeons so she could devise a plan to help Ivy escape, but so far he had not come through and she was beginning to think she was going to have to make her own way there before time ran out for poor Ivy.

At night Jade would take back the diarium from Sarah and scour through Skyler's memories, in hopes she would find the answer to how to stop Noctis.

One afternoon she'd opened her bedroom door and found the entryway empty. Her guards were nowhere to be found and so she set off on her own, thankful for the solitude for once. Maybe this was her opportunity to make her way to the dungeon. Earlier in the week, she had noticed a balcony nestled inside an arched alcove that she had been meaning to explore. Jade headed in that direction with the thought that it would be the perfect place to steal a few precious minutes of blissful quiet and devise a plan to get to Ivy and help her escape before someone came looking for her. But her hope was in vain. She'd just made it to the alcove when she suddenly felt someone watching her. Jade stiffened, confused by the feeling of danger that swept over her, then slowly turned around to face the threat.

She recognized the vampire that had first greeted her in the great hall the night of the attack. "Hello, Princess. I was hoping I would get another chance to properly introduce myself to you. My name is Valen, I am from the noble House of Doulos." He said and took her hand in his and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. Jade felt her skin crawl at the contact. There was something about him that had her instincts screaming at her to run.

But instead of running, she held it together and politely smiled at him. "It's very nice to meet you, Valen." She simply responded for lack of anything else to say.

Valen couldn't believe his good fortune. He had been trying to figure out a way to get the princess alone ever since he had first laid eyes on her but her guards were always right behind her trailing her every step. Leaving him no hope of ever getting close to her, and now here she was standing before him. A juicy little morsel, ripe for the taking.

"You're very beautiful." He suddenly blurted out making her even more uncomfortable than she already was. It didn't help that he was looking at her like she was some delicious treat he had a craving for. "Such a delicate-looking creature. I was very worried about you after you were injured in the attack. I inquired about your well-being but I'm afraid your fiancé was not a wealth of information. I think he might be a little intimidated by me." he finished and she found that statement very hard to believe.

"Well, you can see for yourself that I am the very picture of health." She simply replied to his bizarre statement. "But it is a dangerous world Jade, and I find myself wanting to offer you my services," he said in a gentle tone as he leaned forward and reached out as if to touch her face. She pulled back from him quickly so that he wouldn't be able to reach her. She definitely did not want him to touch her. "You need protection Princess—and I am very powerful," he said, looking disappointed and maybe a little bit unnerved that she wasn't letting him get closer to her. Valen was used to women throwing themselves at him and he found himself quickly becoming annoyed at how she was playing hard to get. It never occurred to him in the slightest that she wasn't interested in him.