The Underworld Crown (Series)

Chapter 12

A lethal rage began to rise onto its hind legs. After everything that had happened, how could Alek merely prance back into the picture, cracking jokes and making threats? The last time I'd seen him, he'd promised to help me reach the North Gate and then bolted at the first possible chance. He'd packed up and left Greed City when Cleo had ambushed me. Perhaps she had finally dug her claws into him deep enough to convince him not to help me.

"What do you want, Alek?" I asked accusingly. "If you're just going to stand here and taunt us, I'd much prefer you leave us alone."

He raised an eyebrow. "Consider my taunting your own personal training. With present company, you'll need a lot of it to keep up."

I scoffed. "I can keep up very fine without your help, thank you very much."

Alek's gaze hardened. "Based off how we left things between us, I got that message loud and clear."

I faltered momentarily, wondering why Alek was angry at me. I was the one who was supposed to be angry at him, not the other way around. 

"But," he continued, "it looks like you've already moved onto outsourcing for help." He glanced over to Kadyn, then back to me. "You know, you shouldn't be so hasty to seek someone else's assistance, Princess. Especially when that someone can't even button their shirt correctly."

Much to Alek's satisfaction, he was right. Kadyn had hurriedly tried to fix his shirt but had misaligned all of the buttons and now swore under his breath, rushing to fix his mistake. Alek grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Yep, I'm sure you'll be safe seeking his advice during the tournament," Alek finished.

"Don't talk about Kadyn as if he's not here," I retorted. "And I don't need anyone's help."

Kadyn sighed. "It's fine, Serena. I never expected much from Alek in terms of kindness, anyway." He shot Alek a furious glare. "But I know you might need to talk to him privately, and now that I know he won't hurt you, I'll return to the Dining Hall while you finish your conversation. Hades might grow suspicious if either of us are gone for too long."

A weight lifted from my shoulders, knowing that I wouldn't have to try to stop either of them from attacking each other. I was grateful when Kadyn only slipped me a smile of reassurance before leaving the room, and didn't even attempt to kiss me in front of Alek. I was still reeling from the fact I'd once been desperate to feel his skin on mine. But looking at Kadyn now, I didn't feel any of the attraction that the lust charm had made me experience. When he was gone, the silence settled in the room.

Furious, I marched up to Alek, pointing a finger at his chest. He only looked amused.

"You don't need to be so rude," I growled. "And Kadyn is actually trustworthy. He has never lied to me about his intentions." Unlike Alek.

For the first time since seeing him, Alek's features softened the slightest. "I never wanted to lie to you, Serena. I thought it was the only way that you would trust me, but I was wrong. I should have known you wouldn't hold the prejudices against me that others did purely because of my parents."

Taken aback, I rocked onto the heels of my feet. "Okay then. If that's true, you don't have a right to be jealous."

"Jealous?" Another amused smirk crossed his lips, and he slowly took a step closer to me.

"Of Kadyn," I replied, my mouth dry. Alek was gradually moving closer and closer. My heart beat thunderously in my chest as I instinctively took a small step back. I almost stumbled. My body was telling me one thing while my mind told me another–I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to move away.