The Hunter's Princess

Chapter 26

Another arrow thudded into the target, causing another wave of arousal to force Serah to press her legs harder together.

Xander had hit nearly every bullseye except for the first, as he had been briefly thrown by the castle's weaponry. Prehaps he had done it merely to taunt her.

Serah let herself lean forward slightly for a fraction of a second. He was an evil, evil man for doing this to her. Her mind was taunting her with all the delicious things they would be doing if Xander won. Just as she'd predicted, Marco was severely outmatched by her fiancè. At least Flynn and Erik hadn't caught on to her discomfort.

"I don't know what Marco was thinking," Erik pointed out. "Should I go take Xander's place? It'd be more fun to watch."

"Have you seen Marco's face? This is great," Flynn replied. The boy then let out a massive sneeze that sent both of his siblings recoiling from his side. He'd been sick in bed for days now, but had insisted on watching. Serah glanced over at her cousin and Xander to see them raising eyebrows at the siblings.

"Sorry!" She called. The nobles who had come to watch laughed quietly. The hunter merely turned his gaze back to the target, but then withdrew. Serah looked at him in concern. Xander hadn't been thrown off by Flynn, had he?

"Apologies."

She jumped in her seat. The voice that had snuck up behind her was rich and accented. Serah felt her eyes narrow as she recognized the verbal tick that she had heard most of the demons possess during her time in Hell. She looked back to see a man with blue eyes giving her a warm smile.

"Serah, I presume?" The demon asked her. Flynn took that moment to sneeze again. Serah snapped her gaze to Erik and delicately inclined her head towards the castle. Her brother caught on, taking the sick boy by the arm and beginning to walk back to their room. The demon's sapphire eyes watched their exchange before taking a seat beside her. "You know what I am, then, for you to send your siblings away so urgently."

"Flynn has a cold. He shouldn't be outside," she answered stiffly.

Xander's shots had begun to stray from the bullseye the very second that the demon arrived. They were still close enough to beat Marco's rather poor marks, however.

"My name is Jack. It's truly a pleasure to see some of the color back in your face, I must say," the demon told her. "I am terribly sorry that you weren't able to end Caos yourself after what he did to you."

Serah pressed her lips together tightly.

"You're the king. You were probably thirsting to end him for a long time," she replied. Jack smirked arrogantly and turned his eyes to the match just as the final arrow hit its mark.

"The Lord Xander is victorious," the announcer called. Serah tensed as the king stood at her side, her hands itching to take the bow for herself. Jack spoke quietly to the announcer, then to the curious Marco. "The next round will take place in just a moment."

Xander walked to Serah, taking her hand as she rose to meet him.

"Who is he?" Xander demanded through clenched teeth.

"Hell's new king. Are you going to compete with him?" She asked, worried. Serah watched as Xander's eyes ignited with the challenge. "Xander, he's the king."

"So it will be so much more exciting when I beat him," the hunter whispered. The girl groaned and shook him gently.

"You're going to kill me," Serah chided him. "Be careful..."

"Let's use our wager on this, yes?"

She blushed as he leaned in to whisper into her ear.

"I've seen nothing sexier than watching you squirm in your chair every time I shoot. It's very distracting, princess, so I'd suggest you keep it under control," Xander murmured to her. Her cheeks flared. He'd noticed! "Don't I get a kiss for luck?"