Xander

“Has there been any news?” Andrei asks quietly as we wait for Cherish to leave the bathroom with the maid who’s helping her into her gown for the ceremony tomorrow.

“Regarding the Ikishri?” Kade asks just as quietly.

I shake my head and lean back against the glass doors to Cherish’s balcony. “Not yet. It’s only a matter of time, though. It hasn’t been that long since Forrest lost the crown. I do, however, think we should prepare for something to happen during the ceremony.”

“Why do you say that?” Kade frowns at me.

“No, he’s got a point.” Andrei meets Kade’s confused expression with a stoic one. “What better way to show that things aren’t all okay in the Kingdom than to attack during the biggest day of the year. Forrest chose not to do a ceremony. He didn’t care about it and it would also give someone a chance to step up to the throne if they didn’t want him on it. Cherish doesn’t care about it either, but since it’s a tradition, she’s doing it.”

“Do you think that anyone will try to dispute her right to rule?” Kade asks, tone worried.

“If they do, then they’re fools,” I bite out. “She may be young and new to all of this but she was born to rule. It’s clear to anyone paying any fucking attention.”

“Easy,” Andrei mutters a split second before the bathroom door opens.

Each of us straighten as Cherish strolls out of the bathroom in her dress. I have to physically stop myself from letting my jaw drop as my mouth goes dry. The dress hangs off her upper arms, sheer light blue fabric for the sleeves, a long slit up the dress on one side that is probably too high. But with how much fabric is flowing off the dress, she won’t have any issues with flashing anybody. From where I’m standing, it looks like there are sparkling vines across the top of her dress, adorning her chest and arms. At her waist is a sparkling belt.

“Holy shit,” Kade breathes from beside me.

Cherish’s cheeks pinken and she looks so uncertain as she fidgets with her fingers in front of her. “I look ridiculous,” she mutters, her eyes on the floor.

Andrei’s the first to snap out of his stupor and meets her in the middle of the room, his arm wrapping gently around her waist as he pulls her against him. “You look gorgeous, Cherish.” A relieved smile breaks out across her face. She stands on her toes and presses a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Thank you,” she whispers against his lips before turning back to me and Kade, that uncertainty back.

I walk over to her and cup her face in my hands as I meet her eyes. “You’re absolutely breathtaking, Princess,” I mutter before capturing her lips with mine.

She makes a soft noise in the back of her throat as she kisses me back and I groan as I break the kiss. God, this girl will be the death of me. I look in her dazed eyes and I slowly smirk. She rolls her eyes when she notices it and smacks my chest lightly before backing away to look over my shoulder at Kade.

Kade chuckles as I step to the side. “You’re beautiful, mia, I don’t know what you were so worried about.” Cherish gives him a small smile and wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him before resting her head in the crook of his neck. Kade’s arms wrap around her.

Cherish meets my eyes and then Andrei’s. “Thank you, guys,” she murmurs, her cheeks still slightly pink.

“No need to thank us for telling the truth, Princess,” I assure her, a smile on my face.

“I should probably get out of this dress,” she mutters as she lowers her arms from Kade’s neck and takes a step back from us. “Knowing me, I’ll find a way to ruin it before tomorrow if I leave it on.”

The guys and I chuckle as she walks back into the bathroom to change.

“You’re taking her to train a little more with her powers after she gets back, right?” Kade asks as he moves to Cherish’s bed and lays back on it, crossing his arms behind his head.

I nod once. “Yeah. She’s getting better, but she’s still having a bit of trouble controlling fire. She keeps blowing shit up.”

Kade snorts a laugh and Andrei chuckles softly beside me. “She hasn’t almost blown you up since the last time, has she?” Andrei asks, attempting to keep his laugh from his voice.

I narrow my eyes at him as Kade bursts out laughing. “She told you about that?”

Andrei laughs. “Yeah, she did. She was getting frustrated that she wasn’t making much progress.”

I shake my head as Kade curls into a ball, holding his stomach as he loses it. “She hasn’t done it since before she was taken by Forrest. She’s also been wary of doing it again. She doesn’t want to hurt me so she’s been fighting it.”

Andrei frowns. “Have you thought about shielding?”

I raise a brow at him. “Of course I have. She almost blew me up while I was shielded. Her fire burst my shield.”

Andrei’s eyebrows go up and Kade stops laughing as he bolts upright. “Repeat that,” Kade says softly.

“Her fire burst my shield,” I repeat.

Kade’s eyes widen. “You think it’s because of the mark?”

Andrei nods. “I think so. Especially if it burst Xander’s shield. Even his weakest shielding is difficult to break for nearly anyone.”

“Exactly,” I mutter.

The door to the bathroom opens again and Cherish is back in her usual jeans and t-shirt.

“So, what’s next?” she asks as she looks between us, a slight frown on her face.

I flash her a smile. “Me and you are going to go to the training field and start training with your fire again.”

Her frown deepens as uncertainty flashes on her face. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. You need to work on it, ma hai,” I answer gently.

She sighs and nods her head in resignation. “Alright. Let’s get this over with. Just... just don’t let me blow you up.”

I chuckle as I go to her side and wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “You got it.”

* * *

“No! Shit! Xander!”

My eyes widen as I jump out of the way of the giant fire ball hurtling my way. “Damn it, Cherish,” I grunt as I land hard on my side. Turning over, I gape at the damage that fireball did to the trees that were directly behind me. It looks like a damn bomb went off. All that’s left of at least fifteen trees is burning stumps.

Footsteps running toward me pulls my attention away from the destruction.

“Xander!” Cherish drops to her knees beside me, tears filling her eyes. That’s the only thing I notice before her arms wrap around my neck and squeeze me to her as she buries her face into my neck. “I’m sorry,” she says, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’m so sorry.”

“Shh, I’m okay,” I whisper as I wrap my arm around her waist. “I’m not hurt.”

She sniffs and shakes her head, her forehead rubbing against my neck. “Are you sure?”

“I’m fine, Princess. You didn’t hurt me.”

“Promise?” The shake in her voice tears through me. I kiss her temple.

“I promise. I’m alright.”

Cherish clutches me tighter for several minutes longer as her body trembles a little against mine. I rub her back soothingly, whispering sweet nothings and promises that I’m alright. Her hold on me loosens a bit as the shaking slows to a stop.

“You okay?” I murmur against her hair, keeping my arms wrapped around her as I continue rubbing her back.

She shakes her head. “I was so scared I was going to hurt you,” she whispers. She pulls away from me, her eyes on my chest. Refusing to meet my eyes.

“Princess, I’m alright. You don’t need to worry about me. Even if you had hit me, it wouldn’t have hurt too badly. I did have my shield up.” I lift her chin up, silently encouraging her to look in my eyes. Her gaze locks on mine and she looks so sad and torn apart that it makes my chest hurt. “Hear me, ma hai, I am okay. Stop beating yourself up. You would have figured out a way to stop it if it came to that, Cherish. Even though you don’t have faith in yourself or your abilities, I do.”

Her lips purse as she looks at me, looking more vulnerable than I’ve seen her in a while. I lean forward and kiss her temple gently before pulling back to meet her eyes again.

“Kade, Andrei, and I believe in you enough to make up for your lack of faith in yourself, for now. But we do have other battles to fight and you’ll need to fully believe in yourself to see it through.” I look up and catch a glimpse of Andrei stalking through the woods towards us. “And we will definitely be working on that with you, just not anymore today.”

She frowns, tilting her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

I tilt my chin toward Andrei. “We’re about to have company.”

Cherish turns and offers Andrei a shaky smile.

Andrei’s gaze narrows on her. “What’s wrong?”

Cherish sighs. “Almost killed Xander. Again.”

I chuckle softly. “Nah, Princess. You didn’t almost kill me. It would have hurt for a while, but that’s about it.”

Andrei frowns as he watches Cherish. Probably noticing that even though she’s trying to appear fine, she’s far from it. The possibility of her hurting me must shake her up more than I realized or ever thought possible.

“What brings you this way?” I ask, drawing Andrei’s attention to me.

He shoots Cherish a worried glance before sighing. “We’ve got word that there are Ikishri men skulking around the edges of the Kingdom. I’ve sent a team to investigate, but I’m not sure how much they’ll find.”

Cherish’s brows pull down. “What does that mean?”

“The Ikishri are the stealthiest elves out there. Aside from assassins, they’re the best at staying below the radar,” I explain.

“If they’re so good at staying below the radar, how were they seen close to the Kingdom?” Cherish asks.

Andrei crosses his arms, relaxing his shoulders a bit. “It’s most likely a trap. The Ikishri are only seen when they want to be seen.”

I make a contemplative noise. “Mm, not always. Usually, but it’s rare that they just stop giving a shit.”

“So why are we sending the team to investigate if it’s most likely a trap?” Cherish asks, looking genuinely confused.

“There’s a few things,” Andrei says in a teacher voice. “They may not be Ikishri and only look like they are because that is the Kingdom they’re coming from. We need to know in any case if this is a trap, because we need to be aware of any threats toward you.”

Cherish gapes at him before shaking her head as she stands up. “Nope. Not doing it. Not thinking about this right now. I just want to go take a nice hot bath and not think for a while.”

I watch as Cherish wipes the dirt and dust off her clothes as she walks away from us.

“She’s scared,” Andrei murmurs quietly. So quiet, I almost don’t hear him. “Isn’t she?”

I wince as I stand up, stretching the gnarly bruise I’m bound to have on my side. “Yeah, I think so. This is all so new to her. I think she’s mostly scared about what can happen to us, though.”

Andrei’s brows pull together as he looks at me, startled. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Andrei, she just lost her entire family not long ago. We have no idea where her sister’s ghost went to. We are, quite literally, all she has left. If something happens to any of the three of us right now, it will most likely make her snap. She probably fears losing us almost as much as she does her own abilities. The fact that she’s almost blown me up several times because of a lack of control in one element is tearing her apart.”

He scowls. “That’s not her fault.”

“I know that,” I assure him. “But she’s having trouble believing that she will be able to stop herself from hurting me. Probably any of us.”

Andrei falls quiet for a few minutes. He looks up and meets my gaze. “I’ll talk with her. Maybe we can figure out what it is that she’s not figuring out about the fire.”

I nod once. “Sounds good. I’m going to check on her in a little bit, make sure she’s not still beating herself up.”