Almira pulled her arms away from him in shock. 
“Engagement? What engagement are you talking about?” She asked and Xander merely smiled at her. Dante and Kitanna watched expectantly, waiting for an answer as well. 
“How about we go in and discuss this properly with my parents? You don’t have to worry, everything has already been fixed, so you all you need to do is get in a pretty dress and watch me announce you as mine to the world,” Xander informed her, 
Kitanna was overjoyed to hear the news. Almira was finally going to wed her mate. The princess would not end up alone as she had always feared. Dante felt the exact opposite of what Kitanna felt. The Princess would be getting married to the Prince in no time. No doubt she would stay off him in order to please her husband.
“No!” Almira replied curtly. “I demand an explanation, right now. How dare you organise an engagement without my consent. What if I have no interest in marrying you? Who said I want to spend my life by your side? Who said i want to…” Kitanna held the princess’ arm gently to remind her of the reason they were here. 
Almira stopped, shooting him a glare dark enough to end his life. 
“Please calm down your highness. I understand your fury,” Kitanna pleaded. Turning to Xander, she said, “The princess hates to be taken by surprise, you should have included her in your decision to plan an engagement. You made her feel like her opinion doesn’t matter to you.”
“Oh, I apologise, my love. I did intend to inform you about it, but when I asked around, I discovered you returned home for an emergency,” Xander explained apologetically.
“And you couldn’t wait till i got back? Why would you fix an engagement without my consent? You didn’t even bother to make your intentions known to me.”
Almira pulled away from Kitanna and walked away. She cursed as she headed for her room. The nerve of him to fix an engagement without her consent. Who said she planned on marrying him anyway? She couldn’t help but blame herself for letting this happen. 
She should have killed the arrogant fool when she had the chance, but she was busy delaying it. Now, she had to wed him! 
Jephthah would never let her hear the end of it. The triton had been looking for an opportunity to out his insecurities. Now, he had the perfect opportunity to accuse her of cheating as well.
The minute she got into her room, she slammed the door shut. Shortly after, there was a knock on the door. She opened it with annoyance, ready to snap at the person who dared to bother her, but the words died in her throat the minute she set eyes on Dante.
“Dante?” she called gently.
“I’m sorry. I know this is the wrong timing, but I couldn't stand you being so upset. You were so happy when you came back,” he said, fiddling with his fingers nervously.
“Happy to see you but my mood got ruined,” she corrected with a huff, then moved aside for him to enter.
“Can I?” he asked nervously.
“Come in, D. I'm not going to transfer aggression on you, I promise. Besides, seeing you made me feel better. I’m no longer annoyed,” she smiled, before pulling him in. She shut the door and led him to her bed.
“So, what happened while I was away?” She asked curiously, dropping her head on his lap.
“Is there anything in particular you want to know?” Dante asked, lowering his head teasingly.
Almira’s eyes flickered on his lips. “Umm.. did you kiss anyone?”
“Kiss? You overrate me, your highness. Why would anyone want to kiss me?” Dante chuckled. Almira frowned, staring at the inviting piece of flesh.
“So you’ve never kissed anyone?” She asked. 
“No,” he answered.
“So if i kissed you now, i’d be your first kiss?” she asked and Dante looked away, heavily embarrassed.
“Stop teasing me, your highness,” he whined and she got off his lap with a smirk.
“Who said I'm teasing? What if I really want to kiss you?” 
Dante got off the bed, eyes wide with panic. Almira suppressed her laughter as he moved farther away from her. She got off the bed and grabbed his arm. In his attempt to struggle and break free, he made Almira apply more force and they went falling on the bed. The door opened at that moment to reveal Kitanna and xander.
In a flash, Xander pulled Dante away and delivered a punch that burst his lip. Almira got off the bed quickly and shoved Xander away from Dante.
“What is wrong with you? Who gave you the right to hit him?” She bawled at him.  Xander blinked in shock.
“I.. I was trying to save you. That monster forced himself…” A slap met him across the face.
“Don’t you dare refer to him as a monster. His name is Dante and I will not have you call him other names,” Almira fired. Xander held his cheek in shock while Dante scurried out quickly, afraid for his life. 
Kitanna stood frozen in shock.
“You hit me because of him. Tell me, what business do you have with him? Are you in love with him?” Xander yelled then laughed, “Love? I must be drunk. How do you love that thing?”
Almira tried to hit him again but Kitanna stepped in the way.
“It’s fine. I know what’s happening. It’s obvious some sort of dark magic is involved here. I will inform my father, perhaps the spell would be broken when his head rolls off,” Xander threatened but before he could go far, Almira imprisoned his mind with a low hum and he froze on the spot.
She walked to him and leaned towards his ear, “This never happened,” she whispered and tapped his shoulder. He dropped to the floor unconscious.
Kitanna glared at Almira with folded arms.
“What?”
“Start talking,” she demanded.
“About what?” Almira asked.
“About what just happened. What were you doing with Dante and why did you lose your temper like that? I don’t understand you. The prince is your mate. You are supposed to protect him not attack him for another man.”
“You saw what happened, didn’t you? He hit Dante and called him names when he wasn’t even at fault. No one has the right to touch Dante!” 
“If you should be possessive about anyone, it shouldn’t be Dante. It should be Xander!” Kitanna snapped. “Tell me, are you in love with him?”