Page 168 of The Last Guardian

Because of who he was.

Because of who I was.

I was a princess on the run, the daughter of the king before whom Zaid refused to kneel.

He was the commander of an entire army and heir to the Evadrith Empire, even if he didn’t desire to rule.

The facts were the facts.

Our blood kept us apart. What kind of world could he possibly live in with a human?

I couldn’t force him to watch me grow old and die while he remained the same and grieved my passing.

Zaid and I couldn’t exist in this life, in this world…

Life wasn’t fair. I had learned that the hard way. In death as in life. But it was worth living.

Did I regret the love and moments spent with my mother simply because she was dead?

No. Never.

And I would never regret what I felt for Zaid tonight, nor the heartbreak that would follow. Because what I felt for him would end with me, with him. I was sure that not even death could erase it.

And I wasn’t sure I could ever live with myself if I walked away from him tonight.

I should leave. I should turn around and never look back.

Yet, I didn’t.

“I don’t want to,” I whispered, looking up at him.

“Alyana…”

“Listen to me, for once,” I stopped him, my hands now on his chest. “I spent my whole life stuck in an existence where I couldn’t act as I pleased, and yet, I held on to hope—the hope of a better life, of waking up each morning filled with wonder and beauty. And I lost that hope in the blink of an eye when I lost my mother. That spark went out, lost in the void of my mind, where only sadness and anger remained. Until you…” His chest moved, uneven, his throat bobbed, and with a sob, I added, “You bring me back to life. And I don’t know why you keep pushing me away, but… I’m not ready to leave you tonight, Zaid. I don’t want to. I know we can’t last forever. But tonight—” A smile crossed my lips. “Tonight, we can pretend. That I am yours, and you are mine. That eternity exists beyond this night. That together, we can stop time.”

His eyes darkened at my every word, drinking in each vibration of my voice. My eyes drifted to his lips as his face gently moved closer to mine, his breath caressing my skin and my lips. He whispered, “I am already yours, Alyana.”

My eyes searched his once more when I said, “Then prove it.”

And without waiting for a heartbeat, Zaid’s lips crashed into mine.

EVERYTHING STOPPED: TIME, our breaths, my heart—maybe the whole universe. Only he—we—remained.

The warmth of Zaid’s lips claimed mine in a rush. His fingers dug into my waist through the thin fabric of my nightgown. My arms wrapped around his neck, pushing closer as I clung to him.

I felt every tense line of muscle pressed against me, his mouth dancing with mine, claiming it, deepening the kiss. Our tongues met, explored, and danced together, the aroma of rum brushing against our lips.

One of his hands landed on the back of my thigh as Zaid spun us carefully, as if he was scared to hurt me, sitting me on the edge of his desk.

He moved closer, spreading my legs in the process, placing himself between them as my nightgown rode up my thighs.

His hands were now on my face, his lips moving in rhythm with mine, as I ran my hands beneath his shirt, tracing the sculpted line of his body with my fingertips.

I had never wanted someone this much. Everything Zaid did with his hands—his wicked lips—drove me mad, a force—a drug—I couldn’t live without. It was terrifying, and yet I couldn’t suppress the exhilaration it sent through my body.

Our teeth clashed, our noses bumped. Zaid leaned in even closer, the kiss turning messy, desperate. A powerful need.

His length pressed against me through the fabric of his pants, right where I ached for him most. A storming heat swelled in me.