Mated To The Cruel Prince-Chapter 673: Steal Her Away

You have got to be kidding me, Islinda thought as she saw Eli’s eyes gleam with mischief. Sure, he was acting like Aldric, but it was becoming too real. She began to question if Aldric was finally back in control. If that wasn’t the case, then Eli was scary because he was taking the role play a little too far.

She shook her head quickly, protesting, "No, no, no, there’s no way in hell that I am doing this—mmm." Islinda glared at Eli when he cut her off by placing his finger against her lips.

His finger was warm, leaving her stunned momentarily. Islinda shivered involuntarily as she was reminded of the many times she had simply taken the finger into her mouth and sucked, tempted to try the sultry move again. Except that would be giving in to Eli too easily, and he was good at cajoling her into bad ideas. Not to mention, this was neither the place nor time. free𝑤ebnovel.com

"Islinda, honey, have I told you Andre doesn’t die easily?" he attempted to coerce her, now stroking her bottom lip with a hungry yet composed look in his eyes, causing shivers to wash over her.

Islinda was utterly dumbfounded. Andre was not easily killed, yet Eli ominously reminded her of the consequences of killing a royal just seconds ago. Just like Aldric. Of course, she should have known Eli was not free of manipulation either.

But Islinda was not easily charmed this time and slapped his hand away. She growled at him, "Stop this already."

"Stop what exactly?" he challenged, lifting his perfectly arched brow.

"Fine, I get it. You caught us in an intimate position, now you’re angry and mad. But this is all a misunderstanding—!"

"Are you couples going to get on with this or are we going to get entertained by your lover’s spat?" Andre’s voice echoed from the distance, taunting them.

Islinda turned to glare at Andre. Seriously, she was trying to save his ass here! Except it seemed Andre was a masochist, and she didn’t realize it until now.

"You heard him, right?" Eli grinned sinisterly, "My brother wants more. Unless, of course, you are not up to the challenge? Don’t tell me the legendary archer, Islinda, is scared of a little challenge?" His words dripped with derision.

Islinda knew what Eli was doing. He was goading her, inciting her into action on purpose. Yet knowing his real intention still didn’t stop her from falling for it.

"Fine!" she said through a hiss. "I’ll show you what the legendary Islinda is actually capable of doing!"

Eli’s smile widened when he saw that fiery intensity burning in her eyes. "Good, my little human," he drawled sexily, making her heart stutter at the sudden affection. As if that wasn’t enough, he further threw her off balance by grabbing her face and pecking her fully on the lips before she could swat him away in anger.

Islinda went red in the face, especially when she turned to see Ginger chuckling knowingly, and then Milo looking flustered. God, there was a child at the scene. Islinda groaned, wishing the ground could open up and swallow her.

There was no sight of Elena, which was both a relief and a disappointment. Islinda was glad her annoying face wasn’t there to ruin her moment and cause her to fail. At the same time, she wished to rub Eli showering her with affection in her face.

It was the plan for Eli to get closer to her instead of being cold and attempting to murder her. That way, Elena, who was unaware of Eli’s existence, would get frustrated and think it a malfunction of her spell, and would attempt to place the spell on him again. Then they would catch her in the act. Once she was proven guilty, it would be the end of Elena.

They would not let her live knowing she was related to Queen Maeve and the Fae Queen would probably try to use her sovereign power to free her. Islinda was not in support of murder. But Elena used Aldric to try to kill her and was probably still planning her murder. She would return the favor, times two.

"Get me some apples!" Aldric announced with glee.

"Wait, apples?" Islinda frowned. What the hell was Aldric doing with an apple and how the hell was it even related to...

Islinda realized Aldric’s sinister intention a few minutes later, her breath catching in her throat. "Oh no." Eli was cruel.

Eli stood before Andre. "I wonder where this is going to go," he said in a singsong, throwing an apple in the air with one hand and catching it flawlessly.

"I know you’re enjoying this," Andre accused him.

"Of course, I am," Eli shamelessly admitted, catching the apple for the last time. "A-ha! Gotcha!" He instructed Andre, "Open up."

"What—?"

Aldric took that opportunity to put the apple in Andre’s mouth, the fruit too large and wedged between his teeth.

"Mmmm..." Andre looked at him with wide eyes, his protests muffled.

But Eli was oblivious to his complaints because he stroked his chin thoughtfully and placed the final apple on Andre’s head.

Andre protested inaudibly, but Aldric simply pressed a finger to his own lips, signaling him to stop talking.

He said, "Unlike the first time, I won’t be holding her hand, and Islinda seems to be a little rusty," his words loaded with threat.

Andre scowled at Aldric but otherwise did not move. Eli smirked, knowing his brother was not going to make things difficult anymore. To be honest, this was exhilarating. It wasn’t every day that he got to have a little fun with Andre, and now he had the opportunity, he was going to relish it to the end.

"And we are all set," Aldric returned to Islinda with a grinning face. Except the human was frozen with a look of disbelief.

"Little human?" he called her.

Islinda turned to Aldric with her jaw slack, pointing at Andre, "You want me to shoot the apple in his mouth and on top of his head."

Eli said without blinking, "And so? Haven’t you shot more than one arrow at once?"

"That is not the point—"

"You need my help then?"

Islinda face-palmed, followed by an exasperated sigh. She pressed her lips tightly. "This was not part of the training."

"I didn’t exactly give you a curriculum, did I? I’m good at switching things up. Trust me, I’m a good teacher and my method does work." He actually felt proud of himself.

"I am not doing this," Islinda said defiantly.

With those words, Islinda waited, thinking that Aldric was going to attempt to persuade her like before. But he said with disappointment, "Is that so? Nothing can be done in that case. I’ll just have to continue from where you stopped."

Before Islinda could understand what Aldric meant by those words, he had already taken the bow with lightning speed and stretched three arrows all at once. How the hell? Her eyes widened with disbelief. How was that possible? He was going to fail.

But Eli’s hands were steady as he aimed, his eyes never leaving the target. He released the arrows, and they flew through the air with deadly precision. Islinda winced, closing her eyes at the last moment, unable to witness what she feared would be a disastrous outcome. And she forgot how to breathe.

It wasn’t until gasps rang out across the arena, that Islinda opened her eyes slowly, stunned to see the first arrow split the apple on Andre’s head cleanly in two. The second lodged itself in the target behind him, and the last....

Oh no...

The last arrow caught Islinda’s attention because it had nipped Andre. The Autumn prince touched the spot, his finger coming away bloody, though the wound healed almost immediately.

Rage flashed across Andre’s face as he thundered at Aldric. "That was supposed to be Islinda’s shot!"

Aldric shrugged nonchalantly. "She chickened out and I took her place. Easy to figure out, don’t you think?"

Aldric’s calmness only infuriated Andre more. The next moment unfolded in a blur. Andre lifted his hand, and all three arrows that had been aimed at him rose off the ground, pointed towards Aldric, and flew as if shot by an invisible bow.

When the arrows got close, Aldric’s shadows formed a protective wall in front of him, causing the arrows to fall harmlessly to the ground.

Islinda was utterly speechless, not just because of the sudden violent display, but because she realized Eli could wield Aldric’s shadows. Usually, in such moments, Aldric took over. What else was Eli not telling her?

Although things calmed down, the tension between the two princes was palpable.

"I guess this marks the end of the friendly competition, then," Andre snarled.

Aldric smirked, unbothered. "Indeed."

He then turned to Kalamazoo. "Take Islinda back to her room and ensure no prince charming attempts to steal her away, again."