Chapter 11. Stop the Car!

Xerina’s POV

I stared out the window, my mind racing. How had it come to this? Why did everything always go wrong? I was stuck between my father’s oppressive demands and Rasmus’s brooding presence. Not to mention how every plan I made went in vain.

We drove for what felt like hours, the landscape outside changing from dense forest to open fields. The farther we got from home, the more anxious I became. Rasmus and I had never gotten along, and now we were trapped together in this car.

Ruka leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, feigning indifference. Her nonchalance only made the tension more tangible. Why was she sitting here? She should be with her potential mate.

I noticed Dylan shifting awkwardly, glancing out the window as if searching for something to say. The tension was oppressive.

I crossed my arms and leaned my head against the window. Too much to ask for some peace.

My mind raced with forbidden thoughts, a storm of whispers