I almost died from embarrassment after the dress had torn.
I still couldn’t believe it.
Out of every possible thing that could have happened, the dress had chosen the worst moment to betray me.
I couldn’t even look Cross in the eye afterward.
Strangely, he hadn’t laughed nor teased me.
He had simply found another outfit as though nothing embarrassing had happened at all.
“We have to leave the palace soon.” He said.
I nodded and stared at the replacement outfit.
It was ugly and It looked nothing like the clothes people wore back on Earth.
The leather trousers were stitched together with dark crimson thread, while strange silver symbols had been embroidered around the sleeves as though they carried some kind of ancient meaning.
Even the boots looked like they had been made from some unknown beast.
It wasn’t my aesthetic and I was still annoyed that my favorite outfit had been rejected because it was too revealing.
I let out another quiet sigh.
During the whole process of changing, I had complained nonstop, and surprisingly, Cross had listened to every single complaint without arguing back.
He simply stood there patiently while I grumbled about the colors, the fit, the boots, the sleeves, everything.
He hadn’t gotten angry or even rolled his eyes.
He had simply let me complain until I was done.
The thought made another memory creep into my head.
If this had been Alex, he probably would’ve walked away halfway through my rant and told me to wear whatever I wanted.
A small smile tugged at my lips before disappearing.
Cross wasn’t like that.
He listened, waited and he cared.
My steps slowed.
Why was I even noticing these things?
Was I really comparing my boyfriend to a devil?
One was human, the other was the Demon King.
Shouldn’t the devil have been colder and crueler?
More selfish than any human alive?
So why was Cross the complete opposite?
The more I stayed around him, the less he resembled the monster everyone feared.
I frowned at the thought.
Maybe I was the one losing my mind.
I was so buried in my thoughts that I almost didn’t notice Cross was beside me.
“The journey is going to become really stressful once we pass the gate.”
His calm voice pulled me back to reality.
I looked up.
“Oh…”
I simply nodded again.
The annoyance on my face hadn’t disappeared.
Cross glanced sideways at me before quietly stepping closer until only a small space remained between us.
His red eyes studied my expression.
“Are you still mad at me because of the dress I gave you?”
I rolled my eyes dramatically and looked away.
I refused to answer.
Cross sighed softly.
There wasn’t even a trace of annoyance on his face and he looked genuinely worried that he had upset me.
“I did it to protect you from the cold.
“What do you want me to do to make it up to you?”
I didn’t even need to think before I blurted out.
“Let’s exchange coats.”
His coat was gorgeous, dark and elegant.
I honestly expected him to refuse, Instead without saying another word, Cross calmly unclasped the silver fasteners around his neck.
The heavy black coat slid from his shoulders.
He stepped closer, before I could even move, he gently removed the coat I was wearing.
His movements were slow and careful, making sure he didn’t accidentally tug my clothes.
Then he lifted his own coat and carefully placed it over my shoulders.
The fabric was much heavier than mine and It carried a really good scent.
He adjusted it around me before fastening the silver clasp beneath my neck and his fingers brushed lightly against my collarbone.
He stepped back to admire his work.
“There.”
The sleeves completely swallowed my hands and I looked like an angry child wearing her father’s clothes.
I secretly loved it, but I wasn’t going to admit that so easily.
I folded my arms beneath the oversized coat and puffed out my cheeks.
“Are you happy now?” He asked.
“No.” I answered without hesitation.
Cross blinked, then, to my surprise, he smiled.
Not the tiny smile he usually gave.
This time, it reached his eyes.
I caught a glimpse of his perfect teeth and the sharp, vampire-like canines peeking from the corners of his smile.
Before I could ask what he was smiling about, he suddenly crouched in front of me.
“Hop on.”
“What?”
He looked over his shoulder.
“Hop on Imogen.”
A grin immediately spread across my face.
Without wasting another second, I happily climbed onto his back.
I hesitated for only a second before wrapping my arms carefully around his neck.
His back was warm, as usual.
He smelled faintly of cedarwood and something sweet I couldn’t describe.
He slipped one arm beneath my knees while the other supported my back before standing up effortlessly.
I barely weighed anything to him.
He adjusted me slightly until I was comfortable.
Then he glanced back at me.
“Are you happy now?”
I rested my chin on his shoulder.
“No.” I answered again.
For a second, he simply stared ahead and without warning, he took off running.
“Cross!”
A soft laugh escaped my lips as the scenery around us blurred.
He ran across the open fields outside the palace walls, weaving through patches of glowing flowers and silver grass.
The wind rushed against my face.
My hair whipped wildly behind me and I instinctively wrapped my arms tighter around his neck.
“Slow down!”
He ignored me completely.
Instead, a deep, genuine laugh escaped him.
It caught me completely off guard.
I had never seen this side of him before.
Our voices echoed across the endless fields as he continued running beneath the red sky.
For those few minutes, there was no crown, no barrier, war or demons.
It felt like the entire world had disappeared leaving only the two of us racing through the wind.
Eventually, Cross slowed to a stop near the edge of a vast sea.
He carefully lowered me onto the ground.
The water stretched endlessly toward the horizon and dark waves rolled gently beneath the sky.
Far away, a single black wooden boat floated quietly beside an old dock.
“Are we using a boat?” I asked.
Cross nodded, he was about to reply to my question when footsteps approached from behind.
A demon wearing dark armor stopped several feet away before lowering himself respectfully.
“King Cross.” He bowed deep, then his eyes shifted toward me.
“Princess Imogen.” He bowed again.
Cross gave a small nod.
“Is it ready?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Everything is ready.”
Cross nodded once more.
Without another word, the soldier stepped aside.
Cross reached for my hand.
“Come.”
I followed him toward the shore.
Each step brought us closer to the water and my heartbeat suddenly quickened.
The waves, the endless dark water and the sound of it crashing against the rocks.
My breathing became heavy and I stopped walking.
Cross immediately noticed and turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
I swallowed.
“Cross…”
My voice came out much smaller than I expected.
“I have a really bad Thalassophobia.”
His brows slowly rose.
“Scared of the sea?”
Confusion spread across his face.
“You always told me you loved the sea. You said it always brought you peace and warmth whenever I wasn’t around.”
My chest tightened.
That wasn’t me, it was Princess Imogen.
Another painful reminder that he wasn’t talking about me.
I lowered my eyes.
“Cross, I’m really scared of it.” I forced myself to meet his gaze.
Cross looked at the endless sea before turning toward the distant white mountains.
“Then we’ll take the Snow Mountain.”
The armored demon’s face immediately changed.
“Your Majesty, the Snow Mountain?”
Cross nodded.
“We’ll reach the Barrier faster that way.”
The demon hesitated.
“No one has crossed that mountain in years, your majesty.”
Cross answered calmly.” I know.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
The demon’s face turned pale and he swallowed hard.
“Because of the Gogos.”
I looked between both of them.
“Gogos? What’s that?”
The demon stared at Cross as if hoping he would change his mind.
“Crossing the Snow Mountain is a death wish, my King.”