***Xander’s POV***
I slipped out of Isabella’s cabin right before sunrise. I left her asleep and satisfied in her bed, with a big smile across her face. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I had a real chance with her, but she was certainly fun while I had her attention. I saw the imperial guards that would be transporting Ivy enter the dungeon as I reached the porch, and I didn’t give it a second thought before I turned away and went up to my room for a shower.
I didn’t want Isabella’s scent on me and then get her in trouble somehow. We weren’t exactly doing anything wrong, but it was no one else's business what we did either and I know they’d smell her on me in a heartbeat. I took a quick nap after I was done, I only had a couple more hours before breakfast, and Ivy would be gone by the
