Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
A light breeze ruffled a set of floor-length curtains, halting my mental march to the castle. I peeked outside to find the elf strolling through a small garden, lost in thought. I wasn’t the only one struggling with sleep.
Still barefoot, I slipped outside and came up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “You scared me to death,” I murmured against his shoulder blade.
“Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you with my restlessness,” he replied, turning in my arms to hug me.
“Whose house is this?” I inquired. There was nothing to be gained by talking about the worries that were clogging both of our minds. It was better to talk about something completely different, to shed some of the stress for a while.
Nylian grinned so very wide at me. “Mine.”
“Really?”
“Mn. My private residence.” He stepped out of my embrace and threaded our fingers together, leading me in a slow walk through the flower garden. “I live mostly in the palace with the rest of the royal family, but this is my secret place.…Though I’m sure my father and most people of the court know about it.”
“A place for secret assignations?” I whispered in a playful tone.
“Used to be. Mostly, it was a place I used when I wanted to get away from my life and the royal court. Orian has one in another part of town. So does Lorsan. Saida spends most of her time with her healing master. I don’t think she lives in the palace much anymore.”
“When life returns to normal, are you going to move me into this house? Lock me away as your kept man?” I said, trying to keep up the playful teasing.
“Absolutely not.” Nylian stopped and moved to stand in front of me. With his free hand, he brushed some hair away from my eyes. “You are not some shameful secret to be hidden. You will not be another consort. I plan to marry only once, and it will be to you. There will be no harem of consorts. Just you.”
He completely stole all my words away. My brain locked up and I could only blink at him. “But…but…what if your father picks you to be his heir? You’ll be expected to have a harem and sire children to carry on your family line.”
“I plan to renounce all claim to the throne. My hope is that Orian is healed and he will be named heir. I’m happy to support him, but regardless of who my father chooses, I won’t ever sit on that throne.” He paused and cocked his head to the side. “I hope you’re not too disappointed that I won’t ever be king.”
An angry noise exploded from my lips, and I shoved him away from me. “Fuck off. You know I don’t care about that. You’re the one who pointed out that if I wanted that life, I could so easily return to Gushan and continue Prince Victor’s old life, and yet here I am with you, about to go into battle with God only knows how many power-hungry people.”
I attempted to march to the bedroom, but Nylian caught me and wrapped me tightly in his arms, his head resting against mine. “Nope. You’re staying with me. After Orian is saved and life returns to normal, we’ll leave West Vale.”
“You want to leave?” I pulled free so I could look into his eyes. “You don’t want to stay in your home?”
He shook his head, his smile so bright it almost blinded me. “No, I want to travel with you. Being on the road with you, seeing places like Riverhold, and even Misty Pass felt new and exciting because you made each place interesting. I want to show you so much more of Wolfrest. Or we can explore Edros. Or travel south to Kodra. I’ve never seen the deserts. The world is too big to spend it sitting on a throne. Before, travel sounded intriguing. Now that I have you at my side, I want to see it all with you.”
I wanted to match his grin with one of my own, but I couldn’t quite manage it. My heart longed to do all these things with him. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to him or myself another second longer. I wouldn’t give him promises I wasn’t sure that I could keep.
“What? You…you don’t want to travel?” Nylian asked, his grin wilting under the weight of fresh worries. “We can stay in West Vale, if that’s what you want. Or—”
“No! I want to travel with you,” I quickly countered. “Everything you listed earlier, I want that. So much.” My voice broke on those two words, and I swallowed to keep back even more emotions trying to break free.
“What? Whatever it is, we can figure it out.”
It wouldn’t be that easy.
I glanced around the garden, but there wasn’t a bench or a ledge nearby to sit on. Just a stretch of soft green grass. That would have to do. I led Nylian over and plopped down. “This is going to be another one of those ‘I’m not sure you’re going to believe me’ moments,” I said, gazing up at him.