“Then you will look ridiculous sitting and speaking to an empty chair,” Cyn told him.
Thalion’s lips twitched as a smile threatened to appear. “Then perhaps you should stay so that I do not embarrass myself.”
“I’m sure an elf like you can find better company.”
“What does that mean? An elf like me?”
The breath rushed from her lungs as he reclosed the distance between them and pressed closer to her. Thalion could still see in her eyes that she didn’t understand he wanted her. “Please,” he nearly whispered, holding her stare with one just as intense. “I don’t want anyone else’s company. I want—”
Her lips parted as if she was going to answer, but then he felt the air shift and knew she was using some sort of magic. Before he could reach out to stop her she was gone.
Thalion sunk back into his chair. She was gone, and he wouldn’t see her for another three months.
“You were gone from the moment you laid eyes on her.” Reeve’s voice pulled him from the memory.
Thalion nodded. “I knew she was the one for me. It was painful when she left. I wanted to hold her to me, but trying to hold onto Cyn is like trying to hold smoke.”
“I felt the same way when I met Sentara,” Reeve said with a small smile. “She knew I was the one, but she wasn’t about to make it easy on me.”
Thalion chuckled. “What did she do?”
“She made sure that the only time we spent time together was when she could get free labor from me.” He chuckled. “I didn’t realize what she’d been doing until I’d re-shoed all of her family’s horses, replenished them with enough arrows to supply the elfin army, and helped her father hunt for their winter meat stores. She was always there working with me, but when we were done, she always bid me good day, or good night, and left without so much as a backward glance.”
“She always was much smarter than you.” Thalion laughed with his longtime friend.
“Truthfully, I would have emptied her family’s chamber pots for all of eternity if it meant I got to spend time with her,” Reeve told him. Several minutes passed before Reeve spoke again. “What happened the next time you saw her?”
Thalion closed his eyes this time as he let the memories flood back into his mind.
Now he waited for Cyn just outside of his own realm. Thalion had barely been able to contain his excitement when he’d received the message from Alston. The elf prince had responded to the high fae immediately with a date, time, and location for the meeting.
The moment she flashed into the small clearing Thalion could feel her irritation. She turned to face him. Her eyes were a storm of frustration, though her face was its usual emotionless mask. The first words from her mouth caused a smirk to form on Thalion’s face.
“Didn’t you think it was appropriate upon our initial meeting to mention that you were the elvish prince?” Cyn practically spat at him.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said through a grin. “Did I forget to mention that?”
Chapter 5
“He’s all I think about. No matter how many times I tell my mind to focus on other things, he is always at the forefront. He’s my everything, and yet I’m scared he’ll want me to be his everything.” ~ Cyn
Alina sat beside Cyn, which should have looked comical considering the she-wolf was in a robe and house slippers, courtesy of Peri.
“What do you mean he wants everything?” Alina asked.
“He wants me to bind myself to him.”
“Aren’t you in love with him?”
Cyn looked down at her hands as a small smile reached her lips. “Yes, very much,” she whispered.
“How long have you and Thalion been doing this dance?” Peri asked. “You said you met him that first time a couple of centuries ago. He showed he was interested, and you baled like a cheap date. What about the next time you met?”
“In case you’ve forgotten, you ordered me to meet with him. You sent me to the edge of the elven realm,” Cyn said.
“I’m aware of what I told you to do. What I’m asking is what happened when you went. The only thing you reported to me was that the elves were narrow-minded imbeciles and would one day realize what fools they’d been.”
Cyn laughed. “Well, he’d angered me.”
