“Do you think the ruse will work?” Fin asked. The large man was pacing, the constant activity seeming odd for a man of his bulk. Then Alvere remembered that in his other form, Fin was a whale, and they never stopped moving, despite their immense size.
“For a while at least.” Alvere slumped into a padded chair. He needed to gather his things and be on his way to the war front by the end of the day, but he could sit here for a moment.
He sighed. “Too many people know the truth for the secret to last more than a few weeks. I think the best we can hope for is to keep ahead of the news and be away from here quickly.”
“And you’re sure it’s safe for you to go to the front?” Fin asked.
“I won’t be that close, but I’ll need to speak with the Fey. Their treaty is with myself and my family, not the kingdom.” Still, Alvere was touched by the man’s concern. In the short while they’d known each other, the two had become close. Fin went everywhere the prince did, always around in case the prince needed to make a quick escape… or return to Hedgewild, which was quickly becoming his second home.
Thoughts of Hedgewild were dangerous, though… they led to thoughts of Legs. He took a moment to close his eyes and picture her. In his mind, he saw her: golden-brown hair in those perfect waves framing her slender face and those large, deep, red-brown eyes. He recalled the softness and sweetness of her full lips and his imagined gaze traced down to her slender chin and that long neck. Since he’d left, his mind always pictured her in that loose red-gold outfit. It was what he’d seen her in last. The way it curved and fell over her full breasts, like a silken waterfall, and how the skirt hugged her hips, low slung and sensual. The way the sheer fabric flared and danced around those amazing, long legs of hers. He recalled the feel of her smooth skin, where he’d touched her hip and back and he nearly burst with need for her in that instant. He had to push the image away, lest he be overcome with desire for her.
He shuddered a sigh and drew his mind back to his immediate task.
He drew himself up in his chair, shifting his position to try to make his pants — which were suddenly very tight and constricting — a bit more comfortable. “From what I’ve been told, everything on our side is ready for a push to reclaim the lands taken by…” he’d being going to sayyour people, but that wasn’t fair. “…the rogue Elistans. But the spring has been wet up there, and the conditions are not good at the moment. We’ll wait and guard our borders, which will also give us time to reinforce our position as well. I want to walk among the troops and get a sense for their take on the coming battle. And, of course, talk to the Fey.”
Fin stopped his pacing and turned, looking at the prince, with a grin. “You’re part Fey, aren’t you?”
Alvere had a moment of stunned shock, but now that his secret was out, saw no need to deny it. “Yes, though please do not make that common knowledge.” He hung his head a little. “I loved my mother, the woman who raised me.” He recalled the flowing blond hair and cheery blue eyes. He missed her and his father. “And I wouldn’t want to bring any shame upon her or her family… because she wasn’t the woman to whom I was born.” He looked up at Fin. “How did you know?”
“I know a half-Fey,” he said, tone a bit cautious and guarded. “She too wishes for her secret to remain unknown. But for one who does know, there are hints, your shorter stature and that raven hair of yours. From what I understood your father was a large man, and your mother tall and blond, yet you are neither of those things.” Fin smiled, a friendly grin. “And no need to worry, the secret is safe with me.”
Alvere nodded. He hoped everyone else wasn’t as astute as this man. It had been a bargain struck by his father. Vauphan had watched the growth of the Lumani magics through Elista for the last several hundred years and feared that power. They had wanted something of their own. So, they’d made a pact with the Fey. He had lain with one of their women, and she had born him a child, the royal heir. The queen, his mother, had known of course and though she had not been fond of her husband being with another, had seen the practicality of the bargain. She’d gone into seclusion for her supposed pregnancy — in the North no less — and returned with him bundled in her arms. And to her credit, she had raised him like her own, loved him and cared for him as a mother should.
Yet, there was something Fin had said which stuck in Alvere’s mind. “You know another half-Fey? In Elista?”
Fin laughed. “Just as I would for you, I will say little of her. Perhaps, I have said too much already.”
The prince nodded at that. He was intrigued that a half-Fey might have been born to an Elistan. The Fey lived in small, hard-to-find, communities in the northeastern hills and forest. That was no-where near the Elistan border. Perhaps there were some who roamed as far west as North Elista? He didn’t know, yet it seemed odd and unlikely. The Fey had been driven out of the Far North long ago by some mystical catastrophe, which had made the Shattered Lands. Those forsaken lands were close to the north of Elista and Alvere didn’t think many Fey wished to be anywhere near the place. So, he was very intrigued by this mystery person Fin knew.
But… he had other, much more important things to worry about. “Are you sure you’ll be well, traveling by land for the next week or so?” he asked Fin. Fin was able to transport himself, and anyone with him, instantly from place to place, but only to places he knew, and he’d never been to the north of Vauphan. It would be a long journey in wagons and on foot, for one used to instant travel, or the deep sea.
Fin sighed and patted his full, round belly. “Maverick’s been saying I could stand to lose a few pounds. I’m sure the journey will do me some good.”
Alvere gave a breath of a laugh and nodded. “Do you have all your things?”
Fin shrugged. “Yes… and no? I don’t travel with much. I can always slip back to Hedgewild in an instant to get anything I need.”
“Does that mean you’ll get me a warm breakfast every day?” Alvere joked.
“Sure, if you like,” Fin said seriously.
Since he wasn’t traveling as a prince — no, he was a king now — he’d have only a cold breakfast of hard trail rations like the rest of the men he’d be traveling with. The idea of a warm and savory breakfast was very appealing. Still, he shook his head.
“No Fin, don’t worry about it, and if you can, pack what you’ll need for the trip and bring it with you. I don’t want us to attract too much attention from the men we’ll be traveling north with.”
Fin nodded. “Understood, I’ll pack some things now and return in a moment.” And just like that he was gone.
Alvere laughed and rose. He had a little time now and knowing he’d not get a bath for some time, wished to wash, even though he’d done so that morning before the coronation.
He called for hot water and waited for it to be brought up and his tub filled. Then he sank into the warm embrace of the waters, and closed his eyes again, imagining Legs once more… only this time… without that flirty dress…
Chapter 9
“It’s sogood to see you!” Dove said, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace. My sister — adopted sister in truth — hadn’t changed much, still a picture of radiant beauty with her fair skin, pale blond hair, sparkling blue eyes and that stunning hour-glass figure.
While she was hugging me close, she whispered, “I’ve heard so many odd rumors about you recently.”
That sent a shiver down my spine. Not so much her words, but the conspiratorial tone. She’d been hearing things about me she didn’t want others to know she knew?
