“Did you decide not to use your glamour then?” I asked him, realizing suddenly that my view of our surroundings was not obscured by a dark haze.
“The shadows?” he asked. “I’m using them. They’re surrounding us right now as we ride.”
“Oh, I can’t see them. Is that how it always is? You can see out, but others can’t see in?”
“I’m not sure,” he said, sounding distracted. “I’ve only used it a few times.”
That made me draw back in surprise. “You’ve only used the glamour gift you were born with a few times? In your whole life?”
Pharis body beneath my hands tensed. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk at all, actually.”
“Well I do. I’m bored. I’ll fall asleep and drop to the ground if we don’t talk to pass the time. This horse isverytall.”
He grunted. “What do you want to talk about?”
“You never explained why you didn’t tell the King about me conspiring with the Earthwife.”
“I told you, I made a promise to my brother.”
“Yes, but why did you do that? I thought you were convinced he was making a terrible mistake by falling in love with me.”
“Wereconvinced?” he said. “Am convinced.”
“How do you know? You barely know me. Stellon and I spent weeks together.”
“Twoweeks,” Pharis pointed out. “And I know because I know.”
“Right. Because he’s an Elven prince, and I’m aninferiorhuman. Wait—you didn’t say ‘inferior,’ you said ‘unsuitable.’”
“If you want to be particular about it, I believe my exact words were ‘not well-suited.’”
“Oh yes, that’s much better, much more flattering,” I muttered.
“I don’t want to talk about my brother,” Pharis said, “and you should be endeavoring to forget him since you’re never going to see him again.”
As it always did when Pharis gave me his frequent reminders of that fact, my heart felt like it had been pierced with a sharp instrument.
“Fine, let’s talk about something else,” I said. “Why are Elves so… warm? I thought at first it was just Stellon, but you are very hot as well.”
“You’re still talking about him,” Pharis grumbled.
“No, I’m asking about Elven people as a whole. I’m curious. I want to understand.”
“Yes, we run at a higher temperature than humans, I guess. I’d heard it said but wasn’t sure of it myself until I touched you the night I found you sleeping in Stellon’s bed.”
“Now you’re talking about him,” I pointed out. “So you’d never touched a human before that?”
“No,” he said flatly.
“But what about the women in your father’s retinue?”
“What about them?”
“Stellon said no one has access to the women but the King and him… and you. And he swore he’d never taken advantage of it.”
“And you think I have?” Pharis sounded offended. “You’re wrong. I never touched those women. Never once.”
It made sense. Stellon had told me his brother had no use for our species, and I supposed that applied when it came to sensual activities as well.
