Other than making a “hmmmmn” noise in his throat, Pharis didn’t respond. He stopped his horse short of the road to allow the other horse and rider to pass.
Dardick must have been very drunk because he was jerking his horse’s reins back and forth, confusing the poor animal. It trotted to one side of the road then the other and nearly ran straight into us when he kicked its sides.
“Whoa,” Pharis yelled. I wasn’t sure if the command was directed at Dardick or his horse.
My cruel neighbor whipped his head around. “Who goes there? I say, show yourself.”
He clumsily pulled his sword from its scabbard, waving it about wildly, nearly striking his horse in the head.
Pharis must have dropped his shadow glamour then because Dardick’s horse reared suddenly. The drunken man managed to stay in the saddle, but his body jerked, and he looked directly at us.
“Where didyoucome from?” he shouted, sounding frightened. “Who are you, stranger?”
I wish Pharis had just left the shield up. I didn’t think Dardick had spotted me yet, but he would, and by tomorrow morning my reputation would be ruined.
“You may call me ‘my lord,’” Pharis said to him. “And who are you?”
“An Elf?” Dardick said in surprise, backing his horse up a few steps.
“No, you’re not nearly tall enough or handsome enough to be an Elf,” Pharis said, deliberately misunderstanding the man.
“What’s your name, peasant?” he demanded. “And speak up quickly. I assure you, my sword is steadier than yours.”
I’d never heard Pharis’ voice sound so… regal. It was strange. I realized how casually he’d been speaking to me in comparison.
Was this how he always sounded with people he didn’t know?
Dardick must have been very inebriated indeed because he didn’t seem to care that he was being addressed by a member of the High Fae, our overlords in this land.
“I’m not a peasant, chump,” he slurred. “I’ll have you know you’re speaking to Dardick Creegan, the richest man in Waterdale.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that name come tax time… Dick,” Pharis said.
“It’s Dardick. Whoareyou? What are you doing in Waterdale? And who’s that with you?”
He squinted into the darkness. “Raewyn Hennessey? Is that you? What are you doing out in the middle of the night, cavorting with a stranger?”
I heaved a heavy sigh. It was done then.
“I assure you, nothing untoward happened,” Pharis said. “I’m simply giving the lady a ride home after her vacation in Merisola.”
“Vacation? Is that what she’s calling it?” Dardick laughed. “That’s not what I heard. The way I heard it, she’s beenservingthe King in his palace as one of his concubines.”
Pharis’ hand moved to the hilt of his sword. I gripped him tighter around the waist.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said against his back, more for myself than for Pharis.
Why would a Fae prince even care how my fellow villager spoke about me?
Dardick pointed at Pharis and swayed in the saddle, causing his horse to step a few paces to the side.
“Or maybe she’syourwhore,” he said, putting painful emphasis on the last word. “Bout all she’s good for. And to think, she turnedmedown every time I offered to buy her presents and give her a shot at becoming a respectable married woman. I guess she saves herfavorsfor Elven-kind.”
Pharis took a deep breath, his torso going rigid as he straightened to his full height.
“Come closer,Dick,” he said in a tone that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
He wasn’t even speaking to me, and it was chilling.
