Pharis snorted a bitter laugh.“He wouldn’t even see me last night when I told his guards it was of the utmost importance. He was too caught up in his fury over his number one son deceiving him and falling in love with a human.”
It seemed the king didn’t treat Pharis with any more respect than he treated Stellon. I couldn’t imagine having grown up with a parent like that.
As far as my own father, I’d be seeing him soon, along with my little sisters. It seemed like a dream come true after all this time apart.
I shifted in the saddle, feeling like I might burst out of my own skin as I looked around and then up at the treetops.
“Can’t we go any faster?”
The day was growing brighter, and I could see much better now. Surely the horse could too?
“Of course, my lady,” Pharis said in a facetious tone, “if you wish to run headlong into a tree—or for Dargan to break an ankle stepping in a hole or on a rock. Don’t worry, you’ll be rid of my company soon enough.”
The morning wore on with the horse moving step by plodding step, and I grew more and more restless and uncomfortable. I squirmed, trying to find a better position.
“Stop that,” Pharis barked so loudly it made me jump.
“Why? Is it really that sensitive?” I asked over my shoulder.
His response sounded choked. “What?”
“I mean, it’s huge,” I said.
Pharis let out a cough and shifted positions behind me.
“This is by far the largest horse I’ve ever seen,” I continued. “He must be the largest in all the lands. And this can’t be the first time you’ve ridden him with a lady in this position.”
Behind me, I felt Pharis’ body relax, and he let out a chuckle.
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“Your reputation of course. Even we humans know about your escapades. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of ladies in the saddle.”
Now his laugh rang out through the forest.
“Ah, the old ‘Prince of Tears’ thing. Not my favorite nickname.”
He laughed again, this time a bit more privately. “Be careful, or you’ll fall in love with me, too.”
Bristling at his ridiculous and highly unnecessary warning, I said, “I assure you, Your Highness… that willneverhappen.”
Chapter3
So Much for Diplomacy
Pharis
This was hell.
All my sins had caught up with me, and I was being punished.
I wasn’t lying to Raewyn—we really did need to get off the road. My father’s troops would be on the hunt for her any time now. Perhaps they already were.
But I wasn’t any more eager to stretch out this journey than she was. Riding with her plump little bottom in the saddle just in front of me was torture of the cruelest kind.
My body had no idea that this woman—out of an entire continent, an entireworldof women—was the one my brother had fallen in love with.
At least the slow travel gave me time to try to figure out how Stellon could have fallen so hard and so fast if the witch had been telling the truth about there being no love spell.
