Page 21 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

“Why would you think that I have that kind of money on me?” I screeched. “I mean, I’ve got some coins. Not a lot. A few.” As I spoke, my hand automatically went to the pouch on my hip while my heart sped up.

It wasn’t so much that I was afraid of her grabbing all my money, but she couldn’t get her hands on that weird dragon-and-raven coin. If that thing was magical and had gotten me here, it could still get me home. Yet that wouldn’t happen if that rogue got her sticky fingers on it.

Nylian clapped a hand on my back. It slid up and wrapped around the nape of my neck, squeezing lightly. I got the point he was trying to make—shut up.

“We don’t have the money right now. However, I’m sure we can get it from Lockhart’s family,” Nylian continued. I gasped to argue, but his fingers tightened on my neck, silencing me in an instant.

“Yeah,” I agreed, my voice higher than normal. After clearing my throat, I tried again. “We can contact my family. They would have no problem covering the fee for saving my life. Look at my clothes. You can see I’m good for it. I—” A sudden squeeze on my neck cut off my words. Got it. Talking too much. I did that when I was nervous.

“Uh-huh,” Adeline grunted, not sounding convinced at all. There was no blaming her for that. Nylian and I seemed shady as fuck.

“How about this? What if we hired you as an escort of sorts?”

“What?” Both Adeline and Nylian choked out that sharp demand. Finally, they were getting on the same page, and that was only the beginning of my evil plans.

Shifting on the log, I broke free of Nylian’s grasp and leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees. The fire had dwindled to a few smoldering embers, but the air was still warm enough to chase away the tendrils of cold hanging about as the sun continued to rise.

Now that I was awake and the sky was turning brighter, I took a second to check out our newest companions. Jasper was the typical gangly teenager with pale skin covered in a smattering of acne. The robes he was wearing appeared to be hand-me-downs from someone three times his size. I couldn’t imagine the young man ever growing into them. He’d rolled up the sleeves several times just so he could reach things with his hands. Someone had patched the robes in two places, and the hem was dirty from their time on the road.

A huge sack was at his side, likely full of supplies for their travels and his spells. But the true treasure was the grimoire that now rested on his lap. The black leather book seemed to be well over a thousand pages thick and was bound by metal bands. A thick chain was attached to those bands, and it was looped over Jasper’s slumped shoulders so no one could steal it.

If I recalled correctly, a grimoire was the collection of spells and notes from a lifetime of work of several wizards. It moved from master to apprentice again and again, which made it all the more puzzling. If the headmasters of the Institute of the Arcane kicked Jasper out, how the hell did he have a grimoire? No master would have handed such a thing over to a failed student.

No matter. It wasn’t like I was planning to steal the thing from him. Magic was not something to fuck with. My current situation was proof of that.

Adeline appeared to be Jasper’s opposite in every conceivable way. Where Jasper was nervous and withdrawn, Adeline was confident and blunt. Nothing held her back, which made her a little intimidating. Certainly the perfect match in some ways to a certain stubborn, spoiled prince.

She wore tight-fitting burgundy pants and a shirt with puffy sleeves tucked into a pair of leather gauntlets around her wrists. Her cloak was black and short, falling to her waist. She definitely didn’t have the ragged and worn look of her brother, but more of a semi-wealthy entrepreneur. Her brown hair was paler than Jasper’s and chopped into an asymmetrical bob that accented her sharp jaw.

“My friend and I are on our way north to Riverhold and the Penbrook Port there. We’re planning to catch the ferry across to Galinaes,” I said with what I hoped was a wide, reassuring smile.

“You’re going to Ulmenor?” Jasper asked, wistful hope filling his words.

“Yes,” I replied.

“No,” Adeline and Nylian snapped, making my heart jump. They were similar. This was working perfectly.

“Excuse us for a second,” Nylian continued. The bastard grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled me to my feet as he rose. He led me a fair distance away from the fire but kept both the Engleford siblings in clear view. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded between clenched teeth.

I leaned in close so I could speak into his ear. That way Adeline couldn’t hear what I was saying or read my lips. “I’m securing us protection on our way to the port. The ogres nearly killed us and we’re now without horses, which means the trek to Riverhold is going to take even longer. I’m not a great fighter, and we can’t rely on you alone to keep us alive while I try to remember shit. We need some help. Both of them seem handy in a struggle.”

Nylian made a derisive sound, but he didn’t offer any coherent arguments. I tried to take that as a good sign. “If you hire them, that woman is going to expect even more money. How are you planning to pay them?”

“I figured the money would come from the same magical pot that you’ve already offered them.” I retreated enough to offer him a snide smile. When I only received a glare in return, I shrugged. “We’ll figure it out when we get to Riverhold. Sounds like Jasper wants to reach Ulmenor, anyway. That could be incentive enough for Adeline to agree.”

Nylian grunted. “The elf wizards in Ulmenor are renowned throughout the world. Just five minutes with one of them would advance the boy’s skills by leaps and bounds.”

I punched Nylian on the shoulder and laughed. “See. There you go. The little wizard will keep Adeline distracted, and we’ll worry about the money nonsense later. I’ve got some on me now, and I’m sure we’ll have something between the two of us to sell when we reach Riverhold.”

“I’m very tempted to sell you,” Nylian muttered. He didn’t give me a chance to respond. The elf sighed. “We still have to figure out how we’re getting into Ulmenor. Everyone entering the royal capital needs an invitation or some kind of specific pass to complete business.” He pointed up at his face as he leaned in close to me. “Do you really think they’re going to let me in?”

That was an excellent point. The elves of Galinaes and Wolfrest had an even longer history of hating each other than the animosity that existed between Wolfrest and Edros. They wouldn’t welcome one of their enemies and allow him to stroll through the streets. This had been one of the many sticking points in my plot outline that had driven me crazy ahead of my bridge incident.

So, I took a page out of Georgie’s book.

I wrapped my arm around Nylian’s stiff shoulders and shook him. “One problem at a time. We’ll worry about getting into Ulmenor later. Right now, we have to reach Riverhold alive. Jasper and Adeline are the key to that.”

“You’re not inviting Adeline because you’re attracted to her, are you?”

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