Page 23 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

This walking was tedious.

Of course, the things hiding in the woods trying to kill us made the walking worse. The ogres hadn’t made a reappearance, but those first couple of days we’d run into wild boars who hadn’t cared for us moving through their territory, as well as bears, goblins, and what Nylian had reassured me were orcs. We didn’t stick around long enough to spot them. Hearing them from a distance was enough.

While Adeline threatened to sic her brother on them and shrink all the orcs down to squirrels, I wasn’t too confident that Jasper had control of that spell. I didn’t want to risk becoming squirrel-sized as well.

It wasn’t just the boredom from walking or the exhaustion that was getting to me. Nylian had begun acting strange almost from the start of adding Jasper and Adeline to our group. It was as if the man didn’t want me talking to Jasper. Was he afraid I was going to get into magic and try casting spells myself? Not likely.

Occasionally, the elf would run ahead to scout the route and make sure we didn’t need to take a detour past any troublesome areas. When he would return, I would be swapping stories with Jasper. Each time, the elf would insert himself into our conversation and intentionally chase Jasper off to walk with his sister.

I didn’t dare talk to Adeline more than necessary. Soon, Nylian and Adeline would fall for each other, and I didn’t want to risk getting caught up in that mess.

I wasn’t sure how that was going to happen, though. Adeline and Nylian barely spoke more than a few words and were never alone together. As much as I hated to do it, it was time for me to step in. Those two needed to be well on the road to love before reaching Riverhold. Because if they weren’t, they would go their separate ways without a backward glance. We would also need to cough up the money we owed the thief-mercenary.

Besides, I wasn’t letting this elf screw up my book more than he already had. He was supposed to have a harem that loved and supported him on this difficult road. What did he have now? A neurotic, useless author who was good at walking into trees. That was not enough.

Of course, I enjoyed the conversations I had with Nylian. He had a dry, sharp wit that always took me by surprise each time it sneaked into his tales. While he was still careful to avoid giving details about his life as a prince, he shared some interesting adventures he’d had with his brother. There wasn’t much I could share about my life, but he seemed to enjoy stories about Georgie and her girlfriend, Jack.

As the third day wore on, we called an early halt when he located a flat spot to make camp near a winding stream. I was getting pretty good at helping to set up camp—though considering our nonexistent supplies, setting up camp came down to finding some firewood and removing some rocks from the area so their sharp edges weren’t digging into my spine as I slept. If we were out of food, Adeline or Nylian would head off to find or kill something to fill our bellies.

Nylian and Jasper had attempted to give me lessons in cleaning and skinning the rabbits or fowl they caught. I’d thrown up both times, so they gave up on trying to teach me that and let me take over the cooking and firewood fetching.

“Why don’t you and Adeline go hunting this time? Work together,” I suggested after we agreed on a location.

“Why?” Nylian demanded, his eyes narrowing on my face.

I gulped. I should have been ready for that question, but I wasn’t. “Because…”

“Because hunting is hard work, and hard work shared between two people is completed even faster,” Jasper chimed in. Sometimes, I loved that kid. He stepped up beside me, the chain on his grimoire jangling softly. “Besides, with the two of you working together, you can kill something bigger, like a deer. With that much meat, we could save some for the next day. Take a break from all the hunting and such.”

Oh, I liked that idea. I was tired of an all-meat diet, though. I’d kill for some vegetables. Even another one of Jasper’s crappy biscuits, but he was all out of flour. At this point, I was praying we’d run across a farm where we could buy a few vegetables or some fruit from a farmer.

“You want something different?” Adeline demanded. “How about we make this a competition? Jasper and me will head into the forest and hunt up something to eat. You and the elf catch something from the stream. Best catch of the night means best hunters.”

“What? No!” This wasn’t what I wanted. Why was this woman so determined to mess up my plans? “How about me and Jasper fish and you and Nylian hunt?”

Adeline crossed her arms over his stomach and frowned. “No way. Jasper can’t swim.” Even Jasper seemed to pale at the mention of fishing in the stream.

“It’s not that deep. I’m sure he’d be fine,” I argued. I couldn’t let go of this chance to give Nylian and Adeline some time alone.

The thief sighed as if I were the densest thing in the forest. “You don’t know Jasper. He’d drown in a puddle if you weren’t watching over him closely.”

“I—”

“No, I like her division of the teams best,” Nylian declared, cutting off my argument. “We must meet at the camp at sunset to present our catches.”

That was all Adeline needed to hear. She gave Jasper’s sleeve a tug, and they were off into the woods, leaving me alone with Nylian for the first time since we’d escaped the ogres.

Now that I was looking at the stream, though, I had to wonder how the hell we were going to catch anything without fishing poles, hooks, and bait. As Adeline and her brother headed off in one direction, Nylian drew his sword and walked into the forest in another direction.

Groaning to myself, I followed the elf. Someone needed to. He was only going to find trouble if left alone.

“How are we supposed to catch fish without poles and bait?” I asked as I trailed after him.

The elf said nothing as he gazed up at the trees. He ambled through the forest, inspecting the trees, before swinging his sword to bring down a sturdy branch about an inch in diameter. He picked up the branch and thrust it at me. “Remove the extraneous branches and the bark; then sharpen the tip to a point. We’re spearfishing.” He finished with a smile that had its own bite. He was not happy with me.

“Okay,” I drawled out, staring at him for an extra second. “Is something wrong?”

“No.”

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