Page 84 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

“I’ll be fine. We need to stop this,” I gritted out. With their help, I sat upright and shouted. “Nylian! Stop this! I’m okay. Don’t kill him!”

Almost like I’d bellowed a magic spell, Nylian stopped attacking his uncle, who was breathing heavily and pale. The prince stared at the duke and then threw aside the sword as if the thing were tainted.

Without saying a word, Nylian marched over and kneeled beside me. His careful hands flitted over my body, checking each of the wounds, his expression growing grimmer. I was afraid he’d go after his uncle again, so I captured his hand and squeezed, forcing him to meet my eyes.

“What were you thinking?” Nylian snarled, but I didn’t miss the tremor of fear in his words.

“He challenged me. What was I supposed to do?”

“You tell him to fuck off! You tell him to mind his own business,” Nylian snapped. He looked like he wanted to shake some sense into me, but he made do with brushing some sweaty hair away from my forehead.

A smile twitched and formed before I could catch it. “Sorry. I didn’t know that was an option.”

“Nephew, get away from him!” The duke’s order cut through our little moment. “He claims he wants to protect you, but the man can’t even protect himself. He’s beneath you. This man has said to all who would listen that he wishes to destroy our family and crush our people in war.”

“Wow. This asshole has a serious death wish,” Adeline muttered, and I couldn’t agree more with her. “Nylian, if you don’t kill this guy, I’m going to.”

“Yeah,” Jasper chimed in. “I think I remember that spell that turned those men in Riverhold into ducks.”

Okay, while it was touching, they were not helping.

The softness that had wormed its way into Nylian’s eyes disappeared as his gaze hardened and his expression turned cold. He rose and turned toward his uncle, but I caught his ankle this time, keeping him from attacking the duke. Yes, Thallan was taking the express straight to pain town, but I couldn’t let Nylian kill his uncle. He’d regret it eventually, and he was dealing with enough family problems already.

“This is not the man you’ve heard about. He has changed, grown in our time together. He’s become even greater than that old shadow people cling to. And while Adam might not be skilled at using a sword, he has other abilities. I don’t keep him at my side because I need his protection,” Nylian bit out, which only earned him a confused look on the duke’s face.

I gave an overly loud fake cough and said, “Victor,” then followed it up with another cough.

Nylian groaned. “Whatever. This man is worth more to me than all of Wolfrest’s soldiers. In the weeks we’ve known each other, he has cared for me, respected me, and supported me more than a lifetime of servants, so-called friends, and even my family. Doubt him and his integrity all you want, but doing so means you also doubt me. And if you want to harm a single hair on his head, you’re going to have to kill me first.”

“Xeran—”

The duke started to argue, but Nylian cut him off with a sharp slice of his hand through the air as if he were holding a sword.

“I love him, and nothing you ever do or say will change that,” Nylian declared in a loud, ringing voice.

A gasp jumped from my parted lips. It was like the duke’s sword had pierced me yet again, but this time through the heart. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even think.

He loved me.

Nylian actually loved me.

Was he serious?

My brain was still trying to turn on when Nylian kneeled in front of me, his warm hand cupping my cheek. “Let’s get you inside. We’ll summon the healers to get you fixed up, and then we’re leaving.”

I didn’t have time to reply. The chipmunk hiding in Jasper’s hair jumped down and scampered over to stand between us and the duke, who was still standing several feet away, not saying a word. A litany of angry chirps and squeaks erupted from the chipmunk in what I could only guess was a diatribe in my defense. At least, I hoped it was. His tiny body trembled in his rage, and it was amusing until tiny sparks appeared in the air around the chipmunk.

Holy shit, the wizard trapped in a chipmunk’s body could still use magic! This was bad.

“Master Binx, it’s okay! Let’s go back to the castle,” I called out. My head whipped toward Jasper, who was staring openmouthed at his would-be mentor, and I whispered, “Go pick him up. This world can’t handle a spell-casting chipmunk.”

Jasper hurried over and scooped up the chipmunk, murmuring reassurances to him the entire time, while Adeline and Nylian helped me to my feet. I slung an arm across Nylian’s shoulders and leaned on him while we made the long trek to the room.

“Are you sure I can’t kick his ass?” Adeline asked.

“No, let it go. I appreciate you coming to my defense, but I think it’s best if we forget about this and move on,” I said.

“Fine, but you’re not off the hook with me, buster,” she threatened, sticking one finger in my face. “You’ve still got to answer for this stupidity.” She dropped her hand and sniffed. “But I don’t pick on the wounded.”

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