Page 14 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

“Hey! Not at all. I have never stolen a single cent from anyone,” I argued in a hard, flat tone. “I’m a survivor. My fighting skills might not be quite what they need to be, but I’m smart enough to know how to get things done. Think of it as acquiring another brain to help you on your journey.”

Nylian lifted his eyes to stare at my face. He didn’t speak, only watched me as if he were trying to peel away all the layers of flesh and bone so he could peer directly into my brain. At last, he whispered, “Why?”

“It’s like I said earlier. You helped me, and I want to return the favor. There’s nothing more complicated to it than that.” I shifted to lean on my elbow toward him and flashed him my most winning grin—not that I was even sure what that looked like on my new face. “But it would be helpful if you could give me a little information on where you’re going and why. I might not remember much, but it seems strange for an elf to be wandering through Edros without other elves. Edros and the elves of Wolfrest don’t have a long history of being friendly.”

There was another long pause that was filled by the snap and crackle of the fire eating its way through the wood we’d gathered. Some night birds called here and there, but mostly, it felt like we were cut off from the rest of the world. Nylian turned his eyes away from me and gazed into the flames. The press of his lips became a stern, unbreakable line and a tiny wrinkle formed between his brows.

“I’ve been framed for the murder of my brother,” Nylian admitted.

“What?” I gasped. I think I did a pretty good impression of surprise. Either way, Nylian didn’t appear to notice me.

“Orian was my twin brother, and I’ve been accused of killing him. My father banished me from home. Now I’m searching for the truth about my brother’s murder.”

With a shove, I sat upright again and frowned at the campfire. “I’m sorry for your loss,” I whispered past a sudden tightness in my throat. This was not what I’d expected to feel. I thought I’d be elated when Nylian trusted me enough with the truth of what he was doing and why, but there had been a tiny tremor in his voice.

How had I overlooked the fact that Nylian had to be in great pain? All his smirking and bravado covered up the pain of losing his twin brother. Unlike with his other royal siblings, Nylian had always been close to Orian. Nearly inseparable. He had been the one person Nylian trusted above all others.

And now he was alone in the world.

Worse, his father had kicked him out of his kingdom, leaving him to fend for himself while word had spread that he was a murderer.

I’d dreamed up this tragic story as a vehicle to launch a twisted story of intrigue, danger, action, and hot sex.

I tried to remind myself that he wasn’t real, that none of this was real, yet my heart still ached for him. I was an only child and couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a sibling. But I’d lost my mother to cancer a few years back, and that was agony enough. At the end of the day, I still had my home and friends.

Nylian had nothing.

It didn’t matter if he wasn’t real. There was no way in hell I was going to let him suffer through this alone. Now that I was here, I was going to help him achieve the very best possible ending. He was going to clear his name, get all the girls, and claim the throne. At the very fucking least, he was going to return home with his head held high.

It was going to be easy. I knew this world, since I’d created it. I could provide him with all the key insights.

Except I’d still been working out the plot when I’d fallen off that bridge, and I didn’t know who killed his brother.

Details. Minor details.

“I’ll help you,” I stated.

“You don’t?—”

“Ah-ah-ah,” I cut him off, waving my hands in his direction. “No arguing or other nonsense. I’m helping. You’re not getting rid of me, because you need my help. I can assist you with navigating all the stuff you’ll need to go through. Plus I’ll be the person you brainstorm new ideas with. It’s not like you’re going to stumble across the actual killer’s memoir titled ‘How I Plotted the Death of Nylian’s Brother.’ I’ll watch your back and help. Provide amazing distractions where necessary.”

Nylian’s lips did that twitch thing as though he were trying to hold in a smile but was losing the battle. “I’m thinking you damaged your brain when you walked into that tree.”

“Probably so, but that doesn’t change what I said. I’m helping you. Now, where are we going next? I’m assuming you weren’t following a lead to Misty Pass.”

The elf hesitated, continuing to watch me. I didn’t expect him to trust me. Not yet, at least. Someone had already screwed the guy over and ruined his life. There was no way in hell he was going to trust some total stranger now.

“I had no plans to stop in Misty Pass. I’d planned to travel around it or simply go through without stopping, but…”

Shoving one hand into my messy hair, I grinned at my new friend. “I forced you to make a pit stop for my faulty memory.”

“My plan was also to leave you there,” Nylian muttered.

I threw my hands out to my sides. “And yet I’m still here.”

“Yes, you are.” Nylian sighed and shook his head. “My current route is to continue north and catch the ferry across the Esham Narrows to Galinaes.”

“You’re going to Galinaes next?” The disbelieving words were out of my mouth before I could catch them, but I couldn’t worry about that. Something was wrong here. He shouldn’t be heading to Galinaes next. He should be going north to the Edros capital of Gushan for some sneaking about. Were we not where I thought we were in this book?

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