Page 74 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

“And we could be dead right now after attempting to escape Ulmenor,” I pointed out. “But we’re not. We’re in the middle of the woods on our way to Lockeheim to find some poison.”

A slow grin spread across Nylian’s lips, and I swore it felt like a kiss. No one had ever looked at me like that. Or maybe they had, and I never noticed. Either way, Nylian was the first to make me feel truly desired, even cherished, and it was becoming so damn addictive. How was I supposed to return to my normal, boring life when there was this sexy elf who looked at me like I was the only thing that matter in all the world?

“Oh, Master Binx! You can’t eat them all at once. You’re going to make yourself sick.”

Thankfully, there was a gluttonous chipmunk wizard in our camp to keep me from throwing myself at Nylian.

After Adeline and the elf finished preparing the rabbits, it was my job to take over the cooking. Which was largely turning them slowly on the spit to make sure they didn’t get burned in one spot. I might have even stolen a few of the blackberries from the chipmunk and squeezed them on the meat for a little seasoning. I narrowly avoided losing a finger in the endeavor.

As much as I didn’t care for camping or being without even the most basic supplies, it was nice to be out in the woods with my three companions. Adeline was always full of fun stories from her adventures, and Jasper usually had something interesting to chime in with. Nylian added his own twisted commentary, and I soaked it all in as we sat about the campfire.

After dinner was completed and cleaned up, Jasper opened his grimoire and began searching for a way to turn Master Binx back into an elf. I stood, intending to sit next to him so I could read over his shoulder. I’d yet to see what was written in a grimoire, and I was curious as to what kind of spell was needed to reverse Binx’s current curse.

However, I didn’t get more than a single step before Nylian grabbed my arm and jumped to his feet as well.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

I cocked my head to the side, my brow furrowing at his tone. There was no way he was jealous of Jasper. We’d covered this already. “I wanted to take a peek in the spell book. Just help him a bit.”

“Absolutely not.”

“What?” I choked on the word even as Nylian wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me back a step.

“We’ve watched him reduce ogres to squirrels, change scoundrels into ducks, and now his own mentor is a chipmunk. You aren’t allowed anywhere near him when he’s casting spells.”

“That…is an excellent point,” I conceded. “You’re right. Forgive me?”

“Ooooh,” Nylian purred as he added as a second arm to my waist and pulled me in even closer. “I like how that sounds.”

“Forgive me?”

He shook his head with a smirk. “No, the other thing.”

Instead of rolling my eyes at his ridiculousness, I leaned in closer, brushing my lips over his as I whispered in a husky tone, “You’re right.”

“Ha! I knew it! About freaking time!”

Adeline’s shout and laughter nearly jolted me out of Nylian’s arms and into the fire. Good thing the elf had better reflexes. He jerked me close, nuzzled my neck long enough to place a kiss behind my ear, and shot Adeline a glare without missing a beat. Had I mentioned that my elf was smooth? Yes, very smooth.

None of that fazed Adeline. She laughed so hard she fell off the log she was using as a seat and still continued to cackle like a Halloween witch.

“Are you done yet?” I inquired as I leaned into Nylian, enjoying the feel of his muscular body supporting me.

“Never. I will never be done,” she gasped between more crows of laughter. Really, it wasn’t that funny.

After another minute, she pushed herself upright, her face bright red from laughing. “You have no idea. That whole trip to Riverhold, he was mooning over you or trying to get your attention. I thought he was going to hit you over the head with a stick and drag you into the woods if you didn’t catch a clue soon.”

“Utter nonsense,” Nylian grumbled, but I noticed he refused to meet my eyes.

Swallowing my chuckles, I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I don’t believe her. There’s no way I could have looked away from your handsomeness.”

Adeline dissolved into more cackles, and even Jasper sounded as if he were going to choke to death in his attempt to not laugh at us. Nylian muttered something under his breath that sounded like a swear and released me, intending to move back to his seat.

He didn’t get more than a step when a hawk’s cry cut through the giggles and the crackle of the fire. Binx squealed and darted into the sleeve of Jasper’s robes. All the mirth dissolved from Nylian’s face as he turned toward the sound of the cry and lifted one arm upward. With a flap of great brown wings, a hawk dropped to our camp and lightly landed on Nylian’s forearm. Its black talons circled his wrist but seemed careful not to puncture his skin.

“Whoa,” I exhaled, my heart still racing at the sight of the raptor the size of a medium dog. “How did you do that?”

“I didn’t.” Nylian didn’t take his eyes off the hawk as he answered. The fingers of his free hand plucked at a small cylinder on the hawk’s leg, pulling out a tiny scroll of paper. The second it was free, he lifted his arm, sending the hawk into the air.

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