Page 79 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

“Fuck his reason!”

All of Nylian’s control finally snapped. He cast off my hold, nearly knocking me to the floor. He zipped across the room, snatched something up from a table, and threw it at the nearest wall. The decoration shattered into a thousand pieces, creating a glittering starburst. He continued his destruction while I scrambled to get out of his way. Two small tables were smashed, and a set of teacups and a pitcher joined the other broken glass. I didn’t step in until he drew his sword and seemed as if he planned to attack the bed.

With my hand wrapped around his on the hilt, I forced his arm over his head while placing my other arm on his waist, pulling him in close. His breathing was rapid gasps, and his pupils were blown wide, the black nearly consuming the sparkling green I loved.

“You can destroy anything you want, just not with weapons. One of us will get hurt,” I bargained.

Gritting his teeth, Nylian shoved me away. He lifted the sword and took a step toward the bed, but froze. The sword dropped but slowly, as if I were watching all the anger drain out of his body. The weapon slipped from limp fingers to clatter loudly on the stone floor. He stumbled back to the center of the room and I caught him as his legs gave out, guiding us both to sit on the floor.

Now, I got the chance to wrap him up tightly in a comforting cocoon, pressing my face into the crook of his neck that was covered in an icy cold sweat.

“Why?” Nylian’s voice trembled as he choked out that single word. “Why…why didn’t he tell me? Couldn’t he have pulled me aside for five seconds to let me know Orian was still alive? That he didn’t believe that I’d betrayed him and my brother? He-he played me for a fool,” he snarled at the end.

I brushed light kisses across his jaw and up to his temple. “I don’t think this was about you being played for a fool. This was about protecting you as best he could. Someone inside the castle had mortally wounded one beloved son and framed another. If you stayed, they could have gotten to you. The king probably sent you away to get you out of the reach of the assassin.”

“How can you be so sure of him? You don’t know my father,” Nylian countered in a stubborn voice.

He was right. I’d yet to meet the king of Wolfrest, but I’d already had an idea of him when I was crafting the book. I didn’t want all the royals to be complete douche tools. In my mind, King Dorwynn had always been more compassionate and more thoughtful. He cared more about his people and his children than the power he wielded.

But I couldn’t tell Nylian that I knew his father wasn’t an asshole because I hadn’t created him to be an asshole. On the other hand, I simply didn’t know. There were a lot of things that had turned out differently than I’d originally planned. *cough* Nylian’s sexuality *cough* We wouldn’t know the king’s true motives until we saw him. The best I could do right now was try to comfort his son.

“True, but I struggle to believe that a cold, calculating, ruthless man could have raised such a warm and tender son.”

Nylian made a derisive noise. “My father didn’t raise me. Teachers, mentors, and a series of nannies brought me up.”

“Stubborn,” I groaned before nipping the spot just under his ear. “You’re right. I don’t know your father, but I choose to believe that he didn’t intentionally hurt you. Besides, who else is he going to trust to help him get to the truth of what happened to you and Prince Orian? Banishing you meant he had someone outside the kingdom to investigate what happened. To dig into the other kingdoms that have been jealous of Wolfrest for so long.”

“Lockhart,” he whispered wearily.

“Let go of your anger toward your father for now. You won’t know for sure what he was thinking until you can confront him. If it turns out he was an inconsiderate asshole, you’ll be able to tell him as much to his face.” Nylian’s shoulders shook in a silent laugh, and I knew he was picturing that exact scene in his head. “The only thing that matters is Orian is alive. It’s not too late to save your brother. We’re going to Lockeheim to get the antidote and uncover once and for all the bastards who did this to you and your brother. You are so close to having your old life again.”

Nylian stilled in my arms. A moment later, his head whipped around and his expression was fierce as he locked eyes with mine. “I don’t want my old life back. You weren’t in my old life. I refuse to have a life that doesn’t include you.”

“I…” My voice cracked, and the rest of the sentence became lodged behind a lump in my throat. What could I tell him? That it wasn’t up to me? The magical coin had brought me here, and there was no way of knowing if it planned to zip me to my old life as soon as this story was concluded. I didn’t want to make any promises I couldn’t keep. That wasn’t fair to either of us.

But I could tell him what I wanted.

“I don’t want you to return to your old life. I want to stay with you.”

Nylian’s lips crashed against mine in a violent kiss that I returned with the same desperation and hunger. The road ahead of us was perilous, but it didn’t feel so impossible or lonely. I’d follow him into whatever battle waited for us, so long as I knew he was going to be at my side.

Tongues thrust and slid sinuously along each other. Teeth nipped and tugged. Little pains were licked away and searching hands pulled at clothing in blind desperation, fighting to find bare skin. It was the hottest kiss of my life, and it still wasn’t enough. I wanted everything, even if it scared me to death.

“Bed,” Nylian breathed across my damp and sore lips. “We need a bed.”

No argument from me. Broken glass and bits of wood covered the floor. Not exactly the best spot to get naked.

I unwound my arms and legs enough so he could regain his feet. I then took his hand, letting him pull me up. My chest bumped his, and we fell into another hungry kiss as we tripped and stumbled our way to the bed. We pulled apart only when Nylian jerked my shirt over my head.

Grinning, I shoved him back onto the bed, where his body bounced nicely on the mattress. A cackle broke from his throat, and I grabbed one of his boots and jerked it off, tossing it over my shoulder.

“I think you’ll have to give my valet a few lessons on undressing me,” he snickered.

I wrapped my hand around his other boot and tugged hard, nearly falling over the moment it came free. “If your valet is this hands on, Your Highness, you can kiss that valet good-bye, because I’m not letting him touch you again.”

Deep belly laughs filled the room from Nylian while I slipped off his stockings and threw them gods knew where. “Godfried is a thousand years old and nearly blind.”

“Fine. I’ll give him a hand. He can take care of your wardrobe, and it’ll be my job to dress and undress you.” I climbed onto the bed, placing my knees on either side of his narrow hips, and leaned down so that the tip of my nose touched his. “Can you guess which will be my favorite?”

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