Page 8 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

But I couldn’t let that happen.

For some reason, I’d been brought here and placed directly in his path. That had to be a sign that I was supposed to stick with him. Maybe I was supposed to fix some of the plot mess I’d left unfinished. Who knew?

Muffled footsteps approached, and I twisted to see Nylian stepping outside. He dragged in a deep, cleansing breath and offered me a small nod. I don’t know whether he believed what Mother Thistle had said or whether he believed the collection of powders, incense, and poultices would actually fix me. He didn’t offer any comment.

“The inn is two doors down from here. We’ll get rooms for the night and a meal,” he declared. With deft fingers, he unwrapped his horse’s reins from where he’d tied them and led the way along the nearly empty street.

We walked side by side in silence, my gaze skimming over the other shops and homes. Lamps and candlelight flickered between the cracks of curtains and the smell of cooking food wafted out onto the street.

“Thanks for your help. I’m sure you weren’t looking for this kind of trouble. I’ll pay you back,” I murmured. My hands tightened on the packets, making the paper crinkle softly.

“Since I was the one to scare you, I consider us even now. Tomorrow, we’ll go our separate ways.”

I opened my mouth to argue that we needed to stick together, but the words died on my tongue. What the hell was I supposed to say? Fate had brought us together? That was a load of horseshit. No, I needed a much better reason. Something believable.

I was still thinking when we arrived at the inn. Nylian grabbed his bag of belongings and handed the reins of his horse over to a stable boy with filthy clothes and hay in his light-brown hair. He gawked openmouthed at Nylian while the elf ignored him.

“You’re catching flies,” I snapped at the boy as I followed Nylian into the three-story building. The boy’s mouth shut with a click of his teeth, though his wide eyes continued to follow the elf until he disappeared.

I thought I caught a look from Nylian, but it was forgotten in the next second as I crossed the threshold to the inn. Holy shit, it was like stepping into my imagination. My heart fluttered and jumped into my throat as I took in the thick wooden beams everywhere and the creak of the floor under my feet. The smell of ale and fatty cooked meat assaulted my nose from the pub that was through a large open doorway on my left. Directly in front of us stood a battered table that served as a front desk to the inn. A harried woman wearing a rigid smile glared at us as if she’d rather scare us away than give us rooms.

“How can I help you, gentlemen?” the innkeeper inquired, her dark eyes darting from Nylian to me, as if she couldn’t decide which of us was likely to be the troublemaker.

“Two rooms for the night,” Nylian said.

She grunted and turned to a board that held a handful of keys on individual hooks. She plucked two off and slammed them on the counter, but kept her hand over them, her eyes narrowed to thin slits. “This is an honorable establishment. I won’t tolerate no brawling. You get in a fight, and you’re out. I don’t care who starts it. Also, no guests in your rooms. If you wanna take advantage of Lady Finkle’s wares, you keep it at her establishment. I don’t want to see any of those whores here.”

I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from snickering. Misty Pass was large enough to support a brothel? The town looked like a forgotten town on a nonexistent dirt path. Brothels were typically reserved for larger towns along major trade routes. I really needed to spend some time trying to remember my own book. The longer we were in Misty Pass, the more I got this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that there was something about this place that I needed to remember. Something that Nylian should accomplish. But it was a splinter dug too deep, and I couldn’t reach it yet.

Nylian smiled stiffly and slapped a gold coin on the counter beside her hand. “You won’t even know we’re here. We’ll be gone by first light.”

The innkeeper released the keys and snatched the coin up in a flash. “Second floor. End of the hall. Rooms are across from each other.”

Nylian slowly took the keys with a nod and led the way up the narrow wooden staircase with a soft thump of his boots. I followed without a word, still trying to take in all my surroundings.

At the end of the hall, my companion handed me a key and motioned to the door across from the one he was standing beside. “Go in and wash up. We’ll go down for a meal in a bit…and discuss things.”

I let out a grunt as I accepted the key, trying to hide the sinking feeling in my stomach. It wasn’t hard to guess what he wanted to discuss. The elf was going to make his first serious attempt to get rid of me. At the very least, I appreciated that he was going to discuss it with me rather than disappear into the night.

Not that I didn’t think he was entirely capable of that.

Running off and leaving me behind was likely Plan B if talking to me didn’t work out.

No, ditching me was not an option. I needed to come up with a good reason for us to stick together so that he wouldn’t resort to Plan B.

The lock scraped and gave a weak metallic thunk as it slid aside. The room was a bit of a disappointment. Barely larger than a walk-in closet, it held a narrow bed with a ragged blanket. The nightstand was a rickety affair with a brass candlestick and a nub for a candle. There was another stand that held a chipped bowl and an old, stained pitcher for water for washing up. A single wooden chair stood next to the only window in the room and appeared as if it would collapse under my weight if I were insane enough to sit on it.

I pulled aside the worn curtain with the sun-faded floral pattern to allow the evening’s last sunlight into the room. The window looked out onto a narrow alley that ran between the inn and a general store on the other side. The added light in the musty-smelling room didn’t help, and I fought the urge to open the window to let in some fresh air. It was probably a safe bet that the air coming off the alley was going to be anything but fresh.

After draping my cloak across the chair and laying my sword on top of it, along with all the nonsense I’d gained from Mother Thistle, I poured some water into the bowl. I bent and splashed the cold water across my face, washing away some of the road dust and forcing my brain to wake up. As I was reaching for something to dry my face, I froze, every muscle in my body locking up as I caught sight of my reflection.

This wasn’t my face.

The eyes staring back at me weren’t my eyes.

Even though I’d woken up in different clothes, I’d always assumed it was my body that had appeared with my mind in this world. But that was not who was staring at me in the mirror. I didn’t know this face!

With shaking hands, I poked at the somewhat large, Roman nose in the middle of the face with high, sharp cheekbones and somewhat deep-set dark-brown eyes. Thick black eyebrows sat over those eyes, giving the face a grave expression.

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