Page 98 of I Destroyed the Elf Prince's Harem

Shaking off the thought, I shoved her off my sword and turned to the bed, ignoring the heavy thud of her body hitting the thick carpet. I dropped the weapon and dug into the pouch at my side for the tiny glass vial with the dark-red liquid.

“Is it too late?” the guard demanded as he scrambled to my side.

I pressed trembling fingers to the side of Orian’s throat. It took far too long, but I finally detected a thready pulse that was getting weaker by the second.

“He’s still alive,” I exhaled. “Go around to the other side of the bed. Hold his head up. He needs to swallow this.”

The guard jumped into action, moving to the far side of the bed and cradling the prince’s head in his shaking hands. I pried the cork from the vial and so very carefully poured the antidote into his mouth. We did it bit by tiny bit, pausing here and there to massage his throat to make sure every drop went down. When the vial was empty, the guard placed Orian’s head on his pristine white pillow and we stepped away from the bed.

There had been no time to check the antidote Jasper had made with the Blackscar healers. All the ones who’d been tending Orian were dead. Consort Keya had removed the protective barrier keeping Orian alive.

I stood there shaking, the empty glass vial clasped in both hands, praying to any higher power there was to make this right. Jasper was going to be a great wizard one day. He’d gotten the ice spell right at the Stonewill Chateau. With the healers in Blackscar, he’d gotten this antidote right. I just knew it. After everything Nylian had suffered and battled, his twin brother couldn’t be stolen from him like this.

Pounding footsteps drew me from my desperate prayers, and my head popped up in time to see Nylian fill the doorway. For the first time since knowing him, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were dirty and splattered with blood. The elf was a disaster, and he’d also never looked so perfect to me. His eyes only got wider as he took in the room’s chaos before finding me.

He said nothing. Just launched himself at me and I caught him in a tight hug that I wanted to never end. He hugged me back, almost cracking my ribs while I choked out a sob of relief.

“You’re okay? You’re not hurt?” he demanded.

“I’m okay. I—” He cut me off, his mouth covering mine in a desperate kiss that I gave in to. His hands wandered along my arms and across my chest. For a split second, I thought the man was groping me, but my brain caught up and I realized he was checking me over for injuries. I should have done the same, but I couldn’t. I wanted to hold him as tightly as I could. He was alive and in my arms. I didn’t care what happened with his brother Prince Jandar or the king. I didn’t care about anything else that was happening around us. The only thing that mattered was the elf in my arms.

A soft cough somewhere in the room pulled us apart.

“Someone is going to need to fill me in,” a low, rough voice rasped.

Nylian and I jerked toward the sound to find Orian staring at us with laughing green eyes and a fragile smile.

“I feel like I missed a lot,” Orian continued.

“My son!” someone else gasped. This one from the doorway. I blushed all the way to my roots to find the king and several guards standing there. Yep, they’d all seen me kissing the shit out of Prince Xeran while we stood over what could have been Orian’s deathbed, which was surrounded by corpses. Totally normal day for me.

Both Nylian and the king rushed to Orian’s beside while I stumbled back, trying to give them more room. Someone in the hallway shouted orders for the queen to be told the good news. I just tried to stay out of the way.

It was only when someone bumped by my arm that I glanced up to find I was standing beside the same guard who’d taken me to this room. “Thank you for saving my life and Prince Orian’s.”

With a grin, I held out my hand to him. “It was a team effort. I needed you to get me here and to help me give him the antidote.”

“Team effort,” the guard agreed, shaking my hand.

“Are you making friends or flirting?” Nylian’s voice cut into our moment, and I smirked at the elf as I released the guard’s hand.

“Only making friends. I save my flirting for you.”

Nylian’s smile widened, and he looked appeased. He jerked his chin toward the guard at my side. “That’s General Theo Wyn, head of the Royal Dragon Army of West Vale, protectors of the Elrich line, and my father’s right hand. He’s a good man to be friends with.”

And that would also make him the most powerful man in all of Wolfrest outside of the royal family. Just as my knees were threatening to turn to jelly at that bit of information, the general stepped back and bowed to me.

“Thank you again, Your Highness.”

I gulped.

Nylian seemed to guess that I was on the edge of being overwhelmed, so the asshole added frost to snow by ushering me over to Orian’s bedside. The prince’s color was improving by the second and he was more alert. The king sat on the side of the bed, clutching his hand in both of his.

“Orian, this is the man who saved your life, Prince Victor Montcroix, but his friends call him Adam,” Nylian introduced.

“I’m sure Your Highness knows better than to believe your twin brother’s nonsense,” I said.

“I do, but my brother also says some very smart things occasionally. Thank you for saving my life.”

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