Page 28 of Trapped By Vengeance

Strong arms wrap around the man, holding him tight. Konrad is a head and shoulders taller than him now since kinfolk males tend to be shorter than mortals.

“Soon? He’s been gone too long!” Another elf appears, this one tall and willowy, her white hair flowing free behind her.

“It was just one job,” Konrad says. “The Guild gave me some time off, though, before my next one.”

“Konrad’s here?” a squeaky voice pipes up, and a familiar brunette pops up, though she’s tinier than she is now. “Konrad!”

Eloise comes running and springs up, throwing her arms around Konrad’s neck.

At least three more kinfolk appear and join the greeting. Two are clearly brothers, and the other is a kinwoman with Eloise’s hair and a pointed face.

I smile. This scene is a far cry from the first memory I saw in Konrad’s mind.

This memory is joy itself.

I’ve never awakened to the sensation of being held before. It has always been imperative to ensure that no one I couldn’t trust was near me when sunset came. Considering my father’s many enemies, that meant I could trust no one outside his castle.

Yet here I am, tangled up with one of his enemies— one ofmyenemies. Even though I have had a guard posted outside of my castle bedroom for as long as I can remember, I’ve never felt safer awakening than in this moment.

My back is pressed against Konrad’s chest, his heart beating steadily into my shoulder. We’re so close I feel like I still have a heart.

Konrad’s breath is slow with sleep, but rhythmically blows against my neck. His hand, that was splayed across my stomach, has slipped against my hip, and his legs are entwined with mine.

A smirk spreads across my face. He’s going to bemortifiedwhen he awakens.

Just to speed up that process a little, I snuggle a little closer to him.

Konrad makes a sniffing sound and stirs.

I twist my head so I’m looking right at him as his eyes drift open. He blinks at me in confusion while I continue to grin. Then his eyes whirl in confusion and he twists away from me.

Unfortunately for him, the blanket is tucked tightly around both of us. He disengages his limbs from me with surprising swiftness. But it does him no good, because when he rolls onto his back, the blanket drags me onto him.

“I have to ask,” I say as I twist around to situate myself more comfortably on top of him, “do you provide this level of service toallyour abductees?”

“I assure you that is not the case.” Konrad does his best to keep his voice cool, but his red-tipped ears betray his fluster. “Normally, I throw them in a burlap sack and call it a day.”

“Is that so?” My hands are splayed over his chest, my hair hanging down like a curtain around our faces, isolating us in this moment. “And why do I get the special treatment? Because I’m pretty?” I bat my eyelashes and purse my lips.

Konrad’s gaze predictably drops to my mouth. Men are so easy to manipulate like that.

Then Konrad tears his gaze back up to mine, a boyish grin stretching across his face. “A pretty ransom, to be sure. If I can only tolerate your company a little longer.”

Tolerate? “Why is it always about the money with you? You seemed to tolerate me just fine when—”

Before I can respond, bird feet tangle with my hair. I roll off Konrad and bat at the fowl fiend until it flaps back to the waiting shoulder of its mistress.

Eloise sits cross-legged, glaring at us. She looks downright villainous with her little minion on her shoulder.

She also looks completely different with her hair unbraided and flowing down to her waist, glowing in the nasty sunlight filtering in but mercifully not quite reaching us in the back of this cave. Her pointed ears are on full display now, and there is no disguising that she is an elfling.

Konrad groans, untangles himself from the blanket, and sits up. “How are you doing, pup?” His gaze falls on her ears, and he glances between Eloise and me nervously, as though I’d somehow tolerate a werwölfe abductor and not a pint-sized elfling.

“Considering I’m marooned on a deserted island and was almost orphaned a second time in a storm, fairly well.” Eloise ducks her head to one side, her sharp gaze on me. “Surprisingly enough, so isshe.”

I sit up and offer her an imperial wave. “I apologize if my fainting spell frightened you, but it was nothing a little cuddle couldn’t resolve.” I wink at Konrad, distracting him from further questions as both ears turn completely crimson.

Eloise just narrows her eyes. Then she turns back to her father. “The storm has passed, but there’s a lot of damage. Our dinghy, for example. We’ll have to make a raft or something now if we ever want to escape.”

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