Page 18 of Scales and Seduction

As we get closer, his cozy home is half-buried in the roots of a massive oak tree. Its windows are stained glass, and there are boxed planters filled with flowers swarmed by butterflies.

Loran opens the door before we even have a chance to knock. His sharp green eyes hide behind his glasses, but they soften when they settle on Ruby. Loran is half-orc, half-elven. His body is smaller for his kind, and the paler color of his skin alerts everyone to his mixed heritage.

“Gideon,” he says warmly, stepping aside to let us in his home. “And you must be Miss Ruby. Welcome.”

As we step inside, the warmth of his space helps with the ache. A fire is going in the hearth, with a bubbling cauldron hanging above it. His home is an eclectic mix of ancient books, apothecary jars, magical trinkets, and children’s toys. A kettle whistles on the stove, and the air is thick with the scent of herbs from whatever tincture he’s brewing. Loran gestures for us to sit in the living room, but his eyes linger on me for far too long.

“You’re moving like you’ve aged a century overnight,” he says with concern.

I wave him off, hoping to keep him from asking more. “It’s alright. I slept on my back wrong.”

Loran frowns, clearly unconvinced. “You’ve been pushing yourself too much with this wedding.” He sighs heavily, disappearing into the kitchen before I can argue. Moments later, he returns with a steaming cup of tea. “Drink this. It won’t fix it, but it’ll ease the pain until you take your meds.”

I take the cup with a quiet thanks; the warmth seeping into my hands is a small comfort. Ruby watches me with concern, her brows knitted in that usual way of hers, which only makes me feel more frustrated that I feel so terrible today.

“You didn’t tell me you were sick.” Ruby gives me a once-over as if she’s searching for clues of an ailment.

Nobody knows that I have arthritis or that I have issues digesting certain foods. I’ve kept my health concerns to myself for the most part. The few who know are my closest friends and family because the last thing a prince needs is to appear weak. As long as I sleep well, manage what I eat and my inflammation, I rarely have flare-ups. My last wasn’t until after my brother disappeared and mother decided to give the crown to me. The weight of that burden sent me into a spiral.

“It’s nothing,” I reply, forcing a smile. “It’s just a little stiffness.”

As we sit on the large, lumpy maroon sofa, Loran settles into a wooden chair in the corner. “So, your text mentioned you each installed an app for finding your true mate, which I am curious about. Why would you do that with your approaching nuptials. Unless…” He pauses, tapping his fingers on the chair arm. “Have you and Ava finally decided to call the whole thing off?”

Ruby’s body heat is so warm, when her bare knee brushes my scales, I find my mind drifting to last night almost immediately. She’s wearing one of my tan tunics with a belt tied around her waist, and God is it a sight to behold. I’ve done my best not to stare, but her skin, her skin…

Loran clears his throat with a knowing twinkle in his eyes. “Is the pain too much, Prince?” His voice is concerned, but the way his gaze lingers on me suggests he knows far more than he’s letting on. Elves have a knack for sensing emotions, and Loran is no exception. He’s noticed my shift in energy, particularly now that Ruby is sitting so close.

“No, Avalon doesn’t know about Ruby yet. First, I want to figure out how Ruby got here before I tell anyone else.” I’m thankful for my friend's gentle nudge out of my lustful thoughts.

“Is there a way to get me home?” Ruby leans toward Loran with rapt attention, her fists closed tightly by her knees.

I hate the way there’s so much hope in her question. It’s only been one night, and yet I find myself wishing she’d stay longer. I want so much to truly know if she is my mate and what that entails. So far, I've only noticed that I can sense when she's in danger, and my emotions and hormones are heightened more than ever before.

Loran shrugs, twisting his mouth in thought. “Well, that I can’t say, but, if it was the app, I should be able to at least gain insight into the magic surrounding it. I’ll need to inspect it, and it’s unusual…to say the least. Magic and technology rarely mix well.” I can see him slowly transforming into the professorialmale I know him to be. He’s one of the smartest in the Vale, and in some ways, that bores him to no end. Using his magic this way more than likely thrills him.

“Magic often overpowers technology and breaks the components. It’s why the towns and cities are more advanced than smaller ones outside their borders. We can easily supply the power to small things like lights, computers, phones and small appliances, but an entire city can’t be run on magic alone, even with the strongest mages at work. We eventually run out of mana for the magic.”

“Well, if I give you my phone, do you think you can find out what’s going on?” Ruby’s attention hasn’t waned once since Loran began his explanation. She’s excited, nodding along as she tries to understand everything he’s saying to her.

Loren’s eyes brighten as her hands rifle through her small purse at her side. She hands over her phone, explaining everything she had already told Silas yesterday. Ruby describes going to the phone repair shop, where the shopkeeper told her she would receive a discount if she used his app. That she had no idea magical creatures existed or that she would end up here with her cat.

“And you were told by Avalon to download it?” he asks me as his fingers graze the screen, never once looking up at me as he speaks.

“Yes, though she only mentioned it in passing to me. It wasn’t explicit that I install it, but the way she spoke about it made me curious.” My hands curl at my sides, longing to touch Ruby’s leg as if she might ground me. “A soul match is something that seemed too good to be true, but it felt exciting.”

“Mhm...” Loran’s palm hovers over the phone as he chants in a melodic cadence that seems to vibrate through the air. The glow of his spell lingers faintly over the phone, illuminating his features in a pale pink light. The shimmer of magic sinks intothe device, and his eyes glow in the same hue. “There is a layer of ancient magic here,” he says in a raspy, deep voice nothing like his own. “It’s tied to a curse…the curse that severed our realms from one another centuries ago.”

As the magic fades, his voice remains tied to the spell. A booming ancient voice echoes around the room as it continues to explain what he sees. “Long ago, when the Vale was nothing more than a shanty town, a great betrayal occurred. A human sorcerer sought to exploit the magic of King Kithrall… to protect the realms from harm. Kithrall and his council bound the two realms in a veil of shadow, never to know the other existed.” Loran pauses momentarily as if the deep magical thread is disappearing from his grasp. “The humans’ memories were altered in order to forget us, but we…we never forgot.”

His eyes begin to fade back to their usual deep green, and his voice slowly changes back, but a deep exhaustion is revealed in the way his shoulders hang low. “This app is a bridge of sorts, something that shouldn’t exist but does… I’ll need time to uncover it.”

“Would it be alright, Ruby, if Loran keeps your phone for a few days?” I ask as my hand immediately finds its way to her knee. The touch sends a small electric surge through my hand, and as Ruby jolts, her eyes soften once the initial feeling subsides.

“Sure, it isn’t like I can use it. It’s basically a paperweight now,” she says, placing her hand upon mine. “I would like to contact my friend Quinn and her sibling Vince. I promised them I would text them once I got home, but I got so sidetracked with the app and…” Her voice trembles as a swell of emotions comes over her. “Is there a way to get them a message?”

“I would guess only if they download the app themselves; otherwise, I’m sorry, Miss Ruby, but there’s no way for a message to get through,” Loran says solemnly.

Ruby bites her lip, chewing on the skin there, which I’ve noticed is peeled, revealing bits of pink fresh dermis. “If you find a way to, please let me know.”

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