Page 43 of The Night Prince

But Finley knew how desperate his best friend was to keep these things private.Anything unusual or different, Declan wanted to hide from everyone, especially the Sun Elves, and now he was being examined by the Sun King himself!It was literally the worst luck ever.

Or maybe the best.For if Declan truly is ill–and he is–then King Aquilan surely will be able to cure him!He’s the greatest Mage in all of the Aravae Empire!

And then Declan would see that there was no need to be afraid of the Sun Elves knowing of his differences.He might even be willing to tell others about his abilities and then humanity would be recognized as having magic, too, and… He stopped that train of thought.It was so selfish.Utterly and completely selfish.That wasn’t what Declan wanted.It was what Finley wanted and it was forhimself, not his best friend.Declan never desired to be singled out even though he always had been.

“You mentioned to the king that your friend has had this reaction to the Sun before.Just this afternoon, yes?”the Sun Elf asked.

Rhalyf was sprawled out again, looking so languid that he might just slip off the chair and onto the floor into a full coma.There was also quite a bit of his bare muscled chest showing.He’d removed his armored breastplate and had on only a white wrap shirt stitched with gold.There was a sort offleshysensuality to him.Finley was always amazed at how sexual the Sun Elves were.More like what he imagined the ancient Greeks and Romans were like than Tolkien’s elves.If Rhalyf wasn’t careful, his shirt would just slide off him altogether.

“I did,” Finley answered carefully.

Rhalyf’s gray eyes were slitted, regarding Finley very carefully.To some people, his questions might have seemed solicitous or perhaps a varied form of small talk to pass the time, but Finley’s back was up.He wasn’t sure if it was because of his own concern for Declan’s secrets potentially getting out or if there was something suspicious in the almost careless way Rhalyf asked his questions as if he didn’t care about the answers at all.Or he reallydid.

Declan is alone with the king.He might be suspicious, because he’s worried that Aquilan could be in danger from him.Although, what could a human do against a Sun Elf, let alone the Sun King?

“Has he ever had this happen before today?”Rhalyf played with a rather beautiful gold and ruby Sun amulet.His long, elegant fingers rubbed over the precious gems with care.

Immediately, Finley’s thoughts raced to that time at the lake.But he wasn’t going to explain that to this man.Why should he?

“He’s fair skinned.He’s always been Sun sensitive.It’s normal!”Finley answered and bit his inner cheek.Did he have to say that last line?Didn’t that make it seem like he didn’t think it was normal?

“He is rather pale.Pale as moonlight,” Rhalyf said the last softly, poetically, and Finley wondered if the Sun Elf had fallen for his best friend’s looks as so many did.But then Rhalyf’s too intelligent gray eyes were fixed upon him again.“But, then again, so areyou.Do you often collapse in the Sun?”

He wasn’t wrong.Finley was very pale.He always burned when he sat out too long.He didn’t even freckle, just turned red as a tomato and then peeled.He compared his white flesh against Rhalyf’s deep gold coloring.He looked like day old milk while the Sun Elf was a glorious crispy toast color.

“What are you trying to say?”Finley asked.

“Just that your friend’s Sun sensitivity can’t benormalbecause of his fairness if you don’t suffer the same fate,” Rhalyf pointed out.“Does he usually avoid the Sun?Was there some reason he couldn’t today?”

Finley blinked with every single word as suspicion flooded his mind.“He works nights, but–”

“Oh, of course, of course, that would explain things.And he had to work days for the first time in a while?”Rhalyf asked casually.

Was it too casual?Come to think of it, King Aquilan had to shoo Rhalyf out of the room, too.It was as if Rhalyf hadn’t wanted to leave Aquilan alone with Declan.He’d consistently offered to take over Declan’s care himself.But Aquilan had insisted on doing it without Rhalyf’s help. There had been a moment when Rhalyf and Finley had been standing outside in the hallway with the door to the bedroom shut in their faces where they’d given each other a rather similar look of displeasure.

“What does that have to do with anything?”Finley asked.

A shrug.“Oh, nothing, just trying to figure out when thisproblembegan for your friend.I’m sure that you must be thinking about it yourself.Trying to figure it all out.”

“I’m sure the Sun King will fix whatever–whatever issue-if there even is an issue–with Declan,” Finley insisted stiffly.

“Yes, yes, he might very well do that.”Rhalyf flashed him a toothy smile.“I wonder if that will be the best thing.”

“Wha–”

“Declan isn’t from around here, is he?Not originally, right?When did he arrive?”Rhalyf asked.

Finley’s eyes narrowed.“I don’t see how that’s any of your concern!”

Rhalyf’s toothy smile grew.“Ah, so I’m right!He’s not from around here.Probably arrived when he was still a child.But who are his parents?Where are they?”

“They’redead,” Finley said, his voice clipped and cold. “The Leviathan killed his mother and took his father.So… yeah, just like they killed mine and so many others.”

Rhalyf blinked.“Oh, I see.That’s… unexpected.”

Finley frowned.“Why would it be–”

But Michael was setting down the drinks in front of everyone at that moment and cut off their dueling.

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