Page 61 of The Night Prince

Truth?Declan asked.

Aquilan’s voice was soft as snow as he sang of Elashor stopping ten paces away from the stag.He nocked another arrow.He brought the bowstring back, the purple fletching practically brushing the cusp of his pointed ear.Time slowed.Aquilan’s voice rose as the arrow flew.It cut through snowflakes that drifted down from the peerless blue sky.It sliced the air in twain.

Run!Declan cried.

There is nowhere to go,the voice answered.

But the voice was wrong.For, like before, the stag moved to avoid the arrow.It threw itself off the mountaintop.There for one instant, gone the next.Elashor stared at the empty space where the stag had been with his heart in his throat.He had missed again!But worse, the creature had stolen its own life from him.

The elven prince raced to the top and looked over.Aquilan’s voice ululated as he described how the mist obscured the ground below for long moments, but then a chill westerly wind blew it away for an instant.And far beneath Elashor, the stag stood on solid ground–completely unhurt–staring back at him.

With a mixture of fury and joy, Elashor fired another arrow at the stag.But it, too, did not land.And the hunt was on again.Elashor vowed never to return to his people until the stag was his.And, to this day, Aquilan sang, many claimed to have seen him and the stag flitting through the woods in an eternal chase, but Prince Elashor the brave, the fleetest of foot, had not yet returned to his people.

Run,Declan whispered.

But you have caught him.And he wishes to be caught.Don’t you see?Look where you are,the voice pointed out.

And Declan realized he was standing in front of Aquilan, staring openly, holding the carafe of Chelios absently in one hand as the last note died.He was in the light.

The clapping and stamping of feet, along with calls for an encore, echoed throughout the Dawn.It was only then that Declan came back to himself and jolted.

What am I doing?What have I done?

Why hadn’t he stayed back at the bar?He’d walked over here as if in a trance!Now everyone had seen his gawking!In fact, he caught the narrow-eyed glances of Leisha and Seith–the two Aravae who had spoken ill of him earlier–aimed at him once more with even greater dislike.And they were not the only ones staring.

Rhalyf, the Sun King’s best friend, was also looking at him with definite distrust.But worse of all, Aquilan’s eyes, which had almost been shut as he sang, abruptly opened fully.He gazed up at Declan, completely aware of him, seemingly knowing that Declan had been watching him the whole time.The welcoming smile on his full lips did not ease Declan’s heart, but caused it to hammer harder.

He sang for me…

Of course, he did,the voice chuckled.

Declan’s cheeks burned hotly and he quickly ducked his head to hide his confusion and embarrassment. But it was more than that.He was cold and hot.He didn’t know what he was doing. He truly had intended to just watch the king while no one noticed.He had intended to stay away from Aquilan at all costs.But instead, he was here, right in front of him, gazing at him like a school boy with a crush.Or… or something else. The urge to simply turn and flee back to the bar came over him, but it was Helgrom’s gruff, warm voice that had him stilling in his escape.

“Ach, good lad!The king’s throat is undoubtedly parched after that song!Fill up his glass to the top and keep it filled,” Helgrom commanded.

Declan rarely spoke, but now he truly found himself incapable of uttering a word.He hastily poured wine into the cup that Aquilan lifted up for him.The carafe was trembling, or rather, hishandwas.He gritted his teeth.

Keep still, damn you!

But then there was a steadying hand on his.His breath caught.His heart skipped a beat.The Sun King covered Declan’s hand on the carafe, stopping the trembling.Declan found the “thanks” strangled in his throat. The Sun King’s hand was soft, silky, and warm against his own.He imagined those fingers pushing the sweatshirt back and running over the “tattoo” of the knife.Heat bloomed between his legs at the thought even as he feared the hard weight of the knife appearing in his sleeve.

“Are you all right, Declan?”Aquilan asked softly.“You promised me that you would rest if you felt at all unwell.”

“I…” Declan swallowed.He could not speak, but hemust!His cheeks flared hotter.“F-fine.”

That “fine” came out more like a grunt than a word.But his throat was not cooperating with him. Words had never been his friends.Actions normally suited him better, but with his trembling, those had betrayed him too.But the Sun King seemed not to mind.He merely smiled more broadly.

“If you’re sure,” Aquilan murmured.

A sharp nod.

“That was brilliant singing, my king!”Rhalyf laughed lightly.“Better than I have ever heard you, I think.”

Because he was singing for me!

Aquilan, who wasstilllooking at Declan, let out a self-deprecatory huff and said, “You are only saying that because you asked me to sing, Rhalyf! If it was not pleasing to you, at least, I should never do it in public again.”

“What?”Helgrom let out a mouthful of smoke he’d drawn in from his pipe.“You’d deprive the world of your voice?King Aquilan, I did not think you were so cruel!”

---