Page 109 of Fate Calls the Elf Queen

He grinned. His fingers gripped the side of her chariot as he leaned in. “I want more.”

She laughed. “I told you you would.”

“And then you said we shouldn’t, but you kissed me, love. You changed everything in one decision. You should have left.”

“I made my move. The next is yours then.”

The horses tossed their heads impatiently and began pawing at the stone and they lurched forward. Hel started walking alongside the moving chariot. “Leave a way for me to get in.”

She smiled and tapped the reins against the horses’ backs, and they spread their wings. “A way through the wall has been open for you since the first time you came.”

Night critters chirpedand croaked in the shadows, and the pale light of two moons guided them out onto a path leaving behind the small town whose main street consisted of a pub, a post office, and an apothecary. Her body felt fuzzy and warm after thinking about that memory. She briefly touched her lips… Or was it the ale?

Layala promised to tell him about it, so she turned that intimate moment between them into as short of terms as possible, “Well, I came to your castle. You had a party. I was disgusted by the crude behavior, so I left. And then you chased after me, of course.” Hel let out a “ha” and rolled his eyes. “And then I… kissed you. Maker above, itwasme that kissed you first. But completely different from what you described. There was no ‘big boy’ nicknames or dick grabbing.”

“Did you just say ‘dick’?” His eyebrow raised. “Val, I’m shocked at your filthy mouth.”

“Shut up,” she drawled. “Besides, Valeen might have been a bit of a prude, but I’m not—as much. Cock is still hard for me to say aloud.”

“Valeen,” he drew her name out, “you naughty vixen.”

“I think I’m drunk.” The ground did appear to wobble. “I can’t believe Thane ended our relationship. How could he?”

“You had half a pint of ale. It’s the travel between realms.” He grabbed around her bicep to steady her steps. She took note of his ignoring her comment about Thane. “And you don’t need to refer to yourself in the third person. You don’t have a split personality.”

“Alright, I was a bit of a prude back then but now I’m not. Better?”

“You certainly lost those prudish behaviors over time. Wild cat in the sack.”

Layala pulled away from him and smacked his arm. “Stop it.”

He laughed. “What?”

“You know, for someone who claims not to care, you keep asking me to remember a certain kind of time spent together.” She booped his nose with the tip of her finger. “Did I just boop your nose?” She cringed at herself and began to sway off the path into the tall golden grass.

He grabbed her arm again, tugging her close to his side. “Yeah, you did. And I bring up those times because it makes you squirm, and blush, and I know it will get under War’s skin.”

“Whatever. Are we almost there? I’m tired of walking. My legs are even tired of walking.” She laid her head on his shoulder and felt his muscles stiffen up. “Maybe you can carry me. You’re strong enough, right? You look strong enough.”

“Plenty. But you can walk.”

“Thane would, but he broke up with me so…”

“I was there, love.”

“You smell nice.”

“So do you,” he murmured.

“You’re a little bit beautiful.”

“Just a little bit, huh?” He chuckled, and that was beautiful too.

“A lot of beautiful?” She tapped her chin with a finger. “That sounds strange. I think just beautiful. I can see why I fell for you the first time. And back then you weren’t such a jerk.”

“Yes I was, but not to you.”

She abruptly lifted her head. “Why walk when we can fly?” Grinning, she stepped in front of him and placed both hands on his chest. “I want to see your wings again.”

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