Page 96 of The Nymph Prince
Malik kept a small distance between us as he followed. Close enough to act if there was an attack, but far enough to give me and Troy privacy.
“Once the wonder of a new place fades, so does the excitement,” Troy stated, stopping on the path. He looked up at the mountain, tilting his head as he did. “What seems marvelous to a newcomer is the norm for a native. The people here in Talena don’t see this mountain in the same light as me. To them, it’s only a mountain, a thing they’ve seen and passed countless times in their lives.”
A sad smile pulled at my lips. “Are you saying you miss Avalontis, dear friend?”
He inhaled and closed his eyes. A moment passed where he said not a thing. Then, his eyes opened and he focused on me again.
“I miss my home, Lor. I see this blue sky above us and all I can think is how it’s the wrong shade of blue. I see the sun and, although it feels nice, I miss the way the water outside the barrier rippled. I miss the school of fish that used to play outside my window.”
I reached for his hand. As his fingers linked with mine, I gave them a gentle squeeze.
“We’ll return shortly,” I said, not sure if I was upset by the fact. A piece of me longed for the safety of Avalontis, even though another part wished to remain free. The place I’d felt trapped in for so long was now one I yearned for, if only to ease my troubled mind. “Once the plans are finalized with King James, we’ll return to Avalontis to prepare our army. Perhaps only two days more.”
We’d been successful in our mission. The land and sea were under an armistice, so there was no longer an immediate threat to my people. The human king had accepted the war alliance proposal and would march with us to defeat the dark mages. Everything was set in motion. Once battle plans were made, there’d be no further reason to stay in Talena.
Fire. Blood. Death.
I shook my head to rid myself of the worrisome thoughts.
“Home for a few weeks and then off to war,” Troy said in a distant tone. His hold on my hand tightened. “Lovely.”
“I will not ask you to go to war.” I’d prefer if he stayed where he’d be safe, far away from the battlefield. “We’ll have plenty of men and women fighting.”
Troy released my hand and stepped toward the grassy mountain. He craned his neck as he looked up at it, shielding his eyes from the sun’s powerful rays.
“Do you think a mountain formed on its own?” He looked back at me. “No. It was pushed up by the earth. Same with the trees. Their strength stems from their roots. Nothing great has ever been done alone, and so, I’m going with you. You need all the warriors you can get. All the support to lift you up.”
His dead body appeared in my mind. A slashed throat and tear-stained cheeks.
“We should return to the castle,” I said, hiding my watery eyes from him by turning away.
I almost wished he’d return to the scared man he used to be; how he’d been afraid to leave Avalontis because of his fear of humans. At least then he’d be safe.
Whether my vision would come to pass, I didn’t know. There wasn’t a way to be certain. Father once told me that any choice a person made could alter their future. Maybe I’d only seen one possible future; not the one that was set in stone.
Did that mean I could change it?
Alek was in our chamber eating his evening meal when I walked through the door. Our eyes met, but neither of us spoke.
We’d said very little to each other in the past two days. The night that I’d had the vision, I’d slept facing away from him. The following night had been the same. And the night before, he’d tried holding me, but I’d gotten out of bed and went to sleep in the armchair.
I didn’t know whatto say to him. I could hardly even look at him.
I passed him on my way to the wardrobe. The tunic had made me too hot, and I changed into one of the shirts I usually wore. The thin material allowed my skin to breathe and it wasn’t nearly as confining.
“How was your walk?”
I stilled before glancing at him. His gaze was fixated on a piece of bread as he picked at it. His cheeks were a little flushed.
“Peaceful,” I answered. Conversation had never been difficult with Alek. Why was it now? “Did you do anything exciting in my absence?”
“Exciting?” His blue eyes darted to mine. “You mean other than hidin’ my very existence, for we are in the one place I never wanted to be? I told the man who is very much like my father to put a bullet in my chest, so that I’d be spared comin’ here. And now here we are.” Alek held up his glass before taking a drink. “I wonder, even now as we speak, if the king has some innocent soul rotting in his dungeon. Their only crime bein’ that they were born.”
Probably, but I didn’t say it aloud. No reason to rub salt into his wound.
“You’re the one who was so adamant about coming along,” I reminded him. “I told you it was too dangerous to bring you, and you argued. So do not place blame on me for your misery now, mage.”
We’d been in Talena for over a week, nearing on two, and he hadn’t uttered a single word of protest. I imagine it’d be upsetting for him to be a guest in King James’ castle, since the king had made it his mission to torture and kill every mage he came across, but it wasn’t the root of his anger in that moment.
