Page 29 of Bound to the Elvin Prince

Chapter 13

Cal’s heart sped up but not from happiness. Her stay here? A year to decide? Mustering all the firmness she could, she worked to keep her voice level. “A year? I can’t stay here that long. Maggie, either. We have lives back home and families who’ll worry.” Her coveted “normal” life threatened to drain away like water from a sink, taking her college dreams along with it.

Relian responded to her rant by turning an inscrutable face toward her. Her cheeks flushed red, and her temper soared. She hadn’t asked for any of this, and now her life was spinning out of control.

She threw up her hands. “You know what? I don’t believe I want or desire your hospitality. In fact, I don’t want to stay here at all, not for another minute.” She glued a look of pride on her face and propelled herself off the bench. “I’ve come to a decision—one that will never bring me back here.”

Fine words, but now that she’d stood up, she didn’t know where to go. A multitude of flowers and plants surrounded her. She’d no way of finding her way out of the garden, let alone finding a way to her world. In this, she was all talk and no show.

Deflated, she put her trembling arms around herself in a comforting, yet defensive hold. What a complete fool she’d made of herself. But she didn’t want to ask him for help. Relian sighed from somewhere behind her, but she refused to turn around and acknowledge him.

When a hand touched her shoulder, Cal shrieked. Spinning around, she came face-to-chest with Relian. How had he neared her so quietly? He was close, so close she’d almost collided against him.

Even though she wanted to turn away, the gleaming brocade of his robe mesmerized her. Was...was he working some sort of magic on her? All her senses flared alive and slipped beyond her control, like floodwaters through a ruptured dam. Her fingers itched to reach out and touch the smooth-looking fabric that covered his strong chest. The fragrance of pine and sandalwood inundated her senses. She wanted to close her eyes and savor the pleasant aroma. She wanted to rub her face against his chest like a cat rubbing against a catnip-infused toy. Horrified by her thoughts, she tore her gaze from his chest and made the mistake of glancing up and falling into gray seas.

Cal was sinking, drowning as he held her captive with his eyes. She couldn’t get a solid grip on land. Those eyes haunted her, had always haunted her, it seemed. The blue pupils glowed against their darker gray backdrop and made the whites of his eyes appear even more startling in their brilliance. Her mind grappled with the idea she dealt with someone out of her league, someone not human. Just when she could take no more, Relian broke the moment by shaking his head and gazing over her shoulder. The relief that crashed over her made her nauseous in its intensity.

He was silent for a few moments before he spoke. “The veil brought you here. It’s unlikely to take you back until your year is over. The veil wants us to bond, so it’ll use all the time available to it.”

More panic at that thought should’ve welled up, but her mind couldn’t settle on that right now. Since her body and mind were numb, puzzlement was all she could manage. “And after that year, I’m free to go?” She paused. “What’s the veil?”

He avoided her gaze. Her heart was the first thing to thud awake, where it promptly dropped into her stomach and renewed her receding nausea. The sensation fueled her anger. What was so secret?

As her frustration built up like a geyser, he answered. “The veil is the mist that brought you here.”

Why did he give such cryptic answers? That told her nothing of what the veil actually was and why it brought her here.

He glanced down and locked his gaze with hers. “The veil is what separates your world from ours.”

“How?” The mist hadn’t seemed to separate anything. It appeared out of nowhere and left just as unpredictably.

Relian gave an elegant shrug. “The exact basics aren’t known. Magic controls it, the same magic of which it’s composed. I believe that’s enough for today. The history lesson can wait. There’ll be time for further talk.”

Cal wanted to demand more answers about the veil. A look at his steely face told her it wouldn’t work, so she settled on throwing him an aggravated look. Then another question popped into her mind. “So after this year is up, we can go home? I don’t believe you ever said.”

There was a brief moment of silence. “Yes, though the mist does as it pleases, it’s never held someone hostage. It’s always been about free will.”

“You mean until now,” she said smartly.

He dipped his head in acknowledgment. “I believe it seeks the full year to...convince you.”

“Great. Wonderful.” She threw her hands up in the air. “How do you even know if I can return after a year?”

“We can attempt to summon it then, but it chooses when to appear and who it lets walk within it.”

“Well, then try now!” She planted her hands on her hips.

“I cannot. The full year is expected.”

“How do you know?”

“We’ve tried to summon it,” he said coolly.

She stared at him suspiciously. Hadn’t she read that fae creatures couldn’t lie? She gave an inward snort. Like a novel or book about fairy tales was a reliable source. Even if she asked him to try to summon the veil, she had no way to tell if he was really making a true attempt. “You better not be lying about this.”

His face twisted slightly. “I’m not, though I’m sorry this news displeases you so.”

She turned narrowed eyes on him. “Yeah, I’m sure you are.”

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