Page 12 of Night’s Fall (The Four Realms #1)
“Troll skin is so valuable, none of it’s on display. I’ve been to the Musée de Vêtements I don’t know how many times. Millions ?” I asked with maybe a slight exaggeration, but I didn’t expect him to answer.
I was on a roll.
“They have garments from the thirteen hundreds, even before. I’m a member, and friend of a few of the curators.
They allow me to get close, touch, examine, look at the stitching, the fabric weaving, the fastenings, etcetera.
But the limited troll skin they have is kept under lock and key.
They never take it out. I’ve magnified some of the pics of you and your brothers wearing them, but, it might sound weird, I need to see it up close.
Feel it, not only to feel the design I’m going to make, but how I’m going to create the textile to make it. ”
“Laura.”
My name was not only human, but old-fashioned. I’d never really liked it. I thought it was feminine, but plain.
Sliding along Prince Aleksei’s silk to my ears, it was the most beautiful name I ever heard.
I looked from the swatches to him.
He said nothing.
I said nothing.
He tipped his head to the side, but still said nothing.
“What?” I asked.
“I know someone who could not only allow you access to a troll skin, but also allow you to touch it.”
Was he…?
Holy Hecate !
“Would you…you would do that ?”
His beautiful full lips curved upward. “ Of course.”
“That would be…it’d be… I can’t…” Pull yourself together, Laura ! “ That would be amazing, your, uh…highness. I would sign something if you need me to. I won’t take pics, obviously. I would never do anything to harm?—”
“Aleksei.”
“Sorry?”
“My name is Aleksei , Laura .”
Why was he telling me that?
“I know.”
“You called me your highness.”
“Yes, because you’re that too.”
“We’re alone, in your home. There are no formalities here, so that isn’t necessary.”
“Oh. Right ,” I mumbled.
Now, his full lips twitched. “ Like , you didn’t curtsy to me when I walked in.”
Whoops!
“That was more about me being surprised you were here,” I explained.
“The element of surprise is often a useful tool.”
I’d never used it, but his recent use of it certainly worked for him.
“I understand,” he said softly, so softly, his silk became velvet again and lured me in so completely, I was riveted to everything about him.
“You understand what?” I whispered for fear I’d break his spell.
“You’re frightened.”
I was?
“Obviously, I don’t understand from a place of actual understanding, since it’s all I’ve ever known, but instead, from a place of empathy,” he clarified.
“ I garner a great deal of attention. It’s rare I can go anywhere without it being digitized within instants in all Four Realms .
And myself, or anyone I’m with, is scrutinized and commented on with alacrity and swift judgement.
This alone would give any female with even a modicum of sense, pause.
One with a good deal of it would need time to consider if she wants it to be a part of her life.
Along with that, there have been…”—he dipped his head to the side with a self-deprecating slant to his lips—“numerous females before you. Not to mention, I ended a highly publicized engagement not long ago.”
Oh.
Okay then.
And…well, yeah .
That was all pretty scary.
“It’s…” he seemed to be struggling, then he stated, “ difficult for me to make this admission, but much of that, I can’t protect you from.
It’s a large part of my duty as a royal to be seen, to be available, to be present.
The extent of it is maddening, and I don’t agree the media deserve every pound of my flesh, like they think they do.
Nor do the beings, as loyal as I am to Night’s Fall and its citizens.
But I’ve learned in my time to find ways to keep my private life private and protect those in it.
And that would, most especially, be extended to you.
That said, I cannot protect you from all of it. It is their due.”
It was their due?
Whose due?
Before I could ask, he said, “ So , I suggest, in our beginning, we have times like this, where you can get used to me. And times, like tomorrow evening, when I take you to the Catalogues of the Palace so you can see the troll skins. In other words, times when I can be who I will be to you. Simply Aleksei .”
Who I will be to you .
Simply Aleksei .
“Why did you mark me last night?” I asked quietly.
His brow furrowed in open bewilderment. “ Because you’re mine.”
An enchanting shiver glided over me.
Because you’re mine .
I wasn’t.
It was well-known the royals didn’t marry their mates. They didn’t even seek them.
In days gone by, they married for alliances, for power, money.
More recently, it might be cynical (but the fact Queen Calisa was the top vid star of her generation, and ridiculously beautiful to boot, before she became queen (and the beautiful part held true to this day), offered evidence of this), they married for the media.
I was certain this wasn’t that.
But maybe this was just a male, who was attracted to a female, and he wanted to court her.
The male just happened to be Prince Aleksei , the True Heir .
And the female, against all the odds, seemed to be me.
Perhaps it wasn’t so strange, if you really thought about it.
I mean, did models, vid stars, clinically enhanced debutantes, equally clinically enhanced aristocrats and royal princesses get boring?
Maybe.
Maybe they did.
And maybe the female in a pink dress living at the top of an old warehouse with three fluffy cats was a new adventure.
Maybe, at least for a while, he wanted Captain Jacques’s and to be able to be simply Aleksei .
Bottom line, he should be able to date whoever he wanted.
And I should be able to date him.
Right?
So okay, there would be no strings. No ties. No future. I had nothing to offer the Royal Family .
But he brought me a Captain Jacques’s chicken schooner, for goodness’ sake.
And he was Prince Aleksei , my deepest crush, right here, on my couch…with me.
So yeah.
Okay.
I could be his, for a time.
“Laura?” he called.
I pulled myself back to the place I was with him, here, in my flat, eating greasy fast food, and I reached for my schooner.
After I dipped a fry in the aioli, I said, “ I guess five hours did it.”
Hearing that, he smiled fully for the first time, and let me tell you, it was so glamorous, it was heart-stopping.
I doubted mine was either, but that didn’t stop me from smiling back.