Page 103 of The Nymph Prince

As I left the council’s chamber and met with Malik in the corridor, something occurred to me: if Father knew everything that took place in his sea…how had he not known about the sirens provoking the humans?

He’d seemed stunned by the news; however, he could’ve easily been faking. Like the raging waves in a great storm, he was unpredictable. He was a god, after all, a master of manipulation with a hunger for power.

Perhaps Father was playing a game of his own, and I was merely a pawn.

***

“Again,” Malik said from my left. His orange-eyed gaze was on the targets across the field from us.

“Can we rest?” I’d been training for hours and my body weighed with fatigue.

“Battle will take no mercy on you, my prince.” He examined me. “The fighting can oftentimes last days, and the enemy will seize any moment of weakness to gain the advantage. Again.”

Inhaling and exhaling through my nose, I ran toward the targets and retrieved my blades. I’d thrown all I’d had, which was close to thirty. I’d lost count of the times I’d had to gather them that day.

Once back in place, I held the end of a dagger and sent it soaring through the air. It plunged into the neck of the cloth dummy, and I snatched up a second before throwing it in the same fashion, hitting that one in the throat, as well.

Malik wanted me to stay consistent. Hit all of them in the necks, and then the next time hit them all between the eyes. And so on and so forth.

“Now you may rest, young prince.” Malik tossed me a cloth to wipe the sweat from my face. “You did well this day. Tomorrow we start on hand-to-hand combat.”

We’d been back in Avalontis nearing on a week and I’d trained with him each day. He’d given me lessons on strategy, stamina building, aiming, and stealth. Fighting against him during close-range combat was my least favorite lesson. While he never seriously hurt me, he certainly didn’t take it easy on me, either, and he always knocked me to the dirt so many times that one might have thought I lived there.

“Can’t wait,” I responded.

He smirked and squeezed my shoulder. “I’m only so hard on you, because I believe you can handle it. It is but the highest compliment, my prince.”

My years of wishing I could be a warrior came back to me. When I’d been young and naïve, I’d wished to throw away the title of prince and join the ranks. To be just like Malik had been; strong and the best fighter in the kingdom. He not only used his muscles, but also his mind—which he’d said was a man’s most powerful weapon.

Alek had us all beat in that case. His mind could freeze men where they stood and force them to kill themselves. He could send blasts of energy and knock down his opponents. He’d even managed to knock down Eva as of late.

When I’d watched them train the day before, Alek had seemed like a completely different man. His body was more powerful, and so were his abilities.

It was incredible to see, but also terrifying. Because I’d seen him use that power for evil. Although it’d been in a vision that might not come to pass, it was still a possible reality. One that was approaching much too fast.

Once I’d returned to my room, I washed in the bath, spending extra time lazing around in the rose-scented water. I’d miss evening meal, but I cared not. The warm water did wonders on my sore muscles. The time alone was nice, too. Dathan would bring my meal to my chamber if I didn’t appear in the dining hall.

“Your Highness?” a voice called from the other room.

Speaking of which, there he is now.

“I’m in the bath,” I answered. “You may enter.”

Dathan entered the washroom, his cheeks flushed as usual. Wavy blond hair brushed his shoulders, looking soft to the touch. He was a quiet boy, but he was intelligent and never complained when asked to perform a task.

I preferred his comfortable silence to that of the loud-mouthed manservant I’d had in the past.

“Shall I bring your meal?” he asked. His gaze was fixated on the floor. “It is your favorite this night. Red potatoes, lemon fish, and fresh bread. And for dessert, the kitchen has prepared a blackberry pie.”

I stood from the bath and stepped onto the floor. Water dripped from my naked body and puddled around my feet. Without me having to ask him, Dathan grabbed a towel and handed it to me.

“Thank you,” I said as I took it and dabbed at my torso before doing the same to my legs. I enjoyed being in the nude and took no measures to hide it. No longer dripping everywhere, I wrapped the towel around my waist. “And yes. I’ll take dinner in my chamber.”

Dathan bowed and I didn’t miss how his honey eyes flashed to my chest before dropping again.

“Dathan?” I neared him and took his chin, tilting his face upward. I wanted to see his eyes when he answered. “What are your thoughts of the king? Do you feel he is just? A ruler fit for the people of Avalontis?”

I asked with good reason. Father had made enemies of some of the merfolk. Enough so that they were rebelling against the crown. I wanted to speak with the people who worked closest to him—and to me. To get their thoughts on the way he ruled them.