Page 119 of The Nymph Prince

“Thank you,” I said, sitting on the sand. “For comin’ with me.”

“No need to thank me.” He sat beside me after fastening his trousers. Out of respect, I never looked at them when they changed from their merform. Well, not always. I’d snuck glances at Lorcan a few times. “It’s an honor to accompany you. I know you fear what lies ahead, but I’ve seen you, Alek. I’ve seen what you can do. You can beat this.”

“What’s your story, Reif?” I turned my head toward him. “Why did you leave the assassins?”

“A bit personal, is it not?”

I shrugged. “Aye. But are we not friends? I know very little about you.”

“I asked to be removed from my position,” he answered, stretching out his legs. The tide slowly rushed in, touching his ankles before rushing back out. “As an assassin, you follow the orders that are given to you. Kill the man in Naporia who owns the trinket stand. Kill the woman with the long red hair. You do these things without question. It matters not what the people did or who they are. If their name falls on your list, you kill them. Simple as that.”

I was almost afraid to breathe. Reif was finally opening up to me, and I didn’t want to do anything to stop him. I sat quietly at his side, hoping he’d say more.

“But one day Ididquestion it, Alek.” He paused and took out his dagger. The blade gleamed as it caught the moon’s light. I’d never seen a dagger quite like it; jagged and curved with some kind of writing on the blade. The hilt was silver and held a stone in the center. “I met someone who made me question everything.”

“The elf?” I guessed.

“Aye. The elf.” He peered at me with a sad smile. “They live in a world away from ours. Finding it wasn’t easy, but we managed. Our orders were to kill the prince.”

“And did you?”

Reif examined his dagger, turning it in his hand. Shadows were in his eyes. “That’s enough talk. We should get going if we wish to put distance between us and the army. They are set to march at first light, thus we only have a few hours on them.”

He stood and began walking. I jumped up and caught up with him. Walking was easier once we were out of the sand. I no longer felt like my feet weighed a ton. He hated being in the open, so we took cover in the trees.

There were many miles left before we reached Black Hallows, and based on Reif’s hardened expression, I gathered it’d be a quiet journey.

Maybe one day he’d tell me more about the elf and what happened to make him leave the assassins. I’d sensed that he’d wanted to say more. But I knew all too well the beauty of silence. Once a thing was spoken, it made it real.

The truth must’ve been a hard one for him to face.

29

Lorcan

Alek was gone. I felt it before I even opened my eyes. I sat up in bed and touched the spot where he should’ve been, finding it cold. His pillow slumped in the center from where his head had been, and I leaned down to press my face into it. It still smelled like him. The scent created a longing in my chest.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

I tried to tell myself that maybe he’d woken early and went to get our morning meal from the kitchen.

Closing my eyes, I thought of him. Our new connection allowed us to feel each other, so I searched for him. His heart was beating fast somewhere. But that’s all I felt. Not his thoughts or where he was.

“Malik!”

The door opened and my guard rushed in. “My prince?”

“Where is he?”

There it was. Guilt. He was keeping something from me. Again.

“Speak, Malik, and do not lie to me.”

“Alek left for the surface,” he answered. Orange eyes met mine, only briefly, before falling to the floor.

He then explained the most absurd thing I’d ever heard. Alek thought he could prevent the battle if he arrived in Black Hallows before the armies. In what world would that happen? In a fable, perhaps, but not in reality. In reality, good didn’t always triumph over evil and good people died while the wicked ones lived.

“And you let him leave?” I ran over to my wardrobe, threw open the doors, and ruffled around for something to wear.