Page 40 of The Nymph Prince

I felt as if I loved Alek even before I saw him.

I wasn’t foolish enough to tell him that. At least not for a while. No matter how much my heart yearned to be with him, or how something as simple as holding his hand could make me feel as if I was walking on air, he needed time to work through his feelings forme.

“Does there have to be a reason right now?” I answered, leaning back so I could better see him. A light patch of freckles was on the very tip of his nose, and I fought the urge to kiss it. “The connection brought us together. I’m sure thewhyof it will become known, but not before we’re ready.”

And then, even though I didn’t want to, I stepped out of his embrace and finished buckling my belt. I grabbed my favorite dagger and placed it at my hip before facing him again.

“I have matters to attend to. We’ll talk more later.”

Alek nodded. “Of course.”

The way he held my gaze told me he wished to say something. The stirring in my chest told me I wished to do the same.

Neither of us said a word.

I opened the door, met Malik on the other side, and took off down the hall. The farther I went, the more my heart ached for me to turn around. The sensation I got when I was near the mage faded until I could no longer feel him.

“Where are you off to so early?” Troy asked as he left his chamber and nearly collided with me in the corridor.

He looked flawless in his shirt made of net, one that exposed every inch of his torso and the dips of his abdomen. The shirt was more for fashion, if anything. His light-brown hair was combed and styled to perfection with one strand braided and tucked behind his ear, like Alek’s had been at the feast.

How he could be so chipper and well put-together that early in the morning never failed to amaze me.

“Throne room,” I answered.

He made a face, as he knew how much I loathed it. “I’ll pray to the gods that you keep your sanity.”

“Keep your prayers. Instead, meet me in the training yard afterward so I can take out my frustrations on some targets.”

10

Alek

Reif hardly let me out of his sight. I was beginning to understand why Lorcan rebelled against Malik as much as he did. I’d never realized how much I enjoyed being alone, until I had the option taken from me. My only privacy came when I went inside my chamber, and that was only because there was no escape from the four walls.

Which made me feel like an animal in a cage.

Lorcan had to spend the morning carrying out his princely duties, so I decided to wander through the palace. After leaving my room, I strolled down the corridor, inspecting the tapestries hanging on the walls.

In the surface world, I’d never been inside a castle, but I doubted their tapestries looked anything like those in Avalontis.

The scenes on the fine material were of sea life, so realistic that it seemed as though the jellyfish, sharks, and coral would come alive any moment. There were scenes of King Triton blowing into his conch as waves crashed down on ships. Sailors were consumed by the depths of the sea, their arms stretched upward toward the surface. It was haunting.

I tried to remember what Fletcher had said about Triton. He’d said much during my time with him. He’d mentioned Triton, but I couldn’t recall what he’d said. The thought caused a sad smile to touch my lips. I missed the redheaded bard more than words could express, and I hoped that the tides would bring us together again someday.

“Why is King Triton sinking the ships in this one?” I asked my guard. “Seems a bit wicked, does it not?”

Reif gave me a blank stare.

I sighed.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if the man knew how to hold a conversation. But alas, all he did was follow me around the palace in silence, and when spoken to, he’d grunt or just stare at me. Having spent six years aboard a pirate ship, I was familiar with irritable, grumpy men, and so it did little to intimidate me.

Irritation, however, was in full effect.

Tearing my gaze from the tapestry, I continued down the hall. My footsteps echoed on the marble floor, only silencing when I stopped to run a hand along a statue or to touch one of the gems stuck in one of the columns. The architecture was odd, yet interesting.

When I remembered that all of this was at the bottom of the sea, chill bumps formed on my skin. All that rested between me and the obscene amount of water was a clear barrier.