Page 72 of The Nymph Prince

War. It impacted us all.

Up ahead, I saw Lorcan and Malik. They stood outside the army barracks, speaking with a very tall woman with the most stunning dark skin. Their voices didn’t carry to us, and so I knew not what they spoke of.

Lorcan smiled, though, so it couldn’t have been anything too serious.

He’d trimmed his hair the other day, and his pointed ears were more pronounced. The memory of sucking on those ears entered my mind, and my cock started to fill. I needed a diversion from those thoughts or I’d embarrass myself.

“Why do no other merfolk have pointed ears?” I asked, finding that as good of a distraction as any.

“Do I look like my sister to you?” Troy shrugged. “I never paid much attention to the stories.”

The answer came from the place I least expected.

“Nymphs and merfolk are alike in many ways, but are vastly different,” Reif said, stepping up closer. One area of his hair was longer than the rest and in a single braid, falling over his shoulder and nearly touching his chest. His dark eyes moved to me. “Nymphs have elven blood, which is why their ears point and why they possess certain abilities.”

“Elves?” I asked with wide eyes. “I believed them to be only a myth.”

“Many myths are based in fact,” Reif said. “You should’ve learned that by now, boy.”

“Will you tell me more?”

Even Troy watched Reif, looking just as excited as me to know about the elves.

“I am no bard.” Reif scoffed.

“No, you are not,” I agreed as heaviness swarmed my chest. “My greatest friend is a bard, though, and he tells the most fascinating stories. And with such passion, too! He was able to silence an entire crew of pirates during his tales, for they were all invested and wanted to know how it ended.”

Life on theCrimson Nightseemed but a distant memory. It felt like an eternity since I’d been on the ship. Oh, how I missed finishing a hard day’s work and sitting with Fletcher on the main deck. Sometimes he’d play his lute and other times we’d talk. The crew would begin a shanty and we’d sing along, our voices mingling with the other men.

Even Captain Kellan Flynn would venture outside his cabin and lean against the post to listen. His eyes would focus on Fletcher and nothing else.

I missed them.

Feeling the familiar sting in my eyes, I started walking toward the palace garden. I needed distance from everyone. Looking up, there was only water above me. No sun, clouds, or stars. No more feeling the sea breeze on my face or feeling the sun on my skin.

“Alek!” Troy called after me.

I walked faster. A tear slipped from my eye, and I cursed as I hastily wiped it away.

A hand clamped around my upper arm and I was spun around. Reif glared down at me, but when he took in my expression, his features softened, if only a little.

“I just need time alone,” I told him, hating the shake of my voice. “I’m not tryin’ to run from you and I’m not goin’ to hurt anyone.”

“You say that as if you think I trust you.”

“Iknowyou don’t trust me. I know you think I’m a monster now. Believe me. I fear the same some days. But I need space.” My throat tightened and my bottom lip trembled. Why I chose to have an emotional breakdown right there in front of everyone, I had not the slightest idea. Maybe because I’d kept it locked away for so long, and it was screaming for a way out. “Please, Reif.”

He released me.

I nodded my thanks before continuing to the small courtyard. Still in Reif’s sight, he didn’t have need to follow me. Troy stopped his pursuit of me, as well, and I felt guilty for abandoning him like I had.

There was too much pain inside me right then. A yearning for the life I once had and the heartache of knowing I’d never again have it.

17

Lorcan

The solution had come to me one evening as Alek and I’d sat near the crackling fire, enjoying a game of cards. There I’d been, about to play my best hand and win the pot—which was a honey pastry and some berries—when it’d hit me like a ton of rocks. A way to possibly end the war…or at least to give our side a winning chance.