Page 77 of The Nymph Prince

“We should break our fast before we leave,” Lorcan said, sounding much too formal in tone.

As he walked, the three of us followed him. My nymph was hurting and I wished he’d tell me what was on his mind. I detested his indifference. Vulnerability came from expressing one’s fears and doubts; it was something I understood. Yet, it didn’t make me feel any better to know he was shutting me out.

I’ve shut him out plenty of times, I reminded myself.But we’re closer now. I no longer hide from him.

The food was tasteless as I ate. Not because it wasn’t good; any other time I would’ve found it enjoyable. But it turned to ash in my mouth and I forced myself to swallow it.

Malik and Reif sat with us at the table in the small dining chamber. It was one of the first times I’d ever seen the guards eat. They, too, looked as though they found the food bland.

“Forgive my coldness,” Lorcan whispered, keeping his eyes focused on his goblet. “I fear that I’m leading you all into a slaughter. Sacrificing my own life for this cause is a thing I’ve accepted, but I cannot stand the thought of taking you all down with me.”

“You take us nowhere that we wouldn’t follow you anyway,” Malik said. “Please, my prince, do not insult us by thinking you are the only one who has chosen to give his life for this cause. For our people.”

Lorcan eyed the large guard before nodding. “For Avalontis.”

The guards returned his brisk nod.

After the meal, Lorcan went to say farewell to the king. He wasn’t in there long, and his unreadable expression as he came out told me nothing of what had transpired between them. We left the palace and were greeted by Eva and some of the servants.

Eva had a bag with her.

“No,” Lorcan said. “You’re not coming with us.”

“You may be able to boss everyone else around, Loo-loo, but not me,” she shot back. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a single braid and a satchel was slung over one shoulder. “You might need my help. Alek also needs to continue his training. Plus,” she looked around, “Ineedto get out of here.”

“Very well,” Lorcan responded, not looking happy about it but seeming too tired to argue with the female mage.

Lorcan, Eva, and I advanced toward the marketplace with the two guards on our heels. The portal was on the other side of the kingdom and we had a nice walk before we reached it.

Gazing upward, I looked at the blue water. It’d been too long since I’d seen the sun.

“It’s almost as though we’re being set free, is it not?” Lorcan smirked and bumped his shoulder to mine.

I smiled. “Aye. One begins to feel trapped after a while.”

“Now you know why I often leave,” he said. “Even though it drives Malik mad.”

Malik snorted behind us.

“Poor Mal,” Eva said with a light laugh. “Loo-loo has been testing his sanity for so many years.”

The laughing quieted once we reached the barrier.

A group of fifteen or so men stood at the ready. The assassins.

Their leather armor didn’t seem as though it’d be strong enough against most weapons, but an enemy would have to actually see them first. From what Lorcan told me, they’d been called “the silent death” because men never saw them coming. They each wore pieces of black cloth that covered most of their faces, leaving only their eyes showing.

They stood in silence as they waited for us.

I gaped at them, never seeing anything quite so…unsettling.

Reif stood a bit taller at seeing them and raised one arm to his chest in a kind of salute. They reciprocated the action.

Had he been one of them before? It’d explain a lot.

Lorcan addressed them in a confident tone, looking and sounding every bit a prince. But even more than that: a leader.

The assassins bowed their heads to him before jumping through the barrier. Soundless. From the other side, I watched them shift. All of their merforms had black tails with some differing in hues of purple and green. They swam off in a matter of seconds, leaving not even a ripple in the water as evidence of them being there.