Page 80 of The Nymph Prince

It really did feel like coming home.

***

After a few hours of travel, we made camp in a small cove. The guards hadn’t spoken much. Reif wasn’t much of a conversationalist to begin with, but not even Malik spoke. They were either tired or stressed. Probably both.

Eva and Troy, however, talked…a lot.

“And this!” Troy exclaimed, running over to a coconut tree. “Have you ever seen such a thing?”

“Yes,” Eva, Lorcan, and I answered in unison.

“Well, I haven’t.” Troy pouted and wrapped his arms around the trunk before slowly spinning around it. Like a child easily distracted by something shiny, he then let go and dropped to the ground. “The plants don’t glow here like they do in Avalontis.” He touched one of the leaves. Then touched it again. “Nope. How strange.”

Malik watched Troy, his gaze following the younger man as Troy ran around in circles to observe—and touch—everything. His words earlier had been harsh, yet his expression right then was tender.

“What’s on your mind, mage?” Lorcan bumped my shoulder with his.

“Nothing,” I answered, focusing on him. I loved the way the fire highlighted his face. “I’m only enjoying the moment. Who knows how many like this we’ll have?”

Lorcan looked at his friend before shifting his gaze to Eva and then Malik. I saw it in his eyes; he thought the same.

Best case scenario? We would arrive in King James’ kingdom and form an alliance. We’d formulate a plan of attack and bring the land and sea armies together as one.

Worst? The king refused to heed our warning of the dark mages and issued an order to have us killed. Maybe we could fight our way out with the assassins’ help—who were lurking somewhere in the dark water or in the density of the forest behind us. But how many of us would be lost?

“Alek?” Eva asked, lifting her head to look at me. “The fire is darkening. Make the flames soar higher.”

“If you insist.” I started to stand.

“What are you doing?” she scoffed.

“Gatherin’ more wood?” I said it as a question, unsure of her meaning. I was only doing what she’d asked.

“Use your powers, silly boy.”

Oh.

“Yes, silly boy,” Lorcan whispered in my ear before nipping at my lobe with his teeth.

Ignoring the irritatingly handsome nymph, I pulled the blue stone from my satchel and squeezed it in my hand. It had no real power; it was merely a crutch until I could walk on my own. Focusing on the fire, I willed it to brighten. To scorch more of the wood and grow higher. Nothing happened at first, so I tried again. Only this time I believed in myself a little more.

The crackling intensified and the flames brightened.

“Thank you,” Eva said, a bit smug.

I’d need to be able to do much more than stoke a fire with my mind if I hoped to defeat the darkness.

Lorcan pushed me backward and tucked himself against my side. I held him, letting his presence wash away my doubts.

19

Lorcan

The sun beat down on my back, hot and unyielding with not even clouds to help block the heat. Although we’d been walking for hours and I was sticky with sweat, I had no complaints. Too long it’d been since I’d felt the sun’s warmth. I wasn’t about to grumble about it now.

We mostly walked the shoreline, so when the heat became too much we stopped to take a dip in the sea to cool off. The reprieve—however small—was always nice.

The kingdom of Talena was farther west from where we were. The plan was to follow the coast until we reached a mountain range, and then we’d find a passage through it. Or so Reif had said.