Page 82 of The Nymph Prince

“Do you think they’re real?” he asked before shoving more meat into his mouth. “The giants Eva used to tell us about.”

“Doubtful,” I responded. “If there were giants, they would’ve taken over the land. It’s only a story.”

“So wewon’thave our heads squeezed and popped off our necks?” Troy squeezed a berry for dramatic effect and the juice squirted on his cheek.

My mouth twitched as we held eye contact. The smear of dark red on his face, combined with his silly expression, was too much for me. We started laughing. So hard that my belly hurt.

The situation wasn’t funny enough to warrant such laughter, but neither of us could stop. Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the long day’s journey and the delirium that came from being in the sun too long. Whatever it was, I enjoyed it.

When Troy’s laugh cut off into a snort followed by a hiccup, I laughed harder.

Alek returned, holding his own bowl of food. He tugged me back against him before eating a sliver of meat. “Why do you two laugh like a pair of drunkards?”

“Troy got squirted on by a berry.”

Troy nodded. “It was a surprise. I normally get some kind of warning before that happens.”

That one did me in. Troy had never taken a lover—that I knew of—but he often cracked raunchy jokes. I giggled until my eyes watered and my chest felt like it was on fire. When I looked at Alek, his eyes were crinkled around the edges.

“I love your laugh,” he said.

Not quite theI love youI’d been wanting, but it caused a stream of warmth to trickle through my body nonetheless.

“What did you and the guards discuss?” I asked, now that the giggles had subsided. Mostly.

He shrugged. “Nothing of interest. They shared their opinions of me, and I shared mine of them.” His blue eyes looked black in the dark. He smiled as he caught me staring. “You look frightened, sweet nymph. I assure you everything’s fine. We’ve come to an understandin’, the guards and I.”

“What kind of understanding?”

His eyes did that thing—where they ever so slightly narrowed—before he looked at his bowl. “One that’s between them and me.”

“That’s not fair. You said you wouldn’t hide things from me anymore.”

“This is a thing I must keep from you,” he responded, not meeting my eyes. “Just have faith that everythin’ will be fine should things take a turn for the worst.”

His words did little to reassure me. I loathed secrets.

It was tempting to use my power of persuasion on him. Oh, was it tempting. All I’d need to do was lean in and say “tell me what you spoke of,” and I could have him spilling his truth to me. But it felt wrong.

I never wanted to force Alek to do anything he didn’t want to willingly do. No matter how much I wished to know the truth.

I picked at my food after that, eating my fill before setting the bowl aside. Alek raised a brow before grabbing the dish and finishing off what I’d left. As bothered as I was at his refusal to tell me what he and the guards chatted about, I still smiled.

Once everyone had eaten, we sat around the fire. Even Reif joined us there. The flames shot up into the sky, and I watched them dance.

“Does anyone know any good stories?” Troy asked, breaking the silence. “The silence is unnerving.”

Alek smiled. “Aye, I know one. Forgive my execution, though. The lad who’d told it to me had been a fantastic storyteller. I…well, I’m not.”

All eyes moved to my mage, and where the attention might’ve once made him uncomfortable, it didn’t any longer.

“Once there was a nymph who would sit beside a coral reef and stare up at the water’s surface,” he started, moving his gaze to me. “She’d fallen in love, you see, and she’d sit in the same spot every day, admiring the sun reflectin’ on the water.”

“She fell in love with the sun?” Troy interjected, scrunching up his face. “The hot thing that burns my skin? No, thanks. I much prefer the moon.” He tilted his head and peered at the night sky. “The soft glow of it is soothing and shows us that even in darkness, we can find our way. That’s the love I want. Not a blinding one that burns me up, but a gentle one that guides me out of the dark.”

Malik stared at Troy and something in his expression tugged at my chest.

“What did the nymph do next?” Eva asked, resting her chin on her hands.