Page 93 of The Nymph Prince

He left the room, slamming the door on his way out.

Lightning lit up the dark sky and a deep rumble followed it. The rain fell harder.

Perhaps the storm was an omen after all.

23

Lorcan

“I believed the town to be destroyed,” King James said as he looked over the large map on the desk.

“As do most others,” I replied before pointing to the land around Black Hallows. “From my understanding, the dark mages fled to these areas when the town was burned. The survivors made homes in caves, while others became wanderers. Once time had passed, some returned to Black Hallows in hopes of rebuilding what Haman started.”

The king touched a hand to his chin, tapping his lips. “Interesting.”

Nearly a week had passed since we’d arrived in Talena. Most of my time had been spent with King James as we discussed the terms of the peace treaty, which we then signed in the presence of witnesses.

Now that those formalities were over, we could work toward planning an attack.

“Do you know where they’ll be gathered?” he asked, scrunching his brow.

The king was tolerable when not smirking with arrogance. I no longer wished to rip his head from his shoulders. For the time being anyway.

“There’s a temple where rituals and sacrifices used to be performed when the town still stood,” I answered, placing a figure in the area to act as the temple marker. “The ceremony will take place there.”

King James scratched at his chin. “Are there woods nearby? We could have one unit of men come that way, while another hits them from the other direction. To the north of them is the sea, and so if we hit them on three sides, there will be no chance for them to escape.”

“We can send a group of men ahead of us to wait at the docks,” I suggested. “If there are boats, we can have them guarded. So if theydotry to flee, they’ll run right into another trap. What do you think, Malik?”

Malik stood against the wall, his hands folded in front of him. “Warriors from Avalontis can attack from the sea and some can stay behind to guard the docks.”

“Can your army even fight on land?” King James asked with a sneer.

“We are trained in both land and sea combat,” Malik answered, and I could see the effort it took for him to remain even-tempered. “So, the answer is yes.”

“Yes…what?” the king pressed, glaring at my guard.

Malik’s nostrils flared. “You are not my king, and thus, I will not address you as such.”

Calvin, King James’ guard, put a hand on his sword. The king flicked a hand at him.

“It’s fine. How can I punish my honorable guest’s personal guard, when he is only staying loyal to the house he serves?” The way the king’s gaze lingered on Malik was unsettling, as if he said one thing but his eyes said another. “He must remember not to bite the hand that feeds him, though, and to give respect where it is due. I’m all that’s keeping his head on his large shoulders after all.”

I wished to takehishead from his shoulders.

“Malik means no disrespect,” I said, forcing a tight smile. “But surely you agree how abnormal it’d be for him to call you his king when he is sworn to another. Let’s continue.” I grabbed another figure and slapped it on the map. “This is part of my army that will come in from the sea.”

As I talked, I looked up at Malik. The smile on his face expressed his pride in me and my heart swelled. I wondered if Father would be proud of me, too, if he were there.

When our meeting ended, the sun had already set. While walking through the corridor that connected to the west wing of the castle, I stopped at a window and peered out into the early evening.

Even though we were farther south, and the cold winds didn’t touch us there, the night still held a slight chill to it. The three days we’d traveled to Talena had been sweltering hot, but the evenings had been cool.

Winter was nearly over, though, and soon spring would be upon us.

Spring. A season of new beginnings. Of rebirth.

I bowed my head and squeezed my eyes shut as nerves knotted in my gut.