Page 161 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

“Can we stay out here for a while? I want to see the stars.”

Alec smiles wide and walks over to the pack he brought, producing a thick woolen blanket that he spreads out. He shakes off some of his sand and removes his boots before sitting and patting the blanket beside him. I dust myself off and join him on the scratchy pallet.

“Tell me about the syren and the pearl.” I run my hand down the length of my staff.

“Do you like hearing my stories about the dangerous creatures I have faced for you?” Alec smirks.

“Yes, I do. Now tell me.”

He picks up my hand and plants a kiss on the inside of my wrist, then the tips of my fingers. “I visited often for three years after I healed from the lonyx wound. Each time, I chartered a small ship to sail off the coast of Brhadir where a coven of syrens is known to live. They are a fickle bunch, known for seducing and then eating the hearts of men.”

I scowl at him, suddenly not liking where this is going.

Alec laughs fondly. “As I already told you, I have had no one since you were born. Now, do not judge me for my slight manipulation. I befriended one. I lured her to the surface with both my blood and some gold. I admit, I did always have to compel her to not want to eat or fuck me. But over time, we developed a friendship over the gifts I brought and the stories of the girl I love.”

My insides turn to a gooey mess with the affection so deeply ingrained in his words. “That’s very sweet,” I say.

“She thought so, too. It turns out, without their insatiable sexual appetites and bloodlust, a syren can be quite the romantic. She was deeply touched by the way I spoke of you, my perfect mate, still just a girl who I patiently waited for the day that our lives would truly start together. I started talking about wanting to give you a spectacular mating gift, but I was unsure of what would ever be enough to commemorate completing a bond with such a unique princess. I told the syren how nothing in the world could ever be as rare and treasured as you.”

Alec picks up my hand and brushes his lips across my knuckles, soft as the gentle brush of a moth’s wing. The sun begins to set, painting the horizon orange and red. A light breeze makes his hair dance and loosens sand to fall into his thick black lashes.

“Every word I said to her was true. The manipulation was knowing that I would tell her of our storybook love and speak of needing a proper mating gift. I told her all of this with the hopes that she would offer her precious item. And she did—happily—before informing me that she caught on to my plan the second time I came to her and had already decided that she wanted to gift us the pearl. She held out because she enjoyed hearing our stories.”

Alec strokes my cheek before shrugging his shoulder and adding, “The treasures I brought were an added bonus.”

“Did you tell her that you planned to grind down the pearl?” I ask him curiously.

“I did. She was unbothered, given the sentiment behind what I planned to do with it.”

I smile and run my hand over the staffagain. “I love it even more now.”

Alec picks it up, inspecting the pearlescent sheen, his lips tilting with satisfaction. “I know that story is not quite as exciting as having to fight to the death with the creature of a god.”

My fingers trace over his jagged scars from the lonyx. “I like it better,” I say. “Is the story of getting an illegal stone from the willowbane tree as wonderfully romantic?”

“Not at all. That was nothing but treachery and abuse of power.” Alec grins mischievously. “Quite boring, actually.”

“Do tell, my king,” I say, perking up immediately.

The thought of Alec asserting his dominance as a foreboding king just to get something for me makes a silly smile spread across my face.

“I have only returned to the Mother Continent a handful of times since I became king. The last time was six years ago. I went to the Gleisheon Territory, where the petrified willowbane tree sits in Willowood, under the guise of solidifying a trade agreement between the Territory and Salhaas. Though Salhaas may not have much to give in terms of sustenance, the land is rich with magical elements exclusive to the Queendom—elements the Territories desperately crave. So, I suppose it was not complete treachery.”

Alec pauses, his smile showing that he’s infinitely proud of himself. “I did finalize the deal that Gleisheon has been begging Queen Serra for centuries. Now, Queen Serra is sitting on a large mountain of gold while Gleisheon’s elite, including your grandmother, has a network of traveling and communication mirrors made with crystals from the enchanted deposits beneath the mausoleums of the Bone Grove.”

My mouth drops open. “You said this one was boring! You orchestrated a centuries old request for a trade deal to have a legitimate reason to be near the willowbane tree?” Alec gives me aboyish grin. “That is not boring, Alec!” I push him playfully, my palms meeting the tight muscles of his arm. “Continue, please,” I beg, my grin expanding.

“After the logistics of the deal were finalized, I waited until late in the night to apply a glamour. I compelled the guards of the tree to undo all their security measures and allow me access to the roots cavern below. Then, I simply used the stake made from the same tree to dislodge a stone the size of your beautiful head. I wiped their memories and returned to my apartments. The next afternoon, I boarded my ship, keeping to my regular schedule. With the strong trade agreements between Quinndohs and the Territories, the royal Quindohsi ships are never searched. Certainly not the king himself.”

“King Alec Vahnsing of Quinndohs,” I chide him, my arms tight across my chest while I give him a playfully scolding look. “Nana told me that to be caught with a flake of those stones is punishable by death.”

Alec nods enthusiastically. “It is. When the tree was still alive, sap seeped down and gathered in the roots, leaving tar like balls that had great healing properties. It was often given by Ellhora to her people. By the time the tree was poisoned, the resources were greatly depleted. There are not many stones left.”

“Do the stones still hold power?” I ask curiously, wondering if there are more facets to the power of my staff than I knew, but he shakes his head in dismissal.

“No, any power they carried died over time since the tree was poisoned. If I had been caught with that stone, the repercussions would have been catastrophic,” Alec says, excited light gleaming in his brown eyes. “The trade deal I orchestrated was also an added insurance—in the event that I did get caught.”

The weight of Alec’s actions is not lost on me. If he had been caught, not only would he have been put to death, but he would have certainly killed all the trade agreements with the Mother Continent.