Page 15 of Tricky Princess

Ellea smirked a little as the demon became paler the longer they spoke. “Do I scare you, Reaver?”

Reaver leaned his head back and gaped at her. He audibly swallowed and seemed to choke on a response. She blinked at him, leaning in to an uncomfortable proximity, testing her bravery on this little demon who seemed so perplexed by her existence.

“Leave the poor beast alone.” Duhne chuckled, slapping an arm around Ellea’s shoulders.

Reaver stepped back and straightened, pulling at his high-buttoned shirt.

“If you won’t be needing anything,” Reaver said with a curt bow. “Call if you need me, Duhne, princess—”

Ellea cut him off with an arch of her brow.

“Ellea,” Reaver corrected and turned toward the doors.

“Come, little one.” Duhne steered her toward a table full of food and cups of what looked like coffee. “Let’s go eat, and then I’ll show you a section of books you may like.”

6

Ellea

SECOND DAY IN HEL

A slight breeze swept over her skin as they walked out to a table on a small balcony. She wasn’t sure what the weather would be like from the views on her tour, but the crisp air reminded her of early autumn. The smells of turning leaves, nutmeg, and clove and the chance of a chilly night made her feel at home. Almost too at home. How could a place surrounded by beasts and the dead smell so comforting?

“You called Reaver a beast. I thought he was a demon?”

“He is, but aren’t we all beasts?”

She slowly smiled as she took her seat. The faintest smell of salt and brine passed under her nose. Peering over the wall of their sitting area, she could only glimpse the valleys and mountains she had already seen. She leaned further, squinting to her left. There seemed to be a divide at the edge of one of the hills. A slight ripple of magic danced across the scenery. Beyond it, the hill turned to rough rock and sand, a glimpse of the beach she could only smell from here.

“What is that?” She pointed to the ripple of magic.

“A divide.”

He poured her water and didn’t seem as concerned as she was about a magical wall dividing the land.

“What kind of divide?” She tried to lean over the wall and get a better look. “Dividing what?”

“Do you want sugar in your coffee?” he asked, opening a gold sugar bowl. “Reaver put steamed milk in it but said something about you probably not liking sweet things.”

“Of course, I like sweet things,” She snapped her head toward him, snatching the sugar from his hand.

It looked like regular brown sugar. She pinched some and placed it on her tongue; it tasted like sugar too.

“What are you doing?” His eyes crinkled at the edges.

“Well”—she paused to sniff the coffee that smelled like coffee and pure bliss—“we’re in Hel, so I thought the food would be different.”

“There are a lot of things that are different, but the food is mostly the same.”

“And the divide?”

She suppressed a moan as the richness of her first sip of coffee hit her tongue. Her shoulders instantly relaxed, and she took another sip, savoring the taste of her favorite drink.

“Is your coffee okay?” He seemed eager to abate her question yet again.

“Why won’t you tell me about it?”

He grumbled under his breath. “I have a feeling that once you learn what it’s for, I’m going to have to spend my time making sure you don’t get into trouble or hurt.”