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Twenty-Two
Kelia
The prince groaned as he slid into a sitting position, holding his head. “That was very unpleasant.”
“Uncle E!” Mab ran and jumped on the bed, causing the prince to stumble back onto the pillows with a laugh.
“I’m fine,” he chuckled.
“You need to rest, and we should leave.” The queen stood, giving Callum and me a firm look.
“Really, I feel fine.” Prince Eldritch kissed Mab’s forehead. “In fact, I think we should celebrate.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” the queen replied with a frown, but the prince was already moving . . . directly toward me.
“My mother keeps the best wine in her chambers.” He held out his arm for me. Though his steps were slow, the natural color had returned to his face. “Shall we?”
I glanced at the queen who rolled her eyes, but behind the annoyed expression there was a tenderness there. “Very well.”
“I want to come too!” Mab dashed forward, grabbing my hand.
“You are going to bed. Alisha!” the queen called out, taking Mab and walking past us.
The prince cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. Looping my arm around his, we stepped into the hallway. Glancing back over my shoulder, Callum watched me, his jaw in a hard line. I turned around, unsure of how to react to the fire brimming in his piercing eyes.
Alisha took Mab who waved as she said goodbye while we followed the queen.
“What you’ve done simply amazes me,” the prince said with a curl to his lips.
“I’ve done nothing.”
His shoulder brushed against mine. “You helped save my life, and that is more than nothing.”
Not wanting to talk, I smiled instead, keeping my gaze forward. When the queen stopped at a room, her guards flanking the door, I used it as an excuse to break away from the prince’s embrace and head inside after Queen Merelda.
Fatigue filled my steps, and I eyed the big, cushioned couches arrayed in the sitting room. If this was where the queen slept, it must’ve been in a separate area behind the massive purple curtains that created a wall at the back of the room.
Someone stepped beside me, brushing my arm, and I knew it could only be one person. “Care for a drink?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“My offer still stands, and I’m certain mother would approve of our union.” He slipped his hand around mine. I was too tired to deal with his advances. After everything I’d been through, I would need sleep and rest.
“Thank you,” I replied, removing my hand from his grasp. “My life is on the surface and with the magi. I need to return and quickly. If those darkthings had a hive mind then they will now know where the largest cache of life crystals are and will come here. The council must know of this.”
The prince leaned over, and I thought I heard a low growl come from Callum who had moved closer to us. “Don’t dedicate your life to an ancient society when you and I could herald in a new race.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” the queen interrupted, glaring at her son enough for him to break away from me. “You are still royal blood, and our line must stay pure, now all of you leave. I wish to speak to the human alone.”
Callum shoved past the prince who laughed and followed him out. Once the door was closed, the queen motioned to me to sit with her on the long velvet couch.
“When I was young, I had many suitors requesting my hand, including Callum.” She unfastened her leather bracers and placed them on the table. “But unlike you, I am not free to love whomever I wish.”
Relaxing into the soft couch, I watched as the queen unbuttoned her leather vest and tossed it to the ground then untied her braid. Her hair fell around her shoulders in long, silvery waves. It was the first time I had seen her this way and she was breathtakingly beautiful.
“The prince thinks our combined power would produce a powerful heir,” I said, ignoring the comment about Callum.
The queen grabbed a decanter of wine off the low obsidian table next to us and poured two glasses. She handed me one. “You could. Your power is unique, very similar to a light bearer. It seems you have a strong effect on our males.”
