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It seemed to be the most pertinent question.
“No one,” the stranger answered.
“Bullshit,” Annie said reasonably, not at all unfriendly.
“You certainly look likesomeone,” she added, scanning him from head to toe.
“You could have stepped right out of a fairytale. That getup puts the couture of even Louis XIV’s to shame.”
He simply watched them warily, his expression giving away nothing.
Ben regarded him closely as well.
His pose was defensive, not threatening, but this was clearly a dangerous man, not to be underestimated. He reminded Ben of a coiled, cornered king cobra.
Or, more appropriately—a cornered dragon. Given his diamond eyes, glittering brightly in the darkness of the night woods.
“Something’s wrong,” Ben said, purposely loosening his clenched muscles, trying to appear less threatening.
“What do you mean?” Annie asked, not taking her eyes off the stranger for one moment.
“If he is the mythical Pale Prince, and we’ve isolated him here, why hasn’t Scottie beamed us back to the mothership yet?”
Annie scrunched her nose in an adorable frown.
She’d fit right into Lady Brigid’s stories, Ben thought. A whimsical fae creature who loved to laugh, full of cheery brightness and teasing mischief. Even her frowns were endearing.
“You have a point, Benji,” she noted, using his childhood nickname.
Ben only let a few people get away with it unscathed, and Annie was one of them.
“Areyou a prince?” she asked of their quarry.
The stranger cocked his head a little, clearly considering how to answer.
While Ben assessed him with discerning eyes.
At the very least, the man was exactly as he appeared. There was no illusion. Everything about him identified him as royalty, or someone insanely rich. He was certainly princely in bearing and looks, the perfect fantasy kind—unreal. And he was clearly as pale as they came, his skin luminescent like moonbeams, his diamond eyes sharp and bright.
Hehadto be the Pale Prince.
But, then, why wasn’t their quest complete?
“I am to Lady Brigid,” the stranger finally answered.
Ben was rather surprised that he did. He could read between the lines of what the stranger didn’t say: it was important that he maintained whatever façade he presented to Lady Brigid. If she thought him a prince, then he was a prince.
Ben could practically see the wheels turning in the man’s head. He was assessing them just as they were assessing him. His gut told him that he needed to keep this man in his sights, or at least know how to find him again if they parted ways.
He was the key to fulfilling their quest, Ben simplyknewit.
And as Ere taught him early on, the best way to keep a quarry within his sights was to lure them to stay with something they wanted in turn.
“We can help you with Lady Brigid,” Ben offered on a whim.
And immediately knew he said the right thing when the stranger’s eyes flashed with something like desire.
But Ben couldn’t tell if it was desire for Brigid or something Brigid could give him.
