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Mistress Olwen did not employ a mage for heating the water from the stream behind the house, as this privilege was only for the very rich. However, the servants soon carried enough hot liquid into Beth’s room to fill a wooden tub. I sprinkled herbs and fragrant dust into the vat and walked back to the dining area.
I was about to tell Beth our rooms were ready and the steaming bath was waiting for her. But when I entered the kitchen, I overheard Mistress Olwen tell the little half-Fae that she had sent word to the prince.
All blood rushed from my face. My lips turned numb, and I had to close my eyes to stop the room from spinning. My voice sounded as cold as my hands felt.
“What do you mean, the prince will meet her here?”
Beth jumped and turned around with wide eyes. She stammered, “I… I told you that I want to find out who my parents were.”
All the joy of performing my sword skills for Beth, of seeing how impressed she was by my graceful moves, evaporated. My shoulders hurt from being pulled so high, and if I walked, I would have stalked across the room like a rock troll. I blinked against the fear threatening to throttle me.
Olwen watched me with knowing eyes. But she had no idea about the mission that had been thrust upon me. I had been proud to be of service, yet after meeting Beth, the suspicion of what lay in store for her made me sick.
I put some distance between the half-human and myself. “You do not have the full story, and I cannot give it to you. But please, believe me, you must not meet the prince.”
I did not want to be questioned by either of the women, nor was I ready to give answers they surely expected. Instead, I turned around, ready to return to my room.
Beth got to her feet and called after me. “Wait. Please talk to me.”
I ignored her plea. She would not thank me for telling her the truth. But maybe it was not too late. Addressing Olwen, I said harshly, “Call him off. Send another messenger. We will leave early in the morning.”
If Beth had been in any condition to travel, I would have forced her to come with me now. But she looked dead on her feet.
“Go upstairs, human. There is hot water waiting for you. Your muscles need to soak. I have added soothing herbs to your bath.”
I did not wait to see if she followed my instructions, but after I had stomped upstairs and closed the door, I heard her feet drag her tired body into the room next to mine.
While she was busy soaking in the tub, I forced my thoughts away from her bare skin and smooth limbs. What I had overheard had shattered the illusion of safety in which I had allowed myself to revel.
I could not let the young woman meet Prince Prys. She had no idea what she was getting into. I had been tasked with finding her and bringing her to the palace by order of the prince. But after meeting her, my sense of duty had evaporated bit by bit.
She was everything I dreamed of in a mate. She was smart, courageous, if a little hasty at times. She was also gorgeous, and her curves, which were too rounded by Fae standards, pleased me more than any other female’s.
I fantasized about running my hands over them and tasting her plump lips again. And yet, as a member of the royal guard, such pleasures were denied to me above the execution of my duties.
The prince had not shared with me his plans for Beth once I found her, but I knew him well enough to assume they would not be good. If what I had overheard was true and she was the Lost Princess—his niece—, her fate was sealed. The prince would never allow her to live. Her only hope was to alert her grandfather, the old king, who had never stopped searching for his missing daughter.
I waited until the staff emptied Beth’s tub. When the wenches had finished plodding up and down the stairs with their heavy buckets, I entered her quarters. She was wrapped in a linen shroud, her hair brushed back from her forehead, clinging to her scalp. No Fae woman wore her hair as short as she did, but it made her look pixie-like and cute.
I resisted the urge to pull her into my arms. “Did you enjoy your bath?”
The fatigue on her face lifted as her lips stretched into a half smile. “Yes. It was wonderful and just what I needed. Thank you.”
I brushed away the pinch of regret. This was the moment I had been waiting for. Her mind was open, and she was vulnerable to me. I stepped into her space, driving both her shoulders back with my hands. She looked up at me with so much trust in her eyes that I hesitated, but it was for her own good.
Chapter fifteen
“Beth,listentome.”I conveyed as much compulsion in my tone as possible. “You must not meet the prince. It is dangerous. Do not meet the prince.”
She narrowed her eyes and flared her nostrils. Throwing off my hands, she said in that strange way she had of speaking, “What the hell are you trying to do? Back off.”
Confused, I allowed her to back away. My gift rarely failed, especially with a small thing like her. I probably had not tried hard enough. Focusing on her pretty silver-blue gaze, I pushed the compulsion into her mind with all my power. “Do not meet the prince. Do not.”
She clutched her head and groaned, then rubbed her forehead vigorously. “What the fuck, Bleddyn? I can feel you poking at my brain. Is this some kind of Fae magic?”
Why was this not working? No one in the realm was immune to my compulsive powers, except for the prince and his father—they could not be compelled. It was part of the royal magic.
Royal Magic. By the goddess, Mistress Olwen was right.
