AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He took a swallow of his wine and only then did I taste mine. He’d poured from the same bottle so the chance of him poisoning me seemed low. I may enjoy pleasure, but I hadn’t forgotten the look the King had given me the night before. Something was off, and it would be foolish to saunter up here and drink the first thing handed to me without caution. Normally I had my magic to rely on, but my powers had felt miserably distant all morning. It left me queasy, which might explain the butterflies more than Eldrick. As he grinned again, his eyes catching hints of sunlight that broke through the clouds, the fluttery feeling picked up. Well, so much for that theory.
He sliced into his lamb. “Most of my life comprises discipline and order. A rather dull person to share a meal with, I’m afraid. Do you regret being lured into this lunch now?”
I lifted my fork. “Sir Eldrick, you may be many things, but I cannot imagine anyone ever labeling you with the term dull.”
“Perhaps I’ll correct your optimism over this meal.”
I placed the fork into my mouth, slowly slid the meat off the tongs, and chewed and swallowed as Eldrick stared at me. “Or maybe I’ll shift your cynicism.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps. I’m certain you’re curious why I asked you to lunch, beyond the pleasure of having such a beautiful dining companion, of course.”
“I can’t imagine you get to use your skills of flattery at the King’s meals.”
“I’m afraid not. I save my charm for special circumstances.” He winked in such a way that it was clear he’d had plenty of practice using charm, at the King’s meetings or otherwise. But so had I. “Shall I ask the obligatory question?”
My knife hovered between my fingers, and heat whispered across my cheeks. I’d come here to find information for Lira’s sake but hadn’t expected how much I’d enjoy the company. “What would that be?”
He grinned. “What do you imagine yourself doing in the future?”
Something about the way he asked made me feel like there was an ulterior motive to the question. If he expected me to become some sanctimonious healer like the sirens who lived on the coast, he’d pegged me dead wrong. I gave a saucy toss of my head. “Perhaps I’m doing exactly what I wish to be doing already.”
He tipped his wine glass in my direction. “Well, cheers to that.”
“So, what did you wish to invite me to lunch for?”
“The King has it on good confidence from Lady Palaria that you are Lira’s closest companion.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“He wonders what we can do to ensure her comfort when she returns.”
The pleasure of the conversation washed from me as relief took its place. “Are they close to having her home then? Has Prince Lennox secured her?”
Eldrick leaned against his chair. “How do you know of the Prince’s intentions?”
I fluttered my hands in front of me. “Oh, I don’t. I suppose I was just interpreting what the King said last night and hoping that’s what he meant.”
“Ah.” Eldrick refilled my wine glass. “Well, by whatever means necessary, we will secure her return.”
“May I ask you something, and perhaps it’s overstepping, but from one flirt to another?”
He swirled a potato through the butter sauce. “I appreciate your forthrightness. I’d hate to think you were unaware of your flirtatiousness, madam.”
“Oh, I’m barely trying presently.”
He leaned in across the table and I realized I’d done the same. His mouth parted into a wicked grin. “I’d love to see you try, if that be the case.”
I giggled and backed away. “It seems Prince Lennox and his father do not align in some ways?” Eldrick frowned, and I pretended not to notice as I sliced through another piece of meat. “I wonder how to best advise Lira when she returns on what her role may be in the palace. To be honest, I know little of Seelie history—I doubt Lira does either.”
Eldrick didn’t respond, and my heart picked up. Perhaps I’d misstepped, but I continued my oblivious act as I raised my face. Eldrick rested his elbow on the railing of the balcony and leaned his head against his fist. His hair was long for a Seelie and curled slightly where it reached his chin. “I suppose you’ve never heard of ‘the child king’ then?”
I grabbed the wineglass and took a swallow. I needed to pace myself with alcohol consumption, but it would take more than a glass and a half to affect me. “The child king?”
Eldrick leaned back, placing his ankle on his knee. It stretched out his pants, making them tight along the muscled line of his thigh. Heat pooled in my stomach as he spoke. “King Carrington’s derisive nickname he spent years erasing.”
I set the glass down with a clink. I was suddenly interested in something beyond Eldrick. “He had a nickname he didn’t like?”
“Indeed. The King was forced into his position at a tender age. His father had him late—as most fairies do so they don’t dilute their magic. Unfortunately, his father died before the King reached adulthood. He grew up fast and hard and had to earn respect from men who’d fought alongside his father.”
