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By the time Evie and Asher got back to camp the fae had already made a crude sort of shelter. And the girls had already returned from their excursion into the forest—their pockets laden down with roots and berries, as well as a rabbit Cosette apparently killed with her bare hands.
“—it was disgusting,” Freya was saying, recreating the moment with such ghoulish hand gestures even Ellanden was fighting back a grimace. “And when the thing screamed—” She caught herself suddenly, lighting up with a bright smile. “Oh, hey guys! Have a good chat?”
The fae glanced over his shoulder, then gestured wordlessly to the makeshift camp. “Congratulations, you arrived in time to miss all the work.”
Evie flashed a grin, walking up beside him to examine what he’d done. Given how few supplies had survived the leopard attack, much less the kidnapping that had followed, it was rather impressive. Devoid of anything more than a simple cutting knife, the fae had managed to strip the branches from a nearby tree and weave them into a seamless canopy which he’d draped over an out-cropping of rocks. A blazing fire was roaring just a few feet away, throwing off beams of light.
“Not bad,” she said appreciatively, warming her hands by the flames. “Of course, I would have preferred something with a view...”
“That’s no problem,” he said generously. “You can sleep outside.”
They shared a quick grin as the girls settled down beside them. Freya was happily eating the entire group’s ration of berries. Cosette was looking vaguely traumatized as she wiped blood and bits of fur from her hands. Only the vampire kept his distance, staring at the fae appraisingly, taking the princess’ words of advice to heart. Of course, Ellanden remained predictably oblivious.
“Before you two decided to grace us with your presence, we were discussing the best way to barter for passage on a ship,” he said distractedly, hacking off another evergreen branch and weaving it skillfully in with the rest. “Since we have nothing to trade and we’re running low on coin I figured we could organize a little robbery, try to steal some horses.”
Evie lifted her eyebrows, and Asher stepped forward with a grin.
“That’s your big idea? Make us horse thieves?”
Do they still hang people for that? I feel like they always hang people for that.
The fae nodded soundly, planning as he went. “They’d speed up the journey through the lowlands, then we could sell them for safe passage the second we got to shore. It wouldn’t be hard to take them. We’d only need five.” He caught himself suddenly, throwing the vampire an innocent look. “Or maybe you two could share.”
The princess blushed furiously, but the vampire only smiled—ducking under the tree branch as his hands began working from the other side. “Is that how it’s going to be?”
Ellanden continued weaving, nodding all the while. “That’s how it’s going to start, yeah.”
Asher grinned faintly, taking the bait. “And what happens next?”
The fae shrugged, as if what happened next was inevitable. “Eventually, I realize I’m not okay with it after all and you guys are forced to break up.”
The girls looked up in unison, but Asher nodded briskly.
“That seems fair.”
He watched as the fae finished with what he was doing, pressing the last of the branches into place. It wasn’t until he started walking away that Asher caught his arm, lowering his voice quietly.
“Ellanden—”
The fae pulled back reflexively, shaking his head with a tight smile.
“We were only doing what we had to. The giant said to fight,” Asher said.
A casual dismissal, but there was a bit more to it than that.
“I’m serious,” Asher pressed softly. “Could we—”
Then all at once Ellanden came back, closing the distance in just a few steps. His eyes locked on the vampire’s collar, lingering a moment before tightening in an unfamiliar kind of rage.
“Actually, yeah—let’s talk.”
Before Asher could answer, he grabbed him fiercely by the arm—dragging him away from the camp and into the trees. The girls stared after them in silence, frozen exactly where they’d stood.
After a few seconds, Freya glanced at the others. “So they’re finally going to kill each other?”
Cosette’s eyes tightened with a hint of worry. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Not if I have anything to do with it...
Evie flashed them both a quick smile and gestured towards the woods. “I’m just going to...check on something completely unrelated.”
She was gone a moment later, sprinting full speed into the trees.
* * *
BOTH OF THE MEN THE princess was tracking could be as silent as ghosts, but it didn’t take long to find them. Mostly because they were shouting at the top of their lungs.
“I cannot believe you!”
There was a faint scuffling sound as Evie slipped noiselessly into the underbrush, staring at a little clearing in the woods. Ellanden was pacing furiously back and forth, throwing occasional death looks over his shoulder. Asher stood frozen, as frustrated as he was confused.
Guess there’s no reason to worry about the giants hearing us. We managed to escape that danger... and find our way into a whole new territory of trouble.
“Can’t believe what?” he demanded, not for the first time. “Look, I’ll admit you have plenty of reasons to be angry with me, but you’re going to have to narrow it down.”
“Don’t give me that!” Ellanden fired back. “You know exactly what you’ve done!”
For a split second, the princess was afraid the fight was going to start all over again. They didn’t need a giant egging them on. They could carry on destroying each other all by themselves.
But this wasn’t your usual argument. And it wasn’t your usual rage. Instead of throwing a punch Ellanden paced back across the clearing, lowering his voice with a dangerous kind of calm.
“You have a broken wrist.”
The vampire glanced down, thrown by the sudden shift in momentum. “Yeah, I...I remember it happening.”
Evie grimaced involuntarily. She remembered, too. The fae had done it himself, snapping it neatly behind the vampire’s back before launching him across the length of the giant’s table. Even trapped in a cage on the other side, the princess could swear she’d heard it crack.
But Ellanden wasn’t looking for absolution. He was absolutely incensed.
“You’ve also got a messed-up shoulder,” he continued in that same deadly voice, “probably a couple of cracked ribs...”
Asher shook his head warily, trying to follow along. “Why are you—”
“And what about Everly?” the fae demanded. “Did you think of that? What about the tear in her ankle, the lacerations that are still healing on her back?” He closed the distance between them, standing toe to toe. “What about the fact that she probably has a concussion from when that giant smashed her into the ground? Did you think about any of that?”
Asher stared back at him in amazement, while Evie was simply stunned.
She’d had no idea the fae had been monitoring her injuries so closely, especially considering his own were infinitely more severe. Despite the tension radiating through the clearing, she found herself sincerely touched. But there was an admonishment in the prince’s voice she didn’t understand. A protective censure buried beneath all those layers of rage.
Then all at once...she noticed what Ellanden had apparently seen back at the campsite.
Asher had left properly clothed. He’d returned with his shirt on backwards.
Seven hells.
“I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” Asher murmured, as confused as the moment fae had dragged him out to the woods. “Honestly, Landi, I’m not trying to argue. I just—”
“Don’t lie to me,” the fae exclaimed. “You know what I thought the moment I saw you guys kiss? That it was a good thing. That you were probably the one guy in the entire realm I wouldn’t have to worry about.” He shook his head with a murderous glare. “My mistake, right?”
Asher stared back at him, in complete bewilderment.
Then it suddenly clicked.
His lips parted and he stepped back with a look of genuine surprise. For a split second, he looked as touched as Evie was herself. Then he shook his head very slowly.
“Nothing happened.”
The fae looked at him doubtfully and Asher held up his hands.
“I swear it. You have to know me better than that.” He shook his head again, staring back without the hint of a lie. “I wouldn’t...I wouldn’t let it happen this way.”
The men stared at each other another moment then Ellanden nodded sharply, taking a step back. All at once he was very interested in something happening on the ground, or in the sky, or literally any place in the clearing where the vampire didn’t happen to be standing.
“Because she deserves a hell of a lot better, you know?” He kicked at the ground, avoiding his friend’s gaze, looking decidedly flustered. “And I know it’s none of my business. You guys like each other, I get that. I would never have said anything except...why are you smiling?”
“It’s nothing,” Asher said quickly, trying to control his expression.
“What?”
“You wouldn’t like it.”
“What?”
“It’s just...underneath that horrendous personality...you’re actually a good guy.”
The princess smacked herself in the forehead as the tension shattered on the spot. There was a burst of laughter, and the boys pushed away from each other with a playful shove.
“No, I’m not,” Ellanden said seriously. “I’m not kidding, Asher. Don’t ever say that again.”
The vampire only grinned, dodging another brotherly swipe.
They were still smiling when they headed out of the clearing. The subject had been swiftly changed to something they were comfortable with (something with no emotional overtones), and things were just picking up speed when the smile faded from the vampire’s face.
He watched as the fae stepped out in front of him, saw the black stain of lace-like bruises lacing up the side of his neck. He remembered those as well. He’d made them with his own hands.
“Ellanden—”
The prince glanced over his shoulder, surprised by the sudden change in tone. When he saw the vampire’s face, his own smile faded and he continued walking quickly.
“We should get back.”
Without another word, he started marching back through the woods...straight towards where the princess was standing. She didn’t have time to move. She’d only just made the connection when the ferns suddenly parted and the two of them were standing face to face.
It was difficult to say who looked more surprised. Even more difficult to say who looked more embarrassed. Ellanden froze for a split second before roughly shoving past her, taking care to knock into her shoulder as he went by.
“Shut up.”
* * *
BY THE TIME THEY GOT back to camp, staggering their arrivals, Cosette and Freya had already cooked and salted most of the rabbit. What little remained was sitting on a bed of leaves, smoking slightly and oozing a deep crimson Evie could only hope had come from the berries and wasn’t a grisly reminder of the animal itself. They ate quickly then went to bed—carefully destroying the remains of the fire in case any of the giants had somehow managed to pick up on the trail.
All things considered it was a good shelter, but a tight squeeze. An awkwardly tight squeeze, given the circumstances. Acting on the same instinct, both Evie and Asher tried to give each other a wide berth, settling down on opposite sides of the circle. But no matter how many times they shifted position, they kept finding themselves getting pushed back together. The princess had begun to suspect it had something to do with their eternally meddling friends.
“No, you take this spot.” Freya rolled over quickly, then patted an open spot of ground with a smile. “That way the two of you can cuddle.”
...ex-friends.
The vampire shot her a chilling glare, then gave up the ghost—settling down beside the princess with a quiet sigh. She glanced at him, unwinding her braids.
“Well, this is cozy.” Cosette’s eyes sparkled as she glanced between them, resting a moment on each one. “Who would have thought?”
This is going to be intolerable.
“And what about you?” the fae continued, glancing up with a grin as Ellanden finished with the fire and joined them inside. “You’re okay with this little love-fest?”
The prince flashed them a quick glance, then settled on the opposite side. “Of course,” he said easily. “You two should enjoy yourselves while it lasts.”
Evie stiffened involuntarily, and Asher’s dark eyes shot across the circle. “What does that mean?”
The fae shrugged, settling down beneath his cloak. “Only that, before long, we’ll either be dead or back at the castle. If we make it back in one piece, you’ll have to try to keep this going under the watchful eyes of Dylan Hale.”
He flashed them a sweet smile.
“I don’t see that going so well.”
In hindsight, that was probably the reason Evie couldn’t fall asleep...
