16. I’m Your What?

Chapter 16

I'm Your What?

Ulmenor was astounding.

The cross of the bay was serene and uneventful. Of course, I slept through most of it, so that was a definite plus. It was only when we reached the busy docks for the capital city of Galinaes that the waters got rough, and I was nearly tossed out of my hammock.

As Nylian had warned, it was several more hours before someone released us from our rooms and marched us up to the top deck, where I caught my first glimpse of the elf city by the fading evening light.

It dwarfed Riverhold in both size and graceful elegance. Each of the buildings looked to be made of stone, but they weren't boxy and square like the brick buildings at home. They were all smooth, twisting and twirling as they rose into the air. It was as if each one had been chiseled into absolute perfection under the loving hands of thousands of artists.

"It's so beautiful," I exhaled, barely able to tear my eyes away from the cityscape.

"Just wait until you see Wolfrest's capital. It's even more stunning," Nylian said behind me.

My heart tripped over itself at the thought of going to Wolfrest and seeing Nylian's home with my own eyes. But it made sense. If I were to see this through to the end, Nylian would need to return home with proof of who'd arranged for Orian's murder. Only then could he clear his name and reclaim his old life.

"I can't wait," I replied, smiling under my veil. "I'm sure I'm going to love it."

"You'll be lucky if I ever let you leave it," Nylian muttered under his breath.

"What?" I jerked about to look at him, just to make sure I'd heard him correctly. But Nylian's hand shot out to catch my shoulder and force me to face forward again.

"I said pay attention to where you're going and follow the crowd. We're going with Plan A. Stick close to me."

That was not what he'd said. However, this wasn't a great time to discuss Nylian's possible kidnapping proclivities. I'd thought Plan A was to escape during the night from the warehouse, which was the better option, since it meant not relying on Jasper's magic.

So, naturally, all things went to hell because Jasper hadn't gotten the memo that we didn't need his magic. Or maybe Adeline had changed the script without telling us. Either way, it wasn't good.

The moment my feet touched the dock, my legs swaying beneath me as they tried to recall what it was to be on solid land, a great pink fog rolled in from the bay and poured through the streets. Air froze in my lungs as I watched the surrounding people disappear in the cloud, leaving behind their frantic shouts of fear and confusion.

A hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist and I jumped, instinctively trying to jerk it free.

"It's me," Nylian whispered in my ear. I relaxed, allowing him to pull me along. We ran as best as we could, weaving between the people and enormous crates that only appeared when we were less than a foot away from them.

The pink cotton-candy fog stretched everywhere, obscuring my view of the city. But it also meant that no one could see us. Nylian maintained a breakneck pace, forcing us to cross countless blocks as fast as my legs could carry me. Several times I wanted to stop him, but he had to know Ulmenor and its people better than I did. If it was safe for us to stop, he would let us stop.

After several blocks, the sweet scent of flowers replaced the salty air, giving it a clear crispness that I couldn't put a name to. It was clean and almost decadent. Slowly, the fog was fading, and it was becoming easier to make out the buildings. Elegant carriages filled the streets and streetlamps popped on, one after another, with a warm yellow glow. But this was magic rather than oil and flame.

When I could no longer catch my breath, Nylian pulled us down a shadowy alley and slowed to a brisk walk. Only after a few more turns that took us away from one of the major streets did he stop. I leaned on a cool stone wall, holding my side against the stitch that was slicing through my organs. My throat was raw and my lungs burned. This body might be in damn good shape, but I still didn't have any hope of keeping up with the elf, who wasn't even panting.

As I stood there, trying to suck great gulps of air into my lungs, Nylian ripped off the veil, head covering, and dress that he wore over his clothes. He wadded them all up and shoved them into a dark corner before turning to me.

"I'm sorry, but we need to keep moving until we can find a safe place to hide," Nylian murmured as his nimble fingers plucked away my veil. "That spell of Jasper's would have sent all the City Watch scrambling for the docks. It's likely that they're on high alert now, searching for anyone who might have sneaked into the capital."

"Fuck. What…what…about…Adeline…and Jasper?" I gasped.

"Hopefully they've gotten away." He gave a small shake of his head when I tried to form more words. "The plan was always for us to part ways after reaching the shore. They have their business, and we have ours."

Not great, but I couldn't argue with him. My hopes for Adeline and Nylian fizzled completely. Maybe they weren't meant for each other. I ignored the strange knot in my stomach that suddenly disappeared and focused on what was ahead of us. Adeline would take care of Jasper and get him to a wizard who could teach him something.

For now, Nylian and I needed to stay alive long enough to make a plan that would get us closer to the people who might have the information we needed.

With the stitch in my side fading, I had enough energy to take off my head covering and pull off the baggy blue dress. That pale hue was not my best color, but at least it had hidden my bag and the sword strapped to my back.

"Hey, why did I have to shave if I was always going to be wearing a veil?" I demanded as I wadded up the fabric and tossed it aside.

"Oh, you didn't. I was just wondering what you'd look like clean shaven." The evil elf flashed me a wicked grin, and I raised my fist to bring it down on top of his head. He caught it easily and shoved me against the wall. Crowding close, Nylian tipped his head toward me so that his nose brushed my cheek. Even after our time trapped on the ship and the running through the winding Ulmenor streets, he still smelled like a walk through the woods after the rain. "And I was right. You're even more handsome now."

What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

All the fire and irritation rushed out of me like air from a balloon. Shameless flirt.

Nylian suddenly released my arm and stepped away. "Caught your breath?" he asked, as if nothing had happened.

"Yes. Let's go."

"Stick close to me, and don't do anything stupid." He held up a finger, his expression turning deathly serious. "No distractions. Follow my lead."

I wrapped my fingers around that extended digit and scowled. "Are you familiar with the layout of the city?"

"Not in the slightest, but every city has its shady parts. We'll keep moving until we find it."

That was not reassuring, but I kept my mouth shut. It wasn't as though I had a better plan.

The sun had fully set when Nylian finally stumbled across a warehouse that appeared as if it hadn't been used in years. The elf assured me there were no security spells protecting the building, allowing us to sneak inside without alerting the rest of the city. We'd been on the run for hours, never stopping for more than twenty minutes. The City Watch was out in force, their cold gray uniforms shining even through the darkness.

Not that Ulmenor had a lot of that.

Magical streetlamps were everywhere, and each of the buildings seemed to twinkle with tiny white fairy lights as if they'd strung up thousands of fireflies. The capital of Galinaes was a beautiful city, but I was sure I wasn't appreciating it properly because I was constantly worried about being caught and killed.

"You know," I panted as I dropped onto an old, dust-covered crate in the center of the warehouse, "I think we should have come up with a plan before we boarded the ferry."

Nylian stood close by, his entire body tense as his gaze searched the deepest shadows. His fingers tightened on the blade hilt in his hand, the silver edge catching and reflecting the light leaking in through the broken dirty windows. "Possibly."

"Really? That's it?"

He shoved the dagger into its sheath and turned to face me. "We had little time to linger in Riverhold. I believe the governor told you to get out of town soon. And you were worried about what rumors were floating up to Gushan from Riverhold."

Okay. He had a point. Living in the body of one of the Edros princes was not helping us to keep a low profile while we were in Edros.

"Sorry. We rushed things because of me. But aside from that, did you have a contact in mind? A haven you could use? An idea of how you were going to sneak into the castle?"

The elf turned toward me, sucked in a breath, opened his mouth, and then said, "No."

"What?" I screeched, only to slap my hand over my mouth for being way too loud. "What do you mean, no?"

His shoulders slumped and head hanging, Nylian shuffled over and dropped onto the crate next to me, his knee knocking into mine. "I hate to admit it, but none of this was technically planned out. Not a second of it. My brain has just recently gotten over the denial that Orian is gone." His voice caught on those last three words, and he swallowed hard. "It's like I blinked, and I'm suddenly exiled and branded a murderer. How…how could my father believe I would…"

I wrapped a hand around the nape of his neck and squeezed. "The people who know you don't believe it. Maybe your father was angry and hurting over the loss of his child. Give him time to come to his senses. Right now, our job is to find out who would plot such a thing."

"That's the one thing that's kept me moving since this happened. I've had a list running in my head of people who could benefit from this chaos." He paused and turned his head to stare at me, his expression growing complicated.

My hand fell away from his neck and returned to my lap. "And you probably thought the gods had dropped a huge clue into your lap when you stumbled across me, only to have all your hopes crushed in Riverhold."

"Well…not all of them."

"Thanks," I muttered.

Nylian bumped his shoulder into mine. "Victor Montcroix was on my original list, and it seemed lucky to suddenly run into him, but I knew something was off the moment you opened your mouth. After Victor, it was always King Beldroth and Queen Sumina of Galinaes and then…my siblings."

"Not the rulers of Lockeheim or Kodra?"

He shook his head. "Kodra has a good trade deal with Wolfrest, one that was negotiated with my father. If someone else were to take his place, it's doubtful that the deal would remain as lucrative for them. There's no benefit to Kodra in creating this chaos."

"And Lockeheim?"

He spread his hands out in front of him, open and empty, appearing helpless. "We haven't had problems with Lockeheim in generations. There has been no tension between our peoples as far as I know. It's possible, but I can't imagine why."

"Doesn't matter. We'll check each and every lead we can until we find the true mastermind behind this plot against you and Orian."

A slow smile grew on Nylian's face, wiping away some of the sadness that had settled in his eyes. "Thank you. Part of me wishes to know why, but I honestly don't care. I'm just glad that you're here. Normally, something like this, it would be my brother at my side. I don't think I could have done this alone. We?—"

Nylian was on his feet in a flash, his sword singing as it flew from its sheath. I was slower, mostly because I couldn't hear whatever had tipped him off that trouble was approaching. But I didn't have to wait long to hear the echo of footsteps drawing closer.

Lots of footsteps.

An entire platoon of footsteps.

"Want to run for it?" I demanded, squeezing the hilt of my sword to the point of hurting my knuckles.

"It's too late. They're already here. Just stay behind me."

Sadly, I didn't have much choice otherwise. We hadn't gotten around to my sword training yet. The best I could do was to look threatening with my blade drawn. Anything else and I was in danger of cutting one of my own limbs off.

As the first of the City Watch rushed into the warehouse, their stone gray uniforms like ghosts floating into the darkness, Nylian rushed forward, his sword flashing. He cut the first two down, but they kept coming faster than he could stop them. My stomach twisted into bigger and bigger knots. I wanted to jump in, to help him, to not be so fucking useless.

In the end, there were too many. The guards flooded into the room, surrounding us with swords drawn. Nylian retreated to my side, his face splattered with blood and his breaths coming in sharp pants. He grabbed my arm, forcing me behind him as he kept his sword lifted, daring them to take a step closer.

"Prince Xeran Elrich, you are under arrest for illegally entering the city of Ulmenor," one guard, who had more medals and shiny gold emblems on his uniform than the others, barked. I guessed that made him the captain or sergeant in charge of this horde.

"What about my companion?" Nylian's fingers tightened on my wrist to the point of pain.

" That will be put to death immediately," the captain sneered. "It's the only way to keep the vermin population under control."

My heart leaped into my throat. "Fuck." Not even a fake trial and the threat of a hefty fine. Going straight to the death sentence. My thoughts briefly drifted to Adeline and Jasper and I hoped they'd done a better job than us of staying hidden, but that wish was blown away as the first elf took a step toward me with a short sword raise to cut my head from my body.

"No! He's my pet!" Nylian shouted, halting everyone in the room.

I'm his fucking what?

So, maybe now was not the best time to argue semantics, but I had never been called that.

"If you touch him, you will be destroying the property of a member of the royal family of Wolfrest," Nylian continued into the stunned silence.

"You're not fooling me. Everyone knows you've been exiled." The captain laughed, though I had to admit that it sounded a touch forced.

"Yes, but that's a situation that can change easily enough. Can you bring him back from the dead as easily as I can be returned to my full status?" The captain swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his slender throat, and Nylian pressed his advantage. "Do you want to be the one to explain to King Beldroth why you plunged Galinaes into a war with Wolfrest over a human? Or would you rather arrest us and allow someone who gets paid more to make that decision?"

The elf hesitated, his face going from deathly pale to a bright pink. Just as sure that I was breathing my last, he slashed his sword through the air and shoved it into its sheath. "Throw them into the dungeon." I could have sworn I heard him mutter, "I'm not paid enough to deal with royalty." But I could have been mistaken.

Either way, that was how I ended up as Nylian's "pet" and locked up in an elf dungeon.