Bound to the Elvin King

by Lisa Kumar

  Cal gave her a look that said otherwise. “Well, unless you know something I don’t, you’re saddled with him, no matter your frustration with his position. A bond can’t be broken without severe repercussions. Why not try to make the most out of it?”

  Why didn’t Cal just ask for the moon? “Even if I wanted to, I can’t.”

  “Why not? If you don’t allow your past to sway you, what’s holding you back?”

  The question was reasonable, but coming up with a good answer stumped Maggie. She said the first thing that popped into her head. “His ears are pointed!”

  Cal’s eyebrows shot up. “Yes, I know, Maggie. Relian’s are quite pointed, too.”

  “But I can’t be with someone with pointed ears.”

  “Why not?”

  “He’s an elf. And a jackass at that.”

  “Um, why is this a problem?”

  Maggie sputtered. How was that not a problem?

  Cal frowned. “No, I’m not talking about the jackass part. When I had reservations about Relian, him being an elf didn’t faze you much.”

  “That was different.”

  “How?”

  Maggie waved her hands around in the air in frustration. “I don’t know. It just was.”

  “Why, because it was me? You know what? I think you’re scared, no matter what you say.”

  “Ha! Me, no way. It‘s just he’s such an… elf.”

  Cal rolled her eyes. “He is one.”

  “But he’s the head elf, which is worse than any old elf. You have to admit that.”

  “The head elf?” Cal shook her head as if in despair. “How long are you going to freak out over that? And most elves are old. Even mine is.”

  Maggie thought for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, mine has a full-grown son!”

  “That apparently didn’t faze you when you slept with him.”

  “I wasn’t in my right mind.”

  “I don’t think you are in possession of it right now.”

  Maggie glared at Cal. “Way to be supportive.”

  “I’m being perfectly supportive. You just don’t appreciate my efforts.”

  “You’re trying to get me to hook up with Talion.”

  Cal sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re already bonded to him. That’s way more than hooking up. Why can’t you accept that?”

  “Because…because that would be admitting he’s in my life forever, that we’re supposedly “made for each other” or some such bullshit.” And bullshit it was. She’d long outgrown fairytales. How ironic fate chained her to someone right out of one.

  “And is that a bad thing? You and Talion share a certain spark.” Cal shook her head, an expression of amazement on her face. “Looking back, it all makes sense. I’m surprised I didn’t see it sooner.”

  Maggie gazed at Cal warily. “See what?”

  “You two having the hots for each other. Oh, I knew there might be a small attraction, but I never suspected it would turn into this.”

  “Turn into what? A disaster?”

  A huge grin curved Cal’s lips. “No, a romantic love story.”

  Maggie pretended to gag. “What elvish wine have you been breaking into? I don’t love him, and he certainly doesn’t love me.”

  “Come on, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

  Maggie’s heart sped up and pumped anticipation through her. Damn her traitorous body. “Like the lowly human beneath his heels?” she asked in feigned nonchalance.

  Cal slapped Maggie’s foot. “No. Let me see. How did you say Relian looked at me? Something about a starving man wanting to devour only me, even though he’s surrounded by a buffet of beautiful woman.” Cal smirked. “Yeah. That’s it exactly.”

  Talion did seem to desire her that much at times, but…. “If he’s so crazy about me, where is he now? I don’t see him by my bedside. I’ve been awake for some time, and he hasn’t even come to visit me.” Her voice was almost a whine by the time she finished.

  “He’s more than likely tied up with investigating your attack. Someone tried…. No, not tried…someone hurt you, Maggie. Talion has to protect you and the kingdom. That’s a lot of responsibility to shoulder. But if I know my father-in-law at all, he’ll be walking through that door soon.”

  Cal’s forthright words prodded Maggie’s guilt, and she picked at the comforter. He would be handling all the business of the day because his position demanded it. But it was more than that. With a surety that struck her to the core, she knew Talion would work tirelessly to ensure her protection. If this meant putting off seeing her, he’d do so, not because he didn’t care, but because he took her safety that seriously. With the person, or group, behind the attack on the loose, he’d be busier than ever.

  Suddenly, the words going through her mind registered—the person, or people, behind my attack—and the reality of them struck a raw fear into her that had been missing. Someone had hurt her. She shivered, goose bumps popping up on her skin. Who could hate her so badly? Surely, there weren’t any— Yeah, right. Too many elves could be in line for that position because she was human. She was a glaring target, her only weapon a sharp tongue—not much use against violence.

  She was screwed. Except Talion wouldn’t allow her to be so. He would protect her from harm, even while driving her crazy with his touch and personality.

  Her defenses against him were melting like a thinning iceberg, and something that felt curiously like tenderness swept over her. She analyzed the sensation, and it took her quite a few seconds to realize what it was.

  Good God, she cared for him. Shock steamrolled over her. In fact, a steamroller would’ve been gentler. She couldn’t quantify the feeling, but that fact didn’t make it any less real. When had she started to care for the arrogant oaf? She glossed over the word love. That was too much of a stretch. Just liking and caring about a guy seemed perilously close to treason.

  When Maggie glanced up into Cal’s knowing features, she scowled. Admitting her discovery to herself was one thing, but admitting it to Cal was another. The revelation was too new to be shared, even with her best friend. “Fine, you have me there. He’s busy. But it doesn’t mean you’re right about everything else.”

  Cal nodded as if content. “I guess I can’t expect anything more from you right now. So, tell me how you ended up bonded to Talion. He gave us sketchy details at best.”

  Maggie groaned, partly because of the pain lancing through her head but mostly because she hated admitting she’d been drunk when she’d hitched herself to Talion. Cal would never let her live it down.

  With a huff of annoyance and defeat, she poured the story out, barely letting Cal get in a word. Unfortunately, when she reached the end, Cal had free reign to talk—and goad.

  “I knew it,” Cal said while fist pumping the air. “Alcohol would be your downfall. Didn’t I tell you?”

  “Mean nag.” Maggie muttered. “You don’t have to sound so happy about it. What kind of friend delights in her friend’s misery?”

  “Ha! First, I know you’re not truly miserable, and second, I like being right.”

  Maggie grabbed one of the pillows resting beside her and lobed it at her friend, who leaned to the side to avoid the flying projectile.

  Cal grinned. “Your aim sucks.”

  “My head is fuzzy. Blame it on Avrin and his elvin sorcery.”

  “Sure, pin it on him when he’s not here to defend—”

  A forceful knock on the door echoed around the room. Without waiting for a reply, her newest visitor strode in. Talion’s presence filled the whole room. Maggie couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. By the way he watched her unwaveringly, it seemed he had the same problem.

  Wherever his visual inspection landed, heat caressed her. His gaze striped away the layers and saw directly into her heart and soul. She was sure of it. A sensation of nakedness consumed her, and a horrible thought struck her. Could he sense her newfound feelings for him? She shivered, not feeling warm any
longer. Each second that passed, her vulnerability became worse. Still, she was powerless to look away.

  Cal stood and broke the trance. “Speak of the devil. See, I told you.” She patted Maggie’s leg. “Just think about what I said, though.”

  Maggie nodded. She could’ve kissed her friend when Cal broke the spell that had held Maggie captive. Now, Maggie wanted to demand that Cal stay, but knew it would only delay the inevitable by minutes, if that.

  Cal walked by Talion and paused before him as if to say goodbye. He leaned down and kissed her cheek and said, “I hope that wasn’t an unflattering reference to me, dearest daughter.”

  Cal smiled impishly. “You’ll have to ask Maggie.”

  Chapter 14

  Maggie smothered a groan and glared at Cal’s back. What a way to throw her into the lion’s den. Even if he didn’t guess at her feelings, it didn’t mean she was ready for him. She was off-kilter and unsure of herself, of what she wanted. But since she was injured, maybe Talion would take it easy on her. Her body still ached, and the idea of their verbal word games only served to intensify the pain in her head.

  Before the door shut completely, Talion was seated on the bed, facing her, his strong hands warm on her shoulders. “You gave everyone quite the scare.”

  His words slammed into her like a brick, and she pulled away from his hold. No personal reference to his worry? Only a generic blanket one that probably included everyone in the palace? Hell, maybe everyone in Eriannon. She’d be damned if she would harbor feelings for him, while he carried none for her. “Sorry to worry everyone. I didn’t know so many people cared. I’ll do my best to warn these complete strangers about any future attacks I know nothing about.”

  He shook his head as if dealing with a young child. “You’re being difficult.”

  Was she? “I don’t need “everyone” caring about me. I have Cal and my friends.”

  A sigh whooshed from him, and he suddenly looked more tired than she’d ever seen him. “You don’t include me in that group?”

  She batted away her concern for him. “You didn’t include yourself, so why would I?”

  “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie.” He sighed. “Of course, I’m in that group. You’re my bond mate. Nothing is more important to me than your safety and health.”

  His words swept over her like a soothing balm, her throat clogging up with tears she couldn’t allow to fall. She needed to get control of herself. Damn, it wasn’t like he declared his undying love. There was no reason for her to be acting so sappy. Maybe her injuries were making her more sensitive than usual. Or maybe the blame lay with the medicines Avrin had poured into her. Yeah, that sounded about right.

  She cleared the clog in her throat by coughing a few times. The movement pulled on the cuts sprinkled across her face, but the pain barely registered. “Then why didn’t you just say so?”

  He shifted, an expression of discomfiture flitting across his face. “I have been alone too long and am not used to expressing my emotions.”

  “But all your lovers….”

  “I treated them kindly but nothing more. They didn’t speak to my soul the way you do.”

  Maggie could only gaze at him, the sincerity in his eyes astounding her. A double-whammy to her heart. Did he realize what he was doing to her? Probably not. She didn’t know exactly what he was doing to her. All she knew was that her tongue refused to work, and her heart felt three times too large for her chest. Words flashed into her mind, only to be discarded as meaningless. Nothing she could say would adequately pay homage to his words. Unless…unless she came clean about her feelings.

  Fear battered its way in. Cal had been right. She was scared. Scared of feeling anything for Talion and even more frightened to admit it to him. When had she become such a coward? But she knew the answer. Though she’d always prided herself as being strong and independent, underneath it all she was a big scaredy-cat—and even worse, a fake.

  No matter how she hated those attributes, she wasn’t sure she could change. To do so would require her to step into the unknown, to bare more of herself than her caution had ever allowed. How could she toss all that to the wind for a man…a wonderfully handsome elvin king who could make her blood simmer in so many different ways? But with this thought and all that was at stake, how could she not risk all? Indecision ripped her in half until an idea planted itself and stopped the rending sensation consuming her. A compromise. Talion had revealed a little bit of his hand, but not by any means all, so why couldn’t she do the same? Yeah, she could live with that.

  “Wow, I don’t know what to say to that other than I’m not totally unfazed by you, either.” God, she sounded so emotionally gauche.

  His mouth opened like he was going to say something, but he appeared to think better of it. “I’m glad you’re not, as you say, unfazed by me. That gives me hope we can have a future together based on contentment and even affection.”

  She felt her heart thump and knock down another barrier. “Affection?”

  His lips quirked. “Yes, affection. Would that be so bad? While I love our verbal spars, I also desire more…tender moments.”

  “You mean like couple stuff? Holding hands, taking walks, relaxing together?”

  “As shocking as it may seem, yes, I mean precisely that sort of ‘stuff.’”

  This was proving easier than expected, yet still felt impossibly hard. And awkward. She and Talion a real couple—a beautiful, terrifying thought. To be truthful, she was sick of always being his adversary. “I guess we could try some of those activities and see how they go.”

  “Good.” He took her hand in his, and the jolt of his touch zoomed all the way to her toes. The radiance of his smile creased the area around his eyes in laugh lines. But they also drew attention to something she’d missed in her self-absorption—a tiredness that spoke of long, stressful hours of ruling a kingdom. She often took for granted his strength and charisma, and forgot that underneath it all, he was fallible. He wasn’t always the all-knowing, powerful elvin king that he seemed to the world—and her.

  “You look tired.”

  He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair, ruffling the immaculately neat strands. “I had a long night. The investigation into your attack hasn’t revealed anything new, but there was still much to be done.”

  Her hand tightened on his in sympathy even as her mind filed away the tidbit of information about her attack. She wished she could help, offer him some kind of ease, but she knew nothing of politics and even less of the Erian kind. Though if she were queen, she’d have to learn. She pushed that troubling thought aside to worry about later.

  This moment wasn’t about her selfish butt—it was about him. “I’m sorry last night’s incident increased your workload. It’s just another thing you have to worry about and handle.” She paused, not wanting to sound too mushy, and even though she settled on some pretty safe words, they still rubbed her throat like sandpaper. “I feel like…I should do something to help.” She almost rolled her eyes. How lame could she be?

  He sent her a look of appreciation but shook his head. “You don’t have to do anything.” His eyes widened and then narrowed as if he were deep in thought. “Well, there is one thing.”

  “What is it?” With no clue as to what to expect, she held her breath in anticipation.

  “You need guards posted near you.”

  She frowned. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but she shouldn’t be surprised given the circumstances. Still, it didn’t mean she’d agree to it. “No.”

  His eyebrows drew together in a thunderous expression. “No?” he asked softly.

  “If you assign me guards, people will surely suspect there’s more to our relationship than animosity.”

  Puzzlement furrowed his forehead. “I thought we were going to act like a couple would.”

  Whoa, was he saying what she thought he was? He wanted everybody to know about them? Now? It sure sounded like it. “Well, yes, but I thought we would do all o
ur couple stuff in private. I never said I was ready for everyone to know. All the important people know. Isn’t that enough for now?”

  “All those close to us know. But I’d hesitate to call them the only important people. I think the whole kingdom qualifies as that, and, based on the attack, it seems someone else may also know.”

  She flushed at the chide in his voice. “You know what I mean.”

  “I simply don’t see why we can’t tell everyone. We wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore, and, more importantly, you would have my full protection.”

  “I’m not ready.” She’d only discovered her feelings for him, and she didn’t even know what those emotions encompassed. Once the populace knew, she’d be under intense scrutiny. How would she figure anything out, then? No, she needed time to come to terms with her about-face concerning Talion and relationships. “All I’m asking for is the time promised to me.”

  “Even if I grant that, there’s still no compromise on the guards.”

  Damn his stubborn hide. “Are they going to watch me while I sleep?” she taunted. Yep, there went their warm and fuzzy moment right out the window.

  “Of course not. That’s my responsibility.”

  She could’ve made some kind of crack about that being creepy and stalkerish, but she refrained. Instead, she settled for, “Wow, you take your job seriously, not to mention you must love a lack of total sleep.”

  He turned a mighty frown on her. “Mock me as you may. My stipulations concerning the guards are not negotiable. Also, if you’ll be leaving the palace grounds at any time, you or one of your guards must tell me.”

  She shot forward in bed, shouting “What!” before freezing. Her brain felt like it expanded to ten times its normal size, and throbbed with every heartbeat. She pressed a hand against the ache. “Ugh, can we not argue about this right now? Though trust me, I’ll have a few choice words for you later.”

  His hand replaced hers and kneaded the area. As dissipating tension released the band constricting about her head, she moaned. “Ohhh, you have magic hands.”