“And after that?”
“We’ll eat.”
“And after that?” she insisted.
“I’ll show you around the palace if you like and introduce you to everyone.”
“Then what?”
“I suppose then I’ll introduce you to Princess Eve. She is married to my brother, Kyran, and is from Earth as well. She has been instrumental in teaching us about your culture and has expanded our knowledge of your language.”
None of these were the answer she was seeking. She wanted to know what would happen tomorrow, and the next day, next week. And ultimately when she could go home. “And, after these meet-and-greets, what happens?”
He made a small noise and rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know. I don’t plan my schedule in such detail. Prince Ivar’s family will require delicate handling, and I’m sure I’ll have to speak to the council of elders as some point.”
“Lord Montague?” Sadie wrinkled her nose. She imagined she could still feel his grip on her arm. “Good luck. That one’s a real peach.”
“Don’t take anything that man says personally. He never married, and I’m convinced the loneliness has made him surly.” Finn bumped his hip into a small outcropping of rock. “Ow. Careful.”
Sadie adjusted the torchlight and stepped around the protrusion.
“Lord Montague has not liked me since I was a child. He thinks I’m frivolous with my time and…” Finn sighed. “I should not be saying this.”
“And?” Sadie prompted, wanting to hear the rest.
Finn stopped walking and turned toward her. The firelight outlined his features, caressing his cheek and neck, bordering his lips and casting shadows under his chin. Finn took the torch and jammed the handle into a crack in the rock.
When he resumed his place before her, the distorted light struck in such a way that his mouth was perfectly illuminated, drawing her focus to his lips.
“What do you wish to know?” he asked.
It took her a moment to register his words. “What were you going to say? Why doesn’t Montague like you?”
“I’m not sure he likes anyone,” Finn admitted. “When I was a boy, my brother and I, we were sent to this encampment near Crystal Lake. Lord Montague was put in charge, a task he did not appreciate since he does not have a fondness for children. To be fair, children do not have a fondness for him either.” Finn paused and tilted his head. She watched his alluring lips lift into a smile. “Anyway, I convinced several of the others to sneak away for a night swim. We were trying to grab crystals on the bottom of the lake. I was the first in and the last out.”
“He holds a grudge because you broke curfew and went for a swim when you were a boy?” Sadie arched a brow. “That hardly seems reasonable.”
“I wasn’t exactly breathing when I came out,” Finn said. “I hit my head on a rock. A couple of the other boys pulled me from the water, and a guard revived me. I did manage to get the only crystal that night. It made me a hero to the other boys. However, word spread and Montague was humiliated that a dragon prince almost died on his watch. It didn’t help that I told the story to anyone who would listen and started wearing the crystal around my neck. I thought it was… I’m not sure of the right word, but very worthy of bragging about. Montague probably thought I was purposefully taunting him with it. Maybe I was. He has often scolded me for not taking my royal position seriously, or him, for that mattress.”
“I think you mean matter,” Sadie said. “His position for that matter. Mattress is what you sleep on. For that matter is an expression.”
“Is it not a bed on which one sleeps?”
“A mattress is part of a bed.” Sadie felt her breathing deepen. It sounded overly loud in the tunnels.
“For that madder?” Finn shook his head. “I think you are wrong. I do not think anger comes to play in this. He is ill-tempered, but I do not think he has rage.”
“If I had to guess, I’d say he was a narcissist who is used to being in power. I’ve come across a few like him in my time,” Sadie said, thinking of some of the people her father had worked with over the years.
“I don’t know what a narcissist is, but I do know he likes his position in the council of elders.” Finn lifted a hand to touch her cheek. “Have I answered your question? I do not wish to speak about Lord Montague, and I doubt you wish to either.”
“Oh?” Sadie didn’t want the caress to stop. She gravitated closer to him.
“Why haven’t you asked me about our marriage? I would think you’d have questions.”
When she looked at him, she didn’t feel fear. She felt safe. That didn’t mean she accepted what he said at face value. “Because I never agreed to be married. It’s not recognized on my,” she stuttered a little before managing, “my pl-planet. It won’t affect my taxes. I’m not dating, so it doesn’t have an impact on any current relationship status. And, frankly, I have bigger concerns.”
“But finding people to share in your life is what living is all about—family, friends, a wife.” The caress over her cheek was soft enough to cause shivers. “Otherwise, why do we do anything? What bigger concern can there be than finding your mate?”
His romantic notion was sweet, but life wasn’t just about sweet. “For one, I’m on an alien planet. Two, I have no way of meeting my work deadlines if I’m here. If I don’t work, I don’t eat. Literally. Three, I lost my phone and have no way of calling my mother. Four, I—”
Warm lips found hers cutting off her words. The intimacy took her by surprise. She gasped, standing wide-eyed and rigid as his lips moved against hers. Finn’s tongue brushed her mouth but did not seek entrance. Every thought and worry seemed to melt away, not holding meaning in this dark tunnel filled with firelight.
First meets are easy.
Sadie trusted her instincts and was not scared of the attraction she felt. Her lips began to move, mimicking his kiss before searching for more. She gave a light moan and leaned into him. It was his turn to act surprised. His body tensed as her hands moved up his chest to land on his shoulders.
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you a choice,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Ivar is the one who shoved me through the portal. I don’t blame you for that. I’m the one who interfered with your fight,” she answered. The evidence of his attraction was all too apparent as it pressed against her stomach. When she tried to resume the kiss, he gently pushed her back. Sadie blinked in confusion, glancing down the tunnel to see what would cause him to stop. There was nothing but darkness beyond the torchlight.
Finn took the torch from the wall and again walked before her. “The stairs are close. Come. We can discuss more later.”
“Ah, ok?” Sadie touched her lips. What just happened? She’d been ready to take their kiss a step further, and the man stopped her? Sure, the tunnels weren’t the most romantic of places, but she didn’t see why that would stop him.
8
Finn remembered little about the walk from the tunnels to his bed. Being aroused by Sadie’s mere closeness and drowsiness from his head injury combined to play havoc on his barely lucid mind. When the blood had rushed downward from one affliction to the other, the effect was both dizzying and delightful at the same time. Too bad, he’d been so dizzy that he’d been unable to act on his desire for her.
He had vague recollections. At the time, he’d believed that he’d been able to play the part of competent tour guide. But now, lying alone in his bed, he was beginning to doubt his belief, in fact, he suspected that he might’ve been laughable, even cringe-worthy.
The large dragon banner hung within his view. He knew it was there but had seen the royal insignia so many times his mind ignored it. Finn took the old decoration and what it meant for granted.
The prince’s large bed dominated the raised platform. It was as if the carpenter had decided his bed was to be a throne in his room. Everything around him was meant as a reminder of who he was and what was expected—not only to others but
to himself. Such was the pressure of prince-hood to be perfect. Though, such reminders probably only served to encourage his rebellious behavior.
The idea of taking stairs to bed seemed unnatural to Finn. There had been many a drunken night where he’d stumbled on his way up. One should fall into a bed and not have to climb stairs to get in.
Finn rolled onto his back, using the movement to test his head. The pain had subsided enough that he could concentrate. Feeling heat, he noticed the fireplace had been lit. The wooden box he kept on the mantel was out of place. With a frown, he rolled over the side, bypassing the stairs as his feet landed on the floor. Crossing the room, he went to open the box. Treasure from childhood filled the inside—a rock roughly shaped like a dragon, the crystal he’d pulled from the bottom of the lake, a piece of round metal imprinted with the Medical Alliance for Planetary Health insignia that he’d received from a visiting dignitary, and other random bits and pieces. He pushed his finger through the memorabilia of his life thus far. The feel of cold steel and earthy rock reminded Finn of who he was and his responsibility to his people. All the trinkets appeared accounted for.
“I hope you don’t mind that I lit the fire.” Sadie’s voice had a certain quality to it, a sincerity that was hard to fake.
Sadie reminded Finn of how he was going to save his people from extinction.
Finn flipped the lid of the treasure box shut. It made a thud, ending his solitary time inside his head, a dangerous pastime in which he could waste hours indulging in hypothetical notions that had little or no consequence on his or his people’s future. A smile came to him as he turned to her.
Sadie lay on the couch, out of sight from where he could see from his bed.
“The palace doctor said the medicine he gave you might make you feel a little drowsy,” Sadie continued, sitting up. Messy waves of her hair tousled around her shoulders, framing her delicate and refined features. “You’ve been asleep for a very long time.”
Finn stared at her, blinking slowly, as he struggled to form words. Maybe he wasn’t as coherent as he first thought. He had a feeling that there was a long list of things he should attend to, but he couldn’t remember a single one.
“Sit.” She patted the couch.
Finn obeyed. He leaned his head back, letting his eyes roam. They followed the long pull string up to the high vaulted ceiling. The string could draw curtains open and closed on the overhead dome window. By the soft light leaking through a crack in the material, he guessed it was late evening or early morning.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked.
Her gentle fingers moved along his hairline. Closing his eyes, Finn focused his thoughts. “I apologize for not being a better host.”
The fingers stopped. “A better host? You were badly injured.”
“It’s just a bump,” he denied. “I’ll be fine.”
Sadie cupped his cheek, turning his face so he looked at her.
The soft light created a perfect silhouette of her, adding a softness to the moment that mesmerized him.
“You don’t remember what happened, do you? We came up the stairs from the tunnels, and you started wobbling and making strange noises. I couldn’t understand what you were saying the entire time. I had to practically drag you to the top. The two guards at the entrance carried you here and sent for a medic. You were knocked around pretty hard by that Ivar character, and my landing on you after coming through the portal didn’t help. You kept insisting that Ivar was lost, and it was your fault he didn’t… something.”
“Didn’t make it back,” Finn concluded. “Who heard me?”
“Everyone. The guards. The medic. Your parents.” Sadie drew her hand away from him and tucked it behind her head as she turned on the couch to study him. Her knee lifted onto the cushioned seat. “Your parents quickly ushered everyone out of here and then posted guards outside the door. The medic came a few times with the queen, and they brought some kind of fruit and a tray with blue bread and meat, but other than that…”
“I am glad they fed you,” Finn said. “Did you enjoy the meal?”
“Meals,” Sadie corrected.
Finn glanced up at the ceiling as if the shade of light coming through the window would reveal to him the day. It didn’t. “How many meals?”
“Finn, you’ve been out of it for at least two days,” Sadie declared. “I can’t be sure because apparently, this planet is like towns in places like Northern Alaska and Antarctica that have twenty-four hours of endless daylight. There are guards on the door. I tried to leave once, and they stopped me. We’re being held prisoner in here.”
“Prisoner?” Finn shook his head in denial. “I’m sure that is not true. The guards were probably trying to look after you, and you misunderstood. Not all have mastered the Earth language. There is no reason why you would be held in anything but the highest esteem by my people.”
“I assume you mean English when you say that? Earth has many languages.” Sadie wore a plain dress that did not indicate any part of her new station in life. He was a little ashamed of that fact, considering she was his wife and should be given finer things to reflect the responsibilities he was asking her to take on.
“Yes. We have seen this for ourselves. English comes the most natural for us because of our ancestor’s time on Earth. The Var do well with your Nordic dialects. Something about their cat voices that make the sound more easily than we do.”
“Ancestors?” Sadie prompted. Her eyes lit up, and if she’d been sitting alone in the room, watching him sleep for days, he could well imagine she was starved for conversation. He’d never gone days without talking to someone.
“The Draig and Var ancestors came from Earth many years ago through the portals. We have reopened those portals to travel back to our native homeland.”
“Wait, so you’re not aliens so much as displaced Earthlings?” Sadie sat up straighter, clearly wanting to know more. “Did the government know? Is this an Area 51 type thing?”
“I have heard Roswell and Mogul speak of that place,” Finn answered. “They come as visiting dignitaries who represent the Medical Alliance for Planetary Health. They travel by ship, not portal. When I was a boy, they gave me trinkets from the different universes.”
“And what do these aliens look like?” Sadie gave him a skeptical smile.
“They’re about this tall.” He held his hand about four feet from the floor. “With heads about twice the size of yours. Large, shiny eyes, and tiny holes for a nose. Humanoid shaped bodies, but with longer limbs. Oh, and gray skin. The first time I saw them, I thought they were naked, but they were just wearing these skintight gray jumpsuits. And they talked like this—click, click-click-click, click-er-click.”
Sadie threw back her head and laughed. “Good one. You had me going there for a moment. Little gray men. Next, you’ll tell me they like to anal probe.”
“No. I believe quite the opposite. Prince Rafe, Ivar’s brother, told me they stopped going to Earth because humans kept trying to get them to do it.”
Sadie laughed harder. “I can see why Lord Monty doesn’t think you take things seriously.”
“Monty?”
“Montague,” she corrected. “Good ole stodgy Monty.”
Finn grinned. He doubted Lord Montague would enjoy the nickname. He needed to remember to use it a few times until it became the nobleman’s moniker with the people.
“So, why did your people leave Earth to begin with?” Sadie queried. “Oh, wait, are you hungry? I can go beg the prison guards for a crust of bread.”
“Why would you go to the dungeons to…” Finn paused. “Oh, you mean the guards at my door.” The prince pushed up, feeling as if his strength and focus was somewhat returning to him.
Feeling better by the second, he went over to the door and opened it as if it were a test of his recovery.
A guard appeared, and he Finn conversed in their language until the prince remembered his new bride. “Food for my wife and me,” he said
proudly before closing the door and turning around to face Sadie seated on the couch.
It was like a veil had been lifted as he eyed his prize across the room. Rejoining her on the sofa, he sat close to her. Naturally, he was drawn to her. He felt that it was his mission to make her smile and laugh again. “Monty was one of the elders that came here from Earth as a child. There aren’t many of them left, but the way the men tell the story, human culture began to change and form new religions. Before, shifters and dragons, and all manner of magical creatures, lived together in harmony. After these new beliefs had taken hold, humans attacked non-humans. They came in the night with their swords and fire. They claimed we made a pact with some man named Demon though there is no record of this man in our royal library. Our people escaped and caved in the rocks around the portal to keep anyone from going back, and to keep humans from finding their way here.”
Sadie’s expression fell. “Swords and fire? When you say this happened a few years ago, you mean… the Medieval period? Exactly how hold is Monty?”
“I don’t know exactly. At least not in Earth calculations. Your human standards of measurements are not my strong point. Maybe two or three hundred years.” Finn let his hand move a little closer to her leg. He remembered a hazy kiss in the tunnels and was confident she’d been returning his embrace before dizziness took hold of him. His fingers tingled as if being pulled closer to her. He tried to resist, reminding himself that she had not come through the portal willingly and that he had not asked her properly to marry him.
“If humans were so bad to you, why did you come back?” she asked.
At that question, he leaned back and pulled his hand away.
“Did I say something wrong?” Surprised, the pitch of her voice rose.
“No. But that is a very serious question and requires a very serious answer.” Finn took a deep breath. “My people are dying. Not today, not tomorrow, but within a generation. We opened the portals in an attempt to stop it.”
Sadie drew her arms close and retracted a little on the couch. She looked at him as if she hoped there was a punchline to the joke she had yet to hear. But there was nothing funny about his people’s situation.
Mischievous Prince Page 6
