Bound by the Mist (Mists of Eria) (16 page)

She slanted him a sour look. “I’ll try not to take exception to such comments, but it’s hard, especially when phrased that way. We already feel quite conspicuous as it is, so no reminders are needed.” Relian bowed his head in acknowledgment.

“As for your father, is that why he delights in teasing her so?” What Cal really wanted to say was
antagonizing
but didn’t think it wise. “I’m glad the juice didn’t touch him. I would’ve hated for him to become angry at Maggie.” Casting her gaze upon the path’s stones she fiddled with the lace edging one of the gown’s long sleeves.

When he spoke, his voice held an edge of exasperation. “My father is king, but he’s not a monster. He wouldn’t have been happy, but he is just and would have recognized it for the accident it was. To answer your other question, I do believe he likes to tease her.” He paused, hesitating. “Her easily discerned emotions can be quite heady to people of my race.”

Well, at least there appeared to be one less thing to worry about. Her mind blanked at her next thought. What did he mean about emotions being heady? While she wanted to find this out, she wanted to clear up her previous question beyond a doubt. “So Maggie wouldn’t have gotten into trouble?”

“No, not unless she committed the act on purpose. Even then, the punishment would not be too dire, unless she repeated her actions. As it stands, she would’ve come away with nothing more than a mild reprimand and maybe not even that.”

“Oh.” She bit her lower lip. “Your people didn’t seem all that delighted to meet us.” Seeing his eyes darken and his lips parting to form words, she held up her hand. “Don’t get me wrong. Most were perfectly respectful and cordial, well, except for Eamon and a few others.”

Relian’s frown deepened. “His disrespect will be taken care o—”

She cut in. “I’m not worried about that. I just got the impression they weren’t overjoyed by our presence. In fact, I get that feeling from most everybody, even you at times. For the most part, any emotion is kept under wrap, but there’s a disapproval of sorts lurking right below that carefully controlled exterior.” Barreling on without stopping for a pause, fearing the answer and yet wanting the truth, she asked, “How does this all go back to emotions being heady to your kind and your father teasing Maggie?”

“I’m not sure I comprehend all your words, but I believe I understood the meaning well enough.” A perplexed expression played over his face, only to give way to its usual impassiveness.

Had she imagined seeing a glint of worry in his eyes? But the reaction of his people to her and Maggie didn’t seem to overly concern him. And what was this about comprehending her words? She’d been clear enough.

“Our ways are different from yours. While my people may seem more reticent in displaying most outward emotion, especially among strangers or newcomers, never doubt it’s there. Your emotions are a source of fascination because of their very liveliness. As for your other concern, remember you are as foreign to us as we are to you. True acceptance takes time. I don’t think you are delighted to be here, either. You can see this wariness in us as we can see it in you.”

She kicked at a pebble. At best, his clarifications marginally helped to explain what he left unsaid. The mountain of jumbled questions gnawing at her mind threatened to topple. It was a very unsatisfactory feeling. Cal battled the urge to demand the truth out of him. He’d only retreat farther if she did. Even knowing all this, she wanted answers, damn. Her shoulders slumped.

Relian’s hand came to rest on her tense back. “Patience. I think this is something humans haven’t developed overmuch when seeking answers to the unknown.”

His gaze caught hers, drawing her in and making her body rise up in mutiny against her mind. Cal should be frustrated with the stratifying comments he’d made about their races, but her body no longer responded to her dictates. She was dimly aware she nodded her head as her mouth followed this treacherous path. “No, I guess not. We tend to want nice, neat, tidy answers that leave little room for interpretation.”

“Then we are not so different.” He gave her that earlier faint smile, making her heart beat faster, even though she frowned in displeasure for the very same reason.

“We may have the patience to wait a long time for an answer. But when that answer comes, we want it just as clear, neat, and tidy as you do.”

She fought to grasp what he said. Was it his accent, his words, or something else that caused her distortion of hearing? Maybe she wasn’t listening well enough. After all, her brain did feel fuzzy right now.

“—my lady? Cal, are you feeling well?”

“What?” Cal glanced at Relian, missing most of what he’d said. “Oh, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

His face slightly cleared. “You had a most peculiar look on your face. I feared you might be ill.”

What?
“Why would I be ill?”

For once, Relian floundered, seemingly at a complete loss for words. “I...well, I had heard that humans could be sickly.” His concerned gaze roamed her face.

The idea flabbergasted her. She’d viewed Relian as beguiling and imposing but as worried? Where did he get such strange information? Their misconceptions of humans already baffled her, and she’d been there for less than a day. That he would be the type to fret over something as mundane as her health had never occurred to her. No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t mundane to her, but she’d assumed she served as a means to an end—an end she couldn’t guess at.

A frisson spread through her. Might he actually be concerned about her wellbeing for its own sake? Cal hastened to subdue her racing heart by offering him some reassurance. But it had nothing to do with wiping that concerned look from his usually composed face. Totally didn’t. “Some are, that’s true, especially as they get older. As for me, I’ve never suffered from more than a cold or flu. Plus, I’m still young, so I don’t have to worry about age yet.”

Relian murmured something under his breath, something that suspiciously sounded like it contained the words
age
and
problem
. She wasn’t sure of what he said or if she’d misunderstood him. “What?”

He just shrugged. “It’s not important right now. I believe I hear Maggie and Kenhel rejoining us.”

***

In spite of Cal’s pleading glances, Maggie had backed out of the tour when she arrived in the gardens. Kenhel departed shortly after. His duties as commander of the guard called, as did his still wet leggings. Cal didn’t know if this affected Maggie’s decision, but she refused the offer of sightseeing after Kenhel had. She merely sent Cal a knowing smile and said something about being a third wheel. Cal shot her a dirty look. Thankfully, the two elves had seemed oblivious to the modern phrase.

A voice drew her back to the present. “The training grounds are to our right. This is where our warriors practice and hone their skills.” Relian withdrew one hand from behind his back, where he had them neatly folded, and pointed to his right.

She spotted many elves sparring or practicing their archery on the ranges. “The study of weaponry is popular here?” If so, was it out of need, or merely an art form they sought to perfect?

“Sword and bow are two weapons we favor. Alas, while it is a form of art like any other, it is one we take no delight in when it comes to actual warfare. Sadly, we have use for it as the latter.”

“You have wars here?” She itched to slap herself for sounding so stupid, but the thought of there being actual enemies for these elves to fight terrified her. Who would appear more frightening—the elves or their enemies? She shuddered. If what she saw on the green displayed what the average elf warrior could do, she wanted no part of it and could only wish the elves’ foes luck. They would need it. It wasn’t that the elves’ fought with barbarism. The opposite was true. These warriors battled in a ruthlessly intricate dance with absolutely no feeling, no mercy.

“Why do you shudder, my lady? Don’t humans wage war any longer?” he asked softly, leveling steady eyes on her.

She struggled to follow his words. For all they were simple, they left her to flounder in their meaning. “I...of course, we have war. The layperson normally doesn’t see it practiced in person, at least where I’m from,” she finished lamely. Why did he stare so intently?

After watching her for a few more seconds, he swept his gaze back over the training green. “Then you are fortunate. Once viewed, it’s not something one should forget. What you see here is nothing like true war. Never forget that, my lady. This is nothing but a parody.”

Finding herself spellbound by the cadence of his solemn voice, she stumbled over a stone skewed by the roots of a tree. Strong arms banded around her waist, saving her from yet another fall. He made a chiding sound as he gently deposited her back on her feet. “There you go again. I’m always saving you from the ground.”

She couldn’t deny this, no matter how much she wanted to. Her face heated. “How humiliating!” she muttered under her breath, hoping he didn’t hear her.

His sudden laugh told her he had. “Never fear, my dear, you are quite charming to catch.”

Cal raised a hand to her cheek. The skin radiated heat and felt impossibly warm. Please, would the mist appear and swallow her before she made a bigger fool of herself?

“Nay, let’s have none of that.” He gently pulled her hand away and held them lightly between his own. When she tried to tug them from his grasp, his grip tightened but not uncomfortably so. Forcing herself to look from where she’d found an interesting spot on the ground, her eyes met his. Immediately, she wished she hadn’t. While he remained outwardly calm, his gaze stripped her naked with an intenseness that scared yet excited.

He leaned in, his breath fluttering on her lips. His hands slid up underneath the sleeves of her gown and left a trailing wake of sparks. Was there some jacked-up faery dust glowing on her skin? There had to be for her to tingle like she did. Her gaze zeroed in on his mouth, that delicious, firm mouth. Would his lips incite the same sensation as his fingertips? God, she wanted to know.

He blinked, and then as suddenly as it had come, the moment passed. Whatever he’d experienced, he tamped down, and his gaze skimmed over the archery range. Her haze dissipated, and an odd disappointment settled in at the fact she hadn’t gotten her kiss. She should be rejoicing. They weren’t even in a proper place for a make-out session. And while her hormones were ready to roll, she wasn’t.

“Shall we finish our tour?” Before she could offer up a response, he released her hands and placed one on his forearm. He led her away in silence. Their conversation grew stilted as they toured the rest of the grounds before heading to the village.

The town formed a ring that enclosed the palace, with the palace lands serving as a buffer that stretched over a mile deep. The immaculately clean village bustled with activity. A vaguely medieval feel suffused the place, yet that was not the accurate term at all. There wasn’t a precise way to describe it. The houses and shops, made of white or cream-colored wood and stone, shouted out gracefulness. Their smooth lines continued the theme that ran throughout the palace and its grounds. There didn’t appear to be anything ugly in Eria.

When she said as much to Relian, he nodded. “We elves like beauty surrounding us. That would likely be our main vanity, if one could be so assigned to us as a whole.”

Cal’s brow furrowed. “There are worse things to be vain about, I suppose. For such a seemingly perfect race, I’m surprised you would admit to any faults at all.”

“Ah, who says vanity is a fault?” he said seriously, though a teasing light gleamed in his eyes. As if he noticed her face darkening, he laughed but with no true humor. That mysterious light faded from his eyes, leaving her to wonder if it had ever been there. He held his hands out in a placating manner. “Who said we are perfect? I don’t believe any here would claim we are.”

“Oh.” She shook her head. What was up with his changes in mood and demeanor? He could switch with astonishing speed from complete reserve to gently teasing and then back again. She wasn’t used to such behavior from a man—one that seemed to dislike her one moment and more than tolerated her the next. Women’s purported mood swings certainly had nothing on his. Did elvin men suffer from PMS?

Confusion, it appeared, was going to be a normal state for her here. As a straightforward person who considered herself even-tempered, Cal hated the mind-games so popular among her peers. This “what you see is what you get” philosophy had worked for her.

Here, everything seemed so foreign and distant to her, as if she viewed a distorted image through a camera lens she couldn’t bring into focus. The picture would come closer only to retreat, taking any clarity she gained.

So now she walked alone with Relian. Well, not exactly alone. People—elves—surrounded them on all sides. She swam in a sea of elves. Again, as so many times since he had come into her life and dreams, she fought down the manic giggling that wanted to break free from her throat. If she started laughing now, she’d sound demented. They didn’t need another reason to look askance at her. Her humanity seemed to be doing a perfect job of that on its own.

When virtually everyone in the town stopped to stare at her and Relian, any hope of her situation improving slipped away. Their gazes felt accusing, as if she’d no business being there, especially with their beloved prince. Could she blame them? She
was
the lone human in the area, if one discounted Maggie.

How was Maggie faring? Did her friend feel as conspicuous as she did? If Maggie had returned to their rooms, there was the distinct possibility she might be bored. If so, Cal wished she could switch places. Being with a prince was a highly overrated thing.

Chapter 17

“How did it go? Get any smooches?” Maggie asked, her cheeks unusually bright against the backdrop of her chamber.

“Maggie!” Cal narrowed her eyes and shot her friend a look.

“What? Come on, that’s the question burning in everyone’s mind, and you know it.”