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Authors: Holley Trent
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does.”
“It really doesn’t,” Mother said. “As his mate, you’ll age as he does.”
“I’m not his mate.”
“Nicholas, you’ve been playing coy?” Mother wagged a finger at him. “Obfuscating isn’t like you.”
Nick carried a drink in both hands and downed the first one before sitting next to Gillian. “I wasn’t being coy. I told her we would marry. I believe she thought I was being unduly forward.”
“So you brought her here for me to do your dirty work?”
“You have more finesse with these things, Mother. Speaking plainly gets me in trouble with her more often than not.”
“Gods, Nicholas.” Mother groaned. “All right. Let’s sort it out.” She drummed her long, graceful fingers against the chair arms and clucked her tongue for a few seconds. “I suppose the easiest way to state this is that there is no king here without a queen. Nicholas must marry, but my daughters have made that difficult. Not only does he have to be married to take the throne, but he has to marry someone who’s not impacted by his magic.”
“So, why not just marry an elf?” Gillian asked. “Or a nymph?”
“That would have been too simple, especially given how easy it is for magic folk to marry. And Gillian, you don’t have to like him,” Mother said. “You’d just do it as a favor. Even if you are technically his mate.”
That had certainly shocked the hell out of Nick, but it had been clear from the moment he first saw Gillian. She was The One. She had the glow that told elves whom they’d found—their matches. It’d only taken him seventeen hundred years. But that meant nothing if she didn’t see him as the same.
“I’m sorry, but marriage isn’t a favor,” Gillian said. “People are supposed to love each other, and in the two days I’ve known him, I’ve barely tolerated him.”
He ground his teeth. “I told you she wouldn’t do it, Mother. She’s too modern.”
“Have some faith, Nicholas. She’s obviously a caring person. Our domain is only being threatened by three different factions because we’re without a king. And then there’s Kori and the girls locked down in that tiny suite for days on end. We’ll find another way to secure their safety so they can have a taste of freedom.”
“Oh, that’s low ,” Gillian said with a scoff.
Mother shrugged. “I’ve had to learn to think creatively to solve problems, and I imagine you’ll do the same once you marry him.”
“I don’t see myself agreeing to that. Sorry. No offense, or anything. I mean, your son is hot, even when he’s being all snarly. I’d date him once or twice if it weren’t for the whole I work for him thing, but we’re talking about commitment.”
“We’re talking about a favor,” she said softly. “I wouldn’t ask if there was anyone else.”
“There has to be someone else.”
“Are you volunteering to find her?” Nick asked. “If so, I’ll assign you some guards and give you leave to do so.”
And he’d reject whomever she brought back.
“I don’t even know how I’d go about starting such a search. You’d be the better person to go look.”
“I did. And I didn’t find anyone until I stopped looking.”
“You mean me ?”
“Don’t sound so surprised, pet. You’ve got so many psychics and seers in your family tree that you can’t swing a cat without hitting one, and yet you’re stunned to find yourself in the favor of the elf king.” He looked to his mother. “I don’t understand humans. Do they not know their own history?”
“I would imagine that that those old seers didn’t want their daughters kidnapped any more than our nymphs did. They certainly didn’t go around flaunting them.”
Gillian’s cheeks—red before—had gone nearly as pale as Mother’s.
Nick gave her hand a squeeze, and surprisingly, she didn’t pull away from him. Maybe she was too stunned, or perhaps she was starting to come around.
He wouldn’t hold his breath that it was the
“It really doesn’t,” Mother said. “As his mate, you’ll age as he does.”
“I’m not his mate.”
“Nicholas, you’ve been playing coy?” Mother wagged a finger at him. “Obfuscating isn’t like you.”
Nick carried a drink in both hands and downed the first one before sitting next to Gillian. “I wasn’t being coy. I told her we would marry. I believe she thought I was being unduly forward.”
“So you brought her here for me to do your dirty work?”
“You have more finesse with these things, Mother. Speaking plainly gets me in trouble with her more often than not.”
“Gods, Nicholas.” Mother groaned. “All right. Let’s sort it out.” She drummed her long, graceful fingers against the chair arms and clucked her tongue for a few seconds. “I suppose the easiest way to state this is that there is no king here without a queen. Nicholas must marry, but my daughters have made that difficult. Not only does he have to be married to take the throne, but he has to marry someone who’s not impacted by his magic.”
“So, why not just marry an elf?” Gillian asked. “Or a nymph?”
“That would have been too simple, especially given how easy it is for magic folk to marry. And Gillian, you don’t have to like him,” Mother said. “You’d just do it as a favor. Even if you are technically his mate.”
That had certainly shocked the hell out of Nick, but it had been clear from the moment he first saw Gillian. She was The One. She had the glow that told elves whom they’d found—their matches. It’d only taken him seventeen hundred years. But that meant nothing if she didn’t see him as the same.
“I’m sorry, but marriage isn’t a favor,” Gillian said. “People are supposed to love each other, and in the two days I’ve known him, I’ve barely tolerated him.”
He ground his teeth. “I told you she wouldn’t do it, Mother. She’s too modern.”
“Have some faith, Nicholas. She’s obviously a caring person. Our domain is only being threatened by three different factions because we’re without a king. And then there’s Kori and the girls locked down in that tiny suite for days on end. We’ll find another way to secure their safety so they can have a taste of freedom.”
“Oh, that’s low ,” Gillian said with a scoff.
Mother shrugged. “I’ve had to learn to think creatively to solve problems, and I imagine you’ll do the same once you marry him.”
“I don’t see myself agreeing to that. Sorry. No offense, or anything. I mean, your son is hot, even when he’s being all snarly. I’d date him once or twice if it weren’t for the whole I work for him thing, but we’re talking about commitment.”
“We’re talking about a favor,” she said softly. “I wouldn’t ask if there was anyone else.”
“There has to be someone else.”
“Are you volunteering to find her?” Nick asked. “If so, I’ll assign you some guards and give you leave to do so.”
And he’d reject whomever she brought back.
“I don’t even know how I’d go about starting such a search. You’d be the better person to go look.”
“I did. And I didn’t find anyone until I stopped looking.”
“You mean me ?”
“Don’t sound so surprised, pet. You’ve got so many psychics and seers in your family tree that you can’t swing a cat without hitting one, and yet you’re stunned to find yourself in the favor of the elf king.” He looked to his mother. “I don’t understand humans. Do they not know their own history?”
“I would imagine that that those old seers didn’t want their daughters kidnapped any more than our nymphs did. They certainly didn’t go around flaunting them.”
Gillian’s cheeks—red before—had gone nearly as pale as Mother’s.
Nick gave her hand a squeeze, and surprisingly, she didn’t pull away from him. Maybe she was too stunned, or perhaps she was starting to come around.
He wouldn’t hold his breath that it was the
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