The Priestess and the Thief Kindred Tales 30 - Evangeline Anderson Page 0,76

not serve as my Bride of the Night. There are other ways to honor those who deserve it, you know.”

“I’m sure there are, Your Majesty,” Elli said quickly, stepping out from behind Roke. “Forgive my, er, Heart’s Companion—he’s just very protective, that’s all.”

“Yes…” The Crown Prince looked at Roke speculatively. “So I’ve noticed. Well…” He clapped his hands together a third time. “Shall we go? Supper awaits and I find myself with a healthy appetite.” This time it was Elli his pale, bulging eyes ran over, which made her want to step behind Roke again.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Roke said stiffly. He hooked his arm through Elli’s before the Prince could offer his own and nodded. “We would be honored to go with you to Supper.”

“Very good then.” The Prince gave them a slightly sour smile and then preceded them out of the inner sanctum.

As they left, Elli cast one last glance at the towering crystal tree and its glittering rainbow branches. Hopefully by this time tomorrow she would have a tiny piece of it in her possession and then she could go back to the Mother Ship and…

And what? whispered a little voice in her head. And go back to a life you don’t really like, let alone love? Go back to the dull existence of a priestess and never see Roke or ever train a single zorel again?

None of that matters, Elli told herself firmly. All that matters is getting a piece of the Lattice and healing the old Priestess Superior. I’ll worry about everything else after I accomplish that.

But she couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness that her quest—and her time with Roke—was almost over.

Thirty-Seven

“Well, you handled that situation well,” Roke remarked as they got settled in a lounge in the cavernous Supper room. “In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if you might not be a Royal Entrancer as well as a Zorel Entrancer.”

“Hush!” Elli murmured. “I just told him what he wanted to hear—that’s all. It doesn’t take any special skill—after living with a father and four brothers all my life, I know how to deal with males, that’s all.”

“He’s not just any male—he’s a fatuous idiot,” Roke growled, glaring up at the Crown Prince, who was getting settled on the golden dais in the center of the Supper room with the noblewoman he had chosen as his “Bride of the Night.”

“Roke!” Elli hissed uneasily. “Keep it down, will you?”

But the big warrior was clearly incensed.

“I can’t believe he has the nerve to ask you to lead Demon in the parade tomorrow and pretend he’s conferring some great honor on you when he’s actually just scared shitless to ride without you near!” he muttered.

“Hush!” Elli begged him. “Please, Roke!”

“We ought to leave tonight,” he went on. “Let him see if he can handle Demon on his own without your help. He’ll probably end up as crispy as that groom we saw fried our second day here!”

“I can’t leave until I get that Lattice,” Elli hissed back at him. “And until I’m sure that Demon is safe from the Crown Prince.”

Roke snorted and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Don’t you have that backwards? Isn’t it His Majesty who’s in danger from Demon?”

“When he’s riding Demon, yes of course,” Elli said impatiently. “But you know how petulant he can be! If he has a less than stellar performance in the Grand Parade tomorrow, he’ll have Demon put to death and I couldn’t bear that!” She looked at Roke seriously. “So you see, I have to stay and see this through. Not just for the Healing Lattice—although that’s why I came in the first place. But to make sure that Demon is safely put out to stud. It would just kill me if something happened to him now!”

Roke looked at her speculatively.

“You really care for Demon, don’t you?”

“I’m his person,” Elli said simply. “I can’t abandon him—I need to know he’s safe and taken care of before we go.”

“Of course you do.” Roke sighed and nodded. He cupped her cheek. “My loyal little priestess. Once you give your heart, you can’t take it back, can you?”

The look he was giving her was so searching and serious that Elli felt her heart start to pound and she had to drop her eyes.

“I…I guess not,” she whispered. “But, Roke, I—”

“And now, tonight, I have a special treat for you all.” The Crown Prince’s voice rang out, interrupting her.

Elli looked up quickly to the raised dais and its golden lounge. Roke looked up