Elf Defence (Adventures in Aguillon #2) - Lisa Henry Page 0,1

and blinked. “No.”

“He was nice!” Calarian repeated. Though the duke had been getting on in years, he’d still been in good shape. Well, barrel shaped actually, but that had been a good enough shape for the ladies, when combined with the wicked twinkle in his eye. In fact, Calarian distinctly recalled that the duke had disappeared with one of the giggling maids for a while, only for the young woman to return flushed, smiling and, for some reason, smelling faintly of ginger. “You really don’t remember him from the wedding?”

“I barely remember him from a minute ago.” Benji shrugged. “Anyway, I’m sure we can get another one.”

“What?”

“Get another duke,” Benji said. “There’s bound to be another one around here somewhere.”

Calarian narrowed his eyes. “There isn’t. Klaus didn’t have any heirs. Did you even read the information about Tournel that Quinn gave us before we left?”

“No,” Benji said. “I wouldn’t have come if I’d known there was going to be a test.”

Calarian sighed and looked out at the view. The landscape was strikingly beautiful. Jagged mountain peaks pierced the sky, snow-capped and dazzling. Lower down on the mountainsides, impossibly green grass grew, dotted with wildflowers. Calarian thought he could even see someone dancing across the meadow in the distance. The brisk, invigorating breeze carried the faint sound of distant cowbells.

The small village of Tournel itself, nestled between the mountains, was made up of wooden houses, painted in bright colours, with sharply pitched roofs. Most of the houses were adorned with decorative carvings and mouldings, and reminded Calarian of gingerbread cottages.

The castle seemed a relic from an older age; it was a squarish stone building with a single tall tower which made up part of the town walls. Everything was very picturesque and lovely, apart from the remains of Duke Klaus splattered at the base of the tower.

Calarian sighed again. They were supposed to be getting a report about the mountain troll attacks from Duke Klaus, but whatever information the old man had been keeping in his skull was now unfortunately scattered over quite a largish area of ground. How was Calarian supposed to complete this quest without Duke Klaus? Ask the duke, Quinn had said. He’d been very clear on that. Calarian shot a glare at Benji, and for another moment was tempted to tip him over the edge of the tower too.

Although...

Benji was right about one thing, and not just about how many times he could make Calarian come before his vision went fuzzy. (Five in one night, for the record.) Talk to the duke, Quinn had said, but he hadn’t specified which duke. And surely the fact that Duke Klaus hadn’t nominated an heir meant that the position was wide open.

“What?” Benji asked. “You’re staring at me and you’re thinking. What?”

“We could get another duke,” Calarian said.

“That’s what I said!”

“Yes, but when you say it you’re being ridiculous,” Calarian said. “When I say it, it means I’ve got a plan.”

Benji showed him that wicked grin that Calarian had never quite been able to resist. Though, to be fair, he hadn’t tried very hard. Benji’s wicked grins usually led to a lot of interesting places. Benji paired the grin with a swagger as he closed the distance between them. “Oooh, you’re hot when you’re plotting something.”

Calarian sniffed, and ran his fingers through his luscious chestnut locks. “I’m always hot.”

“Same,” said Benji with a grin.

They fist bumped.

Calarian sobered. “Hotness aside, where exactly are we going to get a duke? We can’t just grab anybody and proclaim them the new duke. I don’t think that’s how it works. The humans like to make these things complicated.”

“Oh,” Benji said. He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not an expert on that because of Houses and Humans?”

“I haven’t bought the Human Heraldry and Peerage Handbook yet,” Calarian admitted. “It’s really expensive.”

“Humans are stupid,” Benji huffed, rolling his eyes. “Are you sure we can’t find a passing idiot? People don’t seem particularly bothered who’s in charge, so long as they look the part.”

Calarian hummed. “Maybe? But how on earth would we choose someone?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Benji said. “You’re clever. And hot,” he added.

Calarian pulled Benji close, grinning, because he’d always been weak for flattery and besides, it seemed a shame to have all that matching hotness right there and not take advantage of it. Benji’s hands roamed over Calarian’s back and he pulled him in tightly, shoving his thigh between Calarian’s legs and grabbing his arse. Calarian snorted. “Only you would want to dry hump over