Page 30 of Veil of Shadows

“Ouch.” He brought a hand to his chest. “Do you always call fae out like this?”

I shrugged and batted my eyelashes. “Just playing along, my lordling.”

His eyes flickered with mischief. “What I would give to take you in my arms right now.” He made a show of stepping closer and pretending to embrace me.

Laughing, I slapped him away.

A loud chuckle reverberated through him, and he dropped his hands. I was about to comment further, but the energy from the back of the vessel soared.

I swirled around, my thoughts racing that something had gone wrong with the ship, but I surveyed the deck, and nothing seemed amiss. But my sweep of the pristine boards and tall mast had me realizing that quite a few crew members and fae from the noble Houses were watching Alec and me. Some cast us knowing smiles, others pressed their lips together before returning their attention to the sea, but that powerful energy I’d initially detected still strummed from the stern even though the ship sailed just fine.

Craning my head, I searched for where the energy came from.

But only Jax and the captain stood in the back. Jax’s midnight hair ruffled in the wind as they slowly made their way along the starboard side. Jax walked stiffly and glanced everywhere the captain waved, but surges of palpable energy rose from him.

With a start, I realized the energy was coming fromJax.

The females continued to trail behind them, but they’d put more distance between themselves and the prince, some even wincing when his potent magic hit them. Phillen and Lars were no exception. They stayed stoic, following as well, but even though both guards rested their hands casually on their sheathed swords, every time Jax’s aura crashed into them, their jaws ground together.

The captain, however, merely grimaced and continued his tour, even when Jax’s aura rose like the growing ocean swells, cresting right over him.

With a tight smile, Captain Mezzerack waved at the mast. “And have you noticed the threading in the sails, my prince? We used steel woven fibers that can hold a thousand stone per inch. Even our air elemental fairy’s power cannot snap those threads.”

“How interesting.” The prince dipped his head. “Tell me, how fast has this vessel been clocked?”

The captain beamed. “At full throttle, she travels at fifty-twobarimums.”

The prince raised his eyebrows. “That’s fast.”

“Indeed, the fastest in the royal fleet.”

Frowning, I gazed up at Alec. “What’s going on with the prince? He’s been acting aloof all morning, and now he’s having power surges. And if I didn’t know better, I would say that he doesn’t even like you from how he’s been behaving, yet you’re supposed to be good friends, right?”

Alec grinned, his smile growing broader with every second that passed. “Why, it’s quite simple, Elowen. He’s jealous.”

My head snapped back. “Jealous? Of what?”

“You and me.”

My eyes felt as though they popped out of my skull. “You and me? What in the realm are you talking about?”

Alec leaned his forearms on the railing, still grinning. “I didn’t believe it when the others told me that they thought the prince had fallen for you, so I decided to find out for myself, and alas, how right they are.”

I could only stare at him. My stomach was doing strange flips over and over, making it impossible to speak.

Alec continued, seeming to take my silence as encouragement to embellish his theory. “I knew the best way to find out if what they were claiming was true was to flirt mercilessly with you. And while the prince knows that I am indeed a shameless flirt, I’ve gone a bit over the top with you. But if he’d actually developed feelings for you, I knew he would react. And if he hadn’t—” He shrugged. “Then he wouldn’t care, but lo and behold, the boys were all right. The prince looks on the verge of losing his mind, which means, I fear our prince is smitten with you, Elowen.”

My flipping stomach didn’t stop, but I somehow managed to get out, “So...you’renotusually this flirtatious?”

He laughed. “I’m definitely a flirt, but no, I’m normally not quite this bad.”

“And the prince typically doesn’t look at you with murder in his gaze?”

“No, actually, this is a first for us, and dare I say, once he admits to how he feels for you, I’ll likely have to come clean and apologize about my dastardly behavior to make him jealous.”

“But, he, I mean, he’s going to...” I gestured to the females trailing behind him. “He’s to marry one of them. How could he have feelings for me?”

“Hmm, indeed. ’Tis most unfortunate, but he’s only to marry because his parents are demanding it. Royal protocol requires him to marry a female of royal birth or noble standing, but that doesn’t mean he can’tenjoyyouuntil then.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

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