Page 31 of The Night Prince 2

So he’ll stay…

“Down there,” Declan suddenly interrupted, the words bursting from his normally steadfastly closed lips, as he pointed down a small, winding street, “is Bookseller’s Row.”

Aquilan’s eyes widened and his lips parted at Declan’s declaration. Vesslan blinked and stared at him as if he’d grown another head.

“Each shop is dedicated to a particular genre. There’s one that has nothing but books about plants in it. Another that specializes in histories, which Finley loves. And a third that’s romance fiction,” he continued as he saw Aquilan’s smile warming with every word.

Aquilan glanced down the winding sunlit lane, and said, “Oh, I must get something for Rhalyf! He loves romances.”

“He does?!” Vesslan sounded strangled. “Perhaps the sex scenes, but–”

“He’s really quite romantic, brother, though he does like a lusty sex scene or two as well,” Aquilan smiled brilliantly. “Let’s go look inside the shops!”

And Aquilan was off with the two of them following in his wake. As the Sun King poked his head into every shop, oohed and aahed over the offerings that the bewildered and amazed shopkeepers showed him, Vesslan and Declan waited in the lane. They did not look at one another. To passersby they likely appeared as if they had never met and were only standing somewhat near one another out of coincidence.

“So,” Vesslan said after long silent moments, “how did you and the king meet exactly?”

“I’m a bartender at the Dawn,” Declan answered, not wanting to reveal to this elf anything more than that.

“A bartender?” Vesslan sounded strangled again. He let out a sigh. “Yes, yes, that explains it. But then again, I suppose, you are a survivor… aren’t you?”

“I am.”

Does he honestly think I’m lying about that? Yes, yes, he does.

“So I suppose Aquilan’s interest in you makes some sense.” Vesslan’s lips writhed back from his teeth.

Some sense?

Declan’s hands curled into fists in his pockets. Though really should he be mad at Vesslan for pointing out what he already knew to be true? Bartender and king were not in the same world.

Bartending is what you DO. Not who you ARE. And I doubt you’ll be doing it for much longer, the voice pointed out. What matters is the greatness within you. Grasp it. Claim it. Become it. Look at this worm of an Aravae and let him see but a glimpse of it.

“You shouldn’t let this connection go to your head,” Vesslan continued as Aquilan talked earnestly with the bookshop owner and poured over various leather bound books, looking for just the perfect one for Rhalyf. “Now that Aquilan has returned from the war, he will have duties and important people to speak with.”

Declan found himself smiling. “Meaning not me?”

“Exactly.” Vesslan pulled down the sleeves of his robes. “I’m not saying this to be cruel, but just to be clear about this situation.”

Show him who you are inside, the voice urged. Let go. Let go of the fear, of the assumptions, of the limitations. Let go of them all.

When I let go with Strofin and his ilk, it’s easy.

Vesslan is no different. You are above them. Beyond them. Believe this, the voice whispered.

I do this not for myself. But for Aquilan. I will not have him bullied.

“Aquilan will decide who he speaks to,” Declan said as he turned to fully face the taller Aravae, feeling that familiar power fill him as it did when someone in the bar got rowdy or spoke ill of humans.

Vesslan’s eyes narrowed in surprise and annoyance that he was pushing back. Immediately, he said, “Yes, well–”

Declan ignored him, “Aquilan will decide who is important to him.”

“You are–”

Once more, Declan spoke over him as if he wasn’t saying anything at all, “And if Aquilan wants me in his life, I will be there. And nothing you say will change that.” He leaned forward and added, “So are we clear?”

Vesslan took a step back. A stumbling step as if he caught sight of something behind Declan’s black sunglasses that surprised him.

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