Page 129 of The Silent Mountain
“Your mate allowed me into the castle.”
“And did he also allow you into the bedroom?” I ask blandly, very much aware that Favian would have never let anyone come into our most private chambers.
“Did he?” The man taps his finger against his lips and smirks. “Or didn’t he? The young Dragon King is very alluring too. Such a lovely trip for me to make.”
I sit down at the edge of my bed, too speechless to remain upset. Instead, I keep glaring at my visitor. “I didn’t catch your name,” I finally say.
He just chuckles in an unnerving way. “Oh, I didn’t tell you.” He cocks his head to look me over again. “The Warrior Princess with the fiery hair,” he muses. “I have heard about you. The dragons love you, and you melted the frozen heart of their king. Intriguing indeed.”
“You make it sound like I did something special,” I say shortly, finally deciding I have had enough of this talk. I leave the Fae visitor for a moment to walk into the bathroom and change into more proper clothes to greet a guest.
By now, it has pretty much dawned on me that this, for sure, is not a simple Fae who is visiting us. Shayan reached out to him, and Favian let him inside the castle easily. I decide to take a wild guess when I step into my room again. “Lord Ellanher?” I ask.
He raises his eyebrows. “My,” he smirks. “You are sharper than I thought you would be.”
“I am not sure I can see this as a compliment.”
“Hm,” he hums. “You are the Warrior Princess with good instincts, with a sense for the unknown and mythical beings. Such a pity you are mated.”
I sit down at the edge of the bed again. “Why are you really here, Lord Ellanher? The king of the Fae is not visiting without a reason.”
He reaches out his hand. “May I?” he asks, gesturing towards my arm.
I have stopped feeling awkward with how my arm looks, but I would lie if I said it doesn’t make me feel flustered when someone pays it too much attention. Only Favian can touch it and look at it without making me feel uncomfortable.
Lord Ellanher doesn’t seem disgusted, though. Instead, he looks intrigued while he inspects my arm. “To cut your own hand off… that’s nerves of steel. For us Fae, that’s fascinating to say the least. A long time ago, I helped General Shayan with his arm by offering him a prosthesis only we Fae can make, because I owed his king a favor and because the man himself was interesting enough.”
“And why would you help me?”
“Hm, maybe I just want to help the queen of the dragons,” he says, putting one leg on his other again, and smiling at me. There is a glint in his eyes that alerts me instantly.
“Somehow I doubt that.”
“I told you I found you intriguing.”
“That might be true, but is it all?”
Lord Ellanher looks at me, the playful expression making way for a serious one. “Then how about: I want to be on good terms with your family.”
“And why is that?”
“Let that be my secret,” he says. “I told you enough, didn’t I? So, Queen Alana of the Silent Mountain, do you accept my help?”
*FAVIAN*
Each day seems to be busier than the one before, but it’s so much more fulfilling than my life before I met Alana. The days are calm and sunny, and maybe it’s the calm before a storm, but for now, I will take whatever I can get.
Like fire against the snow, I can see Alana’s hair blow in the wind. She is handling the horses, eager to do it on her own. Since the Fae lord gifted her a prosthesis, she has trained hard to get used to it. She claims it’s not the same as before; she doesn’t have her full mobility, not like it was when she had her own hand, but the prosthesis gives her better balance and strength, though it’s not a complete replacement.
Alana is strong, however, much stronger than anyone else I have ever met. Each day, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be mated to her, to have her in my life.
“Favian?” I turn around to look at my brother.
“Elio, did you finish your studies?”
“For today at least,” he says. He has matured so much over the last couple of months.
“I am proud of you for how seriously you take your education,” I say.
