Tempted by a Rogue Prince

by Felicity Heaton

  She shuffled closer to him, wincing as her ribs protested, and caressed his cheek, studying his face. The wounds on it looked better already, the surrounding skin no longer angry red. She dropped her hand to his bandaged chest and focused there, calling on her magic.

  “Olivia told you to rest.” His deep gravelly voice shattering the silence tore a gasp from her and her heart leaped into her throat.

  She didn’t withdraw her hand. There was little point. He had caught her fair and square and she wasn’t going to deny that she had intended to use more of her power to heal him.

  She stroked her fingers over the bandages, her gaze following them.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, feeling ridiculously awkward. “For… you know… saving my life.”

  He sighed, the sound laced with the fatigue she could sense in their link. “I could have spared you so much pain and suffering had I known as much about bonds as Loren does. I could have healed you right away.”

  She frowned. “You did heal me once, but you were far away from me at the time… in that place you go when the darkness is too strong. You probably don’t remember it. I’m glad you didn’t heal me this time though.”

  She felt his eyes shift to her face and looked up at him, her heart aching from the thoughts spinning through her mind.

  “You might have died without Loren and Olivia’s help.”

  He gave a small nod and tightened his grip on her hand, lifted his other hand and placed it over hers on his chest.

  “Rosalind,” he whispered, the husky quality of his voice sending a shiver through her and heating her to her core, gaining her full attention. “What did you mean in the glade when you said you had known it was coming and you couldn’t have forever with me?”

  Her eyes darted away, back to his chest, and she tried to ignore the fierce ache in her heart and the fear that rose within her, threatening to ruin this quiet moment with him. A moment she wanted to cherish, without fear of her future death tainting it.

  “I thought my prediction had come true.”

  “Prediction?” He canted his head and frowned at her, his violet gaze boring into the side of her face, demanding she look at him.

  She drew in a deep, painful, breath and gave him what he wanted, lifting her gaze to his and not hiding anything from him. Perhaps he could help her find a way around her little problem if she confided in him and shared the burden, the weight on her shoulders that had been pressing down on her for most of her life, controlling how she lived it.

  “I was told by my grandmother that one day I would meet an elf prince and shortly after that I would die. Back in the glade… I didn’t care that my prediction was coming true. I would have gladly died to save you. Now I fear that destiny still awaits me and I will end up separated from you.”

  His black eyebrows dipped lower and pained filled his beautiful amethyst eyes. “You did die.”

  Her eyes shot wide. “I what?”

  “Your heart stopped,” he said in a matter of fact tone that made her frown at him. He answered it with a smile, released her hand and slipped his arm beneath her, curling his hand over her waist and drawing her closer to him. “I tried to heal you, but it did not work. When it failed, I offered my life to nature in exchange for yours. Rather I die than you… but nature allowed me to live.”

  Her heart broke for her elf prince as he stared up into her eyes, his violet ones overflowing with confusion. He didn’t understand why nature had allowed him to live and she felt for him, because she knew he honestly believed that he deserved to die for what he had done throughout his life. She shook her head, and vowed that she would use this second chance she had been given by nature to show him that he deserved to live and he deserved happiness, with her.

  “Rather no one dies,” she whispered and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, careful not to hurt him.

  He brushed his lips across hers, his breath warm against them, and his hand on her waist tightened, drawing her closer still.

  Rosalind smiled and pushed back. “You need to rest.”

  He frowned and sighed. “Very well.”

  She stared down into his eyes, lost in them and how they shone at her, filled with love and a smile, so different from the dark eyes that had looked at her with a hunger for violence and hatred all those weeks ago. That time felt like an eternity ago now, a distant and dark memory, together with all of her fears and all of the days she had lived with a prediction hanging over her head.

  She had met her elf prince.

  She had died.

  And he had brought her back to him.

  He had moved Heaven, Hell and Earth to keep her with him, and she would be eternally grateful to him for it and the forever she could now have with him.

  She stroked his chest, her fingers playing with the ridges of the bandages that bound his wounds, marvelling that he let her do this now and was so relaxed around her, comfortably holding her against him, allowing her to be close to him when her magic wasn’t in check.

  “Rest,” she said and pressed another quick kiss to his lips.

  “I will,” he breathed against her lips and she withdrew to wait for the but she could feel coming. “If you promise me something.”

  Not a but, an if, but still a clause.

  “Anything,” she whispered.

  His lips twitched into a slight smile. She took everything she had thought about him and Loren back. Vail was far better looking. Beautiful. Charming. Hers.

  “You must rest too, and not use your powers to heal me.” His smile held even as hers fell and she huffed. Damned elf. She had a feeling it was going to be impossible to do anything without him knowing exactly what she intended before she could do it. “I have had blood and medicine. I will heal soon enough. Already my body is healing and repairing itself, growing stronger. You need not worry, Sweet Ki’ara.”

  She wanted to deny that she was worried but knew he would see straight through that too and see the truth in her eyes.

  “Come.” He drew her closer again and she snuggled into his side, resting her head gently on his shoulder to make sure she didn’t hurt him.

  She closed her eyes.

  A smile curved her lips.

  She was free.

  Free of a curse. Free of captivity.

  Free to love Vail and be with him.

  And she had the feeling that forever with her elf prince was going to be an interesting journey with never a dull moment.

  A journey she couldn’t wait to begin.

  CHAPTER 31

  Vail stared down at Rosalind, gently brushing the strands of gold from her face, clearing them away so he could see her. She wrinkled her nose and burrowed into the pillow, her fair hair a beautiful contrast against the deep purple material.

  A breeze blew through the arched doors onto the balcony at his back, carrying the scent of flowers, but their perfume couldn’t contend with Rosalind’s one of wild roses.

  He sighed and brushed another strand away, studying her as she slept, smiling to himself at times when he thought about her and how they had come to be in this place, laying together surrounded by quiet and infused with calm, at one with each other.

  That calm would shatter whenever he thought about where they were, replaced by a dark commanding urge to wrap his arms around her and shield her from this place and the danger it held.

  The wooden door across from his bed opened and his brother stepped inside, wearing the same formal attire as the last time he had seen him, even though it must have been more than a day since Vail had crashed his wedding.

  Vail barely tamped down the desire to call his armour to protect himself and pull Rosalind into his arms. He forced himself to remain seated beside her, his back resting against the intricately carved wooden headboard.

  Rosalind murmured in her sleep and frowned. He swept his fingers over her temple and down her cheek.

  “Shh, Little Wild Rose. I will not let anything happen to you,” he whispered to her and she settled.
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  Her sleep had been fitful, waking him more than once, and when he had felt strong enough to watch over her, he had shifted into his current position and had done just that. Whenever her dreams troubled her, he repeated the same process, soothing her with the same words. She always sighed and settled back into a deeper healing sleep.

  Loren eyed her with darkness in his gaze.

  “I warn you to be kind to her, lest you rouse my temper.” Vail flicked him a glance.

  Loren sighed. “Do you know she is the reason I did not reach you that day on the battlefield? She was the sorceress who drove you away.”

  No. He hadn’t known that.

  He might have cared once, it might have roused the darkness within him and made him want to lash out at her, but not anymore.

  “It was her magic, not her, that drove me away. Perhaps it had been for the best. Perhaps destiny had driven us apart so it could bring us together.” He dropped his gaze back to her and smiled. She had spoken of destiny and so had he. They had both had predictions about the other.

  They had been born for each other.

  “You are changed.” Loren drew closer, coming to the foot of the bed.

  Vail lifted his eyes back to him and nodded. “For the better, I hope?”

  Loren’s smile answered that question for him.

  “I am sorry I interrupted your ceremony.” Vail settled one hand on Rosalind’s shoulder and the other in his lap.

  His brother rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “There is nothing to apologise for, Vail. You needed me and I am glad that you came to me. I am glad you are here.”

  Vail looked away from him, unsure how to respond to that. His brother might be glad that he was here, and his brother’s mate might be too, but the rest of the castle was not so kind. The elf commander, Bleu, had made it clear that he wasn’t welcome or wanted.

  This place was no longer his home.

  He closed his eyes as pain welled up in his heart.

  “Brother.” Loren moved around the bed to stand beside him.

  The pale sheer blue curtains of the tall arched doorway that led onto the balcony fluttered a short distance behind him, dancing on the breeze sweeping into the room, bringing the calming scent of nature inside to swirl around him together with Rosalind’s sweet fragrance. Her scent chased some of the agony away, but the one of his homeland brought it back again. It was a scent he had thought he would never smell again, the unique fragrance of the blue flowers that bloomed on the vines that spread across the balcony of his room.

  Loren sighed and moved closer, recapturing his attention. “Do not think things that pain you. You have your mate now and you are free. This should be a happy time.”

  Vail shook his head. “They say that happiness is fleeting. I have my mate, but I have no home.”

  Loren slumped onto the bed, sitting side on to him, and leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked across his shoulder at Vail, the hurt in his eyes echoing through their bond.

  “I am speaking with the council—”

  “But they want my blood,” Vail interjected. “And I cannot blame them.”

  Loren reached across with his left hand and settled it on Vail’s knee, and it felt strange to him. Such tender contact with his brother was another thing he had never thought he would have again. It was another thing that pained him in a way, but soothed him too.

  “I am speaking to them and I will make them understand what happened to you,” Loren said. “I will make them see that you did what was necessary to spare the kingdom. You sacrificed few for the many. They will see that.”

  “As your commander sees it?” Vail turned his focus back to Rosalind, stroking her silky hair to soothe himself. “He despises me, as does the council. None want me here but you, Brother.”

  Loren squeezed his knee and Vail appreciated his support, and his belief that he could convince the council and the entire elf kingdom to welcome him back, but he had become something of a realist over his years as a slave.

  He had lost the part of him who had been able to dream wild things and hope when there was none.

  “Perhaps it is best that I leave,” Vail whispered.

  “No,” Loren snapped and took hold of his shoulder, gripping it hard enough that it hurt. The strength of it and Loren’s desire to keep him with him, to force him to stay, moved Vail and he closed his eyes against the tears that rose into them. “I will make them see.”

  “Perhaps you will… perhaps we will be family again in time.” He raised his chin and looked into his brother’s eyes, seeing the tears in his echoed in them, his pain reflected back at him.

  “We were always family, Vail. We never stopped being brothers.” Loren pulled him into an embrace before Vail could respond, squeezing him tightly. “I am sorry I tried to kill you. If you hadn’t told Olivia you wanted to die… if you hadn’t taken her… I might have lost you.”

  Vail rested his chin on his brother’s shoulder and closed his eyes as he wrapped his free arm around him. He had thought he would never do such a thing again, would never feel the strength of Loren’s embrace, an embrace that had always told him the infinite depth of his brother’s love for him.

  “And I am sorry I tried to kill you. But I am not sorry you tried to kill me. I wanted to die.” Vail pulled back and Loren frowned at him.

  “And now?” His brother searched his eyes.

  Vail glanced down at Rosalind and stroked his fingers across her fair brow, a smile curling his lips.

  “Now I am like my Little Wild Rose and I desire only to live.”

  Vail huffed as Loren tugged him back into a harder embrace, squeezing the air from him and sending pain jolting through his healing injuries.

  “I don’t want to interrupt your bromance… but owie.” Rosalind pushed herself up onto her elbow beside him and rubbed her left side. “Easy on the ribs.”

  Loren instantly released him. “My apologies.”

  She grumbled. “This bond thing can be a bitch.”

  “Good morning to you too, Little Wild Rose.” Vail dropped a kiss on her forehead.

  She sighed and rubbed sleep from her eyes. “It doesn’t feel good. I’m sore… and you’re upset about something.”

  Her blue gaze slowly slid to his brother and fierce silver stars sparked to life in it.

  “You had better not be upsetting him. He’s meant to be resting.”

  Loren held his hands up in surrender. “He was awake before I entered his chambers.”

  She turned her glare on Vail. He attempted a shrug and grimaced at the same time as she did as his ribs ached.

  “You promised you would rest.” She slowly shifted into a sitting position beside him and covered herself with the long purple robe, closing it over her chest.

  “I was resting, but you were wriggling.”

  A beautiful blush coloured her cheeks. “I was dreaming.”

  “A nightmare?” He frowned and reached for her, and her blush deepened, her gaze leaping away from his. Not a nightmare judging by her reaction and how her pupils dilated, gobbling up her irises.

  Loren cleared his throat and looked away.

  “Just a dream,” she muttered.

  Vail growled under his breath, hunger stirring deep inside him. A dream he would fulfil as soon as he was able. His female needed, dreamed wicked things, and he would satisfy her.

  “So what were you both talking about so loudly that you woke me when I was meant to be resting?” Her smile teased him and her words turned Loren uncomfortable.

  “I did not mean to disturb you,” his brother said and Vail held his hand up.

  “Little Wild Rose has been awake longer than I had suspected.” He caught her chin between his finger and thumb and made her look at him. “How long?”

  She didn’t attempt to look away. She stared deep into his eyes, her blue ones filled with understanding and love, and a touch of sorrow for him.

  “Long enough.” She took hold of his hand
and brought it to her lips, pressing a kiss to it. “Until you feel this place is your home again, you have a home with me. Although… it’s quite small and you might bang your head a lot because the ceilings are pretty low and the beams are very solid… and I will have to practice magic because a girl still needs her profession even when she’s mated to a prince… but it has a nice garden and it’s in the countryside, and—”

  Vail pressed his finger to her lips, squashing them together to silence her. “It sounds wonderful.”

  She seized his hand, pulled it away from her mouth, and arched an eyebrow at him. “You’re a terrible liar.”

  It had been worth a go, but she was right. He had never been very good at lying.

  “It’s the magic thing, isn’t it?”

  He shook his head, twisted his hand from her grip and caught her wrist, and pulled her to him for a kiss. Her magic bothered him at times, but he was growing accustomed to it and how it differed from dark magic.

  She broke away from him. “What is it then?”

  He tipped his head back, resting it on the headboard, and sighed. “I hate the mortal world.”

  “Well… you hated me once too.” She said it with such sincerity in her eyes that the words lashed at him, cutting him deep.

  Foolish little witch.

  Vail slipped his arm around her waist and drew her closer again. “I never hated you, Little Wild Rose. I always loved you.”

  She smiled and pressed her hand to his chest, stopping him from drawing her in for another kiss.

  “And I love you… and you’ll love my little corner of the mortal realm. I promise.”

  He still wasn’t sure about that, but he was willing to try to live in it, because he wanted to be wherever she was and she needed to be in that world, helping others and using her power for good. Perhaps he could find peace there as he had in the forest, surrounded by nature, slowly restoring his connection to it and purging the darkness from his soul, with Rosalind at his side.

  His home was with her.

  He dipped his head to kiss her.

  Loren cleared his throat.

  “I am still here,” he said, his deep voice laced with a biting edge.