“I am Jesper, the king of the Shadow Elves. I have been waiting, rather impatiently, for this moment. You must excuse me if I am a bit starstruck. I wasn’t imagining a woman of your caliber or your beauty.”
My cheeks flamed and I finally understood why I wasn’t to be flashy or anything but homely. If I’d put on my best for this man he would have swept me off of my feet. I was vastly unprepared for how flirtatious he was and I also wasn’t mad about it. There was a small part of me that enjoyed it, missed it, needed it. Having a male’s attention again felt like the sun shining on my face after the worst storm I’d ever endured. It was odd, but satisfying all the same.
“You flatter me, King Jesper.”
“Just Jesper to you, Your Highness. I am merely your humble servant. All I desire is to serve you.”
“Oh my,” Reva whispered behind me. Alric narrowed his eyes at the shadow elf and kept his comments to himself, thank the gods. I couldn’t have him screwing this up for me. Just because the man flirted didn’t mean anything would come of it, Alric was the king of that. If anyone knew better, it was him.
I was completely and utterly out of my element but I was going to try anyway. “Your people live in the woods here?”
With a long, clawed finger, he pointed up. “Yes, we live in the treetops. We are a couple thousand strong, if that’s what you were going to ask next. We understand that the dragons and other creatures on this isle don’t know if they’re ready to fight in a human war. I will be frank with you, Queen Juniper, we are ready to fight in the human war.”
“What makes you so ready to fight?” Reva asked from behind me, finally out of her stupor.
“We hate the stories, we would like to bring to light who we really are. There are no such things as short, stubby elves that waddle around the woods and try to steal your coin purse.” Hisgaze made its way to Alric who was now leaning against a tree leering down at his boots. “We aren’t thieves of the jewels you covet, my lady. We are thieves of the night, of the shadows. We steal into bedrooms, covet virtues, and slip out before the sun has risen.”
Reva was now fanning herself with her open hand and I didn’t know if I could stand there much longer. The more he talked, the more I was at risk of melting into a puddle. He knew too because his wicked grin stayed in place the entire time. He didn’t falter, he didn’t seem embarrassed—no— he lived for this.
“Besides toe-curling fantasies,” my voice remained steady and the only thing I could attribute it to was the gods giving me strength because I had none on my own. “What else can your people offer?”
“Trade. The wood witches feed off of the energy in the dirt and sometimes a soul’s magic. They cannot offer you anything but protection and some warriors. I will say, they are ferocious creatures that will instill much fear on the battlegrounds, but that is all they can offer you. The dragons are the same, they are rather selfish creatures. They eat small rodents and don’t worry about much else. They are truly simple-minded when you get to the root of them. They have zero resources besides their hoards. But you will never see a dragon’s treasury and they will never let you near it. We have an entire world above your heads. We have spices, different kinds of vegetables and fruit, as well as cattle and horses.”
Cattle and horses would come in handy. Reva’s mouth dropped open. “You have cattle and horses above us?”
His musical laugh rang out again and I found myself hypnotized. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I’d ever heard. He was dangerous, indeed. “No, they are on the ground.” He pointed through the trees. “They are through the trees and atthe other side of the beach. There is a small pool there that’s fed from the mountain’s let-off.”
“You would trade your valuable items and fight in a war that isn’t yours and what is it you want in return?” This sounded too good to be true and I needed to keep my guard up. I was grateful for the dagger strapped to my thigh but for some reason, I knew it would do nothing to this imposing male across from me.
“I want to be one of your advisors,” He kicked off of the trunk of the tree he was standing in front of and marched toward me. Reva didn’t move in his way but Alric immediately drew his sword. Jesper lifted a white brow. “Is that such a horrible request?”
“Yes,” Alric said at the same time Reva said, “No.”
“I don’t think it’s a horrible request,” I shot a look at both of my friends. “I think it’s reasonable, considering.”
“Considering no one else has offered you an army or resources and you’re new here. I understand.”
My answer was a furrowed brow.
“Don’t look so concerned, Queen.” He cracked his knuckles before he slid one down my cheek. His dark skin was warm and comforting against my own. “Shadow elves have many different tastes. We are in the dragon’s caverns, the wood witch’s hobbles. We are everywhere and nowhere. We listen and pretend. We have power on this island. I don’t think it would be such a bad thing for you to monopolize on that.”
“This is something I need to think about,” I clasped my hands in front of myself.
“How about this?” His face went serious for the first time since he’d swung down from the treetops. “We get to know each other better.”
I shot a look at Alric who still had his sword drawn but my words were directed at Jesper. “In what way?”
“Any you’d like. I am your willing and able servant. I am here to do whatever it is you need from me. If you’d like to have lunch, we can do that. If you’d like a bed partner, I would more than enjoy that. If you want nothing but advice and secrets, I can do that for you, as well. You think about it and I’ll be waiting for your response. My people would be honored to have you back when you’re ready to meet us all.”
He leaned forward, took my hand in his once again, and kissed the back of my knuckles. This time a shiver went through me at the contact. He grinned before he reached up into the trees and was yanked out of sight.
Alric’s eyes narrowed as he watched where the king of the shadow elves disappeared. “I don’t like him.”
“I don’t care,” Honesty fell from my lips once again. I was sick and tired of him only liking things in his own favor. He didn’t have to like it. Eventually, there would only be so much I could offer my people. My magic would only be able to go so far, heal so many, and do so much. Would my magic even stay around after the blight was gone? I couldn’t count on it. We would need resources, allies, and most importantly friends.
“It’s about time we had someone interesting pop up,” Reva said on the walk back.
Alric snorted but didn’t say another word.
