Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“I’ll be fine once I’m dry. You should be grateful I didn’t have the chance to show you up.” I quickened my pace to put myself temporarily out of Nylian’s reach. My brain was focused on keeping all my body parts from freezing off right now and hadn’t had a chance to turn over the stunning information Nylian had given me.
I mean, he’d obviously been teasing me in the stream. It wasn’t like he was attracted to me. That was impossible.
Okay, the body I’d gotten zapped into was pretty fucking hot, but that was all I had going for me, and Nylian didn’t strike me as shallow. Other than a pleasant appearance, I was an idiot. A bumbling loser. While I might know some high-level information about this world, I didn’t possess the survival skills needed to get by. I could barely ride a horse, couldn’t hunt, couldn’t fight, and couldn’t skin a dead animal if I were lucky enough to kill one by accident.
If I ended up here long term, maybe I could find a job as some kind of bookkeeper or shopkeeper’s apprentice. I’d be a useful town boy who worked indoors and earned money to buy food I didn’t have to kill first. Roughing it in this world was too difficult for me.
But Nylian and me?
That would never happen. While he hadn’t admitted it yet, he was a prince and one day, he was going to return home in all his glory. He was going to need someone at his side who could stand as his equal.
Don’t get me wrong; the flirting was flattering. Whose ego wouldn’t like a little stroking from a sexy prince? But I was straight, and we were just friends. I knew better than to take anything Nylian said seriously.
As I reached the campsite, I paused near Jasper and smirked. The teenager was a mess. His hair was sticking up in every direction, and there were smudges of dirt across his face along with a few scratches, as if he’d physically fought the turkey and nearly come out the loser.
“Why don’t you use magic to get all the feathers off the bird?”
Jasper sighed. “Addie won’t let me use magic on our food.”
“Are you fucking crazy?” his sister screeched. “He’s still learning. The way his spells go, the bird would explode or be brought back to life as some kind of fifty-foot zombie turkey.”
“That’s a good point,” I mumbled, remembering how he’d attempted to turn the ogres to stone and instead had shrunk them. It was best if his magic wasn’t anywhere near our food.
Nylian took the fish from my shaking hands and laid them near Jasper. “Would you mind preparing the fish? I will make the fire.” Jasper didn’t have a chance to answer. Nylian was already putting a hand on my shoulder and redirecting me over to where we’d sat to whittle the spears. He shoved me down and pointed at my nose. “Sit. Don’t move.”
“But I can help. I’ve gotten much better at starting fires. I—”
“Don’t. Move.”
Adeline snickered somewhere in the background, but I ignored her. The elf was serious, and I was more afraid of crossing him than her mocking. Only when I nodded in agreement did Nylian finally begin pulling some kindling together. Naturally, he had it roaring in no time, and I was on the fast track to being dry.
As evening approached, the incident in the stream was forgotten and we filled our bellies with roasted turkey and fish. Definitely a delightful break from the endless amounts of red meat I’d been eating. I’d still kill for a fucking vegetable. I’d sell my soul for a potato. Hell, I’d sell Nylian’s soul for some mashed potatoes. But I had a feeling my meals weren’t going to have any variety until we reached Riverhold. For now, I needed to be grateful that I was lucky enough to have fallen in with two people who were very skilled at killing their food.
I stood up, turned my ass toward the flames, and rubbed the seat of my pants, trying to get the last of the damp patches on my clothes to dry. “Not that I want to be that guy, but how much farther until we reach Riverhold?”
“At the pace we’re moving, I believe we should make it there in about two days,” Jasper answered.
“Assuming we don’t run into trouble along the way,” Nylian warned.
Adeline clapped her hands together and rubbed them. “And I’ll get paid. Easiest money I’ve ever made on a protection detail.”
That had to be true, I thought with a sigh. However, my intention hadn’t been so much that she’d protect us from bandits and predators, but that she and Nylian would fall in love. What a waste of money that turned out to be. I didn’t understand what the elf wanted, but I wasn’t willing to ditch the harem idea yet. He stated he was attracted to men and women. Maybe I needed to broaden my scope. Find more caring, compassionate, authentic people who would help Nylian and not care about his bloodline.