Claimed by the Elven King: Part Four Read Online Free Page A

“I hardly call two guards on the door extensive
protection. Forget your games of intrigue and just tell it to me clearly
because right now all I see is a desperate woman trying to scare me into doing
something unbelievably stupid.”
    I knew I should stop, that I was probably going too far. There was no
telling what this powerful woman could do to me, but once my anger had been
unleashed, it was impossible to hold my tongue, especially when I had no real
desire to.
    If looks could kill, I would have been dead and mutilated a
million times over. Yes, the line had definitely been crossed—on both sides.
    “If insults are my thanks for trying to help a human then this will
definitively be the last time,” the queen spat as she turned on her heels and
stalked towards the door, wrenching it open. “Take a knife to the throat of one
of those Maelenas sisters and you will see that you truly know nothing .”
    The door slammed so violently behind her that I thought the walls
around it would crack.
    The queen was right about one thing. The last few minutes proved that I
really did know absolutely nothing about the elven realm, but now that my eyes
had been opened wide, I was determined to change that fact, starting with a
little question to Saeria and Rinwen concerning knives…
    The moment I heard the door to the front entrance slam equally as hard
as the bedroom’s, the bedroom door swung upon, admitting three
very-worried-looking elven women.
    “I’m okay,” I was quick to assure them as they hurried over to my side
again. “The queen just didn’t like what I had to say, is all.”
    “I don’t think I have ever seen her show that much emotion,” Lariel
said, tilting her head at me with an implied question.
    I sagged against the headboard wearily. Talking with the queen had been
as draining as a long, uphill hike. “Let’s just say that she just gave me a crash
course in elven politics and was unhappy when I didn’t want to play along.” I
turned from Lariel to the sisters. “She also hinted to something interesting
about you two.”
    When both Saeria and Rinwen stiffened, it was as good as admission.
Encouraged, I pressed on, “Did my lord husband assign you both to me as
bodyguards as well as my ladies-in-waiting?”
    They exchanged a look before Saeria sighed, looking resigned. “His
Majesty is going to be very angry when he learns the queen told you this. He
had been quite emphatic that you were to never know.”
    “He probably just didn’t want to worry me,” I reasoned as Lariel
stuffed a couple of my pillows behind my back. “The queen was trying to make a
point about my ignorance or else I don’t think she would have brought the
matter up at all.”
    “No matter the reason, it was still forbidden to tell you,” Saeria
said.
    I shrugged. “It’s not like I mind.” I looked at them curiously. “Are
you hiding a bunch of knives or daggers on you?” Their dresses looked so thin
and airy that I couldn’t see how they could conceal anything as large as a
dagger.
    Rinwen sat on the edge of the bed and held out her hand. “Watch,” she
instructed.
    Then her entire hand glowed a bright, white light, and a second later,
a rather large, jewel-hilted dagger with a black, shiny blade that looked like
obsidian appeared in her hand.
    “Wow, so you can manipulate space just like the king,” I said,
impressed.
    “No, nothing like His Majesty,” Rinwen replied. “My power is very
limited. This dagger is the largest object I can phase into another dimension.
Saeria can conceal objects as large as a long sword. Our family’s strengths lie
in protection and combat rather than what you would call elven magic. Our
father is the head of His Highness’s royal guard. Our mother is quite the
archer and huntress.”
    Come to think of it, this is the first time either one of them had
mentioned their parents. They had often brought up their older brother and an
occasional cousin or uncle, but it had never