The Fisherman's Daughter by K. Scott Lewis Read Free Book Online

window to take in the city’s splendor. “The elven city!” she cries aloud in glee. She’s gazing upon a sight no human has seen. In her excitement, she forgets herself. “I can’t believe I’m here! I want to go out in it.”
    “Maybe someday soon,” Prince Kaladan says. “It is not safe for you out there yet. Give me time. Will you wait in here for me?” He puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close. She leans back into his embrace and closes her eyes, smelling the pine in his hair. The troubles of the human lands seem so far away. Almost inconsequential.
    “Yes,” she murmurs.
    “I will send a servant to tend your needs when I am gone,” he says. “But do not worry. He is loyal to me and has not yet quickened, so he will not be a danger to you.”
    “I don’t know what that means.”
    “It means he is too young to love. He cannot desire you as I do.”
    Her heart beats faster at those words. “Desire…” she whispers. She feels that she could just melt into his strength.
    Prince Kaladan leans his head down, and she feels the heat of his lips close to her ear. “I am your servant.” He reaches his fingers to her face and traces them over her scars. “I have never seen such beauty in this city as you.”
    Suddenly he releases her. She turns around, and he’s backing away, as if surprised at himself. “What have you done to me? We’re in grave danger. Do not leave this chamber. I must make arrangements.”
    Without another word, he departs, leaving her as alone as a songbird in a gilded cage.
    “I’ve become a slave again,” she says to the empty room. Of a different sort.
    But she wonders who is more the slave. She, or the prince?
     
11
    True to his word, the prince sends a servant to tend her needs. Tomoril brings her food and fresh clothes, and even draws a bath. He lays a clean gown and slippers out for her and erects a privacy screen around the tub before waiting quietly in the foyer. She hesitates, expecting him to leave the room, but he does not.
    She peeks around the screen, but he’s standing in the small foyer, out of sight. She slides her clothes off, acutely aware of the air on her skin and how close Tomoril is nearby, though she cannot hear him.
    Stepping into the tub, she blushes at bathing in the same room, with him so close, but he makes no effort to violate her privacy. The prince had said he was too young to feel love or desire, but to her eyes she cannot distinguish the age difference, and elf or not he is still a man. She wonders if all elves are equally beautiful.
    She relaxes into the luxury of the bath, and nearly an hour passes before she emerges. After drying herself with a thick towel made of fabric so fluffy and soft she can hardly believe it possible, she slips into the elven gown, which somehow fits perfectly. She rubs her fingers over the sleeve’s hem, feeling its softness and hopes she never has to return to her old life.
    When the prince returns that evening, Tomoril serves them dinner at a small table by the window. He pours wine and returns to stand near the entryway. She remembers her own time serving lords at dinner, but this feels different to her. The way the prince thanks him with an appreciative glance when wine is poured and food is served sets them worlds apart from the treatment she received from Lord Keeva.
    “Tell me your story,” Prince Kaladan says. “Tell me how you came to be in my forest.”
    Meiri starts with the last fishing trip with her father. The prince’s eyes grow dark when she tells of his death and her captivity. He becomes intensely interested over her description of the sanctuary home and the bone castle on its horizon.
    “It has been said,” he murmurs, “that the humans of Artalon already tease powers that should be left unstirred. The Shining Court of Haranath warns they could upset the gods themselves if they’re not careful. Some Courts contemplate taking Artalon and casting out the human wizards