The thought made her sad, so she pushed it away when it occurred and focused on living in the moment. Right now her task was clear—train Demon to carry the Crown Prince without bucking him off or burning him, and get a piece of the Healing Lattice in return. That was what she needed to center all her thoughts and attention on, for she was determined to succeed.
And so the days slipped by and she didn’t even notice she was falling in love…
Thirty-Five
“How are things going with Demon’s training?” Roke asked as they got ready for Supper one night about a week after they’d been introduced to the Court. He had missed that day’s training session because the Duke had invited him on a hunting party.
Roke would have rather stayed and watched Elliliah work—it was fascinating to see how the zorels responded to her. But it had been made clear to him that to refuse the hunting invitation would be discourteous and offensive and so he had reluctantly gone along, riding a sleek, white zorel doe named Sun Bright. But the hunt had been uneventful and he was eager to know how the training session with Demon and the Crown Prince had gone.
“Well…” Ellilah sighed and stopped brushing her hair for a moment as she looked at him in the mirror mounted to the fresher wall. “It could be better. Demon just doesn’t like His Majesty at all.”
Roke snorted.
“Big surprise there. Don’t they say zorels are a good judge of character?”
“They’re an excellent judge of character,” Ellilah said, nodding firmly. “But whether Demon likes the Crown Prince or not, I’ve got to get him to accept His Majesty as his rider.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t help that the Crown Prince doesn’t really like Demon either—or any zorel for that matter.”
“What? But I had the impression one of the main reasons he moved the Court to Pok was so they could have their own stable full of pure-blooded zorels,” Roke protested. “That seems to be the consensus around the Court, anyway.”
“Oh, I have no doubt he did,” Ellilah said seriously. “But he did it for appearances—not because he really liked zorels. He’s actually terribly afraid of them, though he tries not to show it, especially if any of the nobles are around.”
“Well, I don’t blame him for being frightened of Demon,” Roke remarked. “It always sends a shiver down my spine when I see you cuddled up with that great beast. He could bite off your head as easily as you take a bite out of a krisper, you know.”
In fact, Ellilah’s work with the monstrous zorel had caused him several sleepless nights. Only the fact that she communicated with them so easily and naturally and the fact that Demon was so obviously completely smitten with the curvy little priestess gave him any relief from his anxiety for her.
Demon isn’t the only one who’s smitten, whispered a sarcastic little voice in his head. Be careful, Roke—you’re getting a lot closer than you should to falling in love with her and you know it.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Ellilah told him, arching an eyebrow at him in the mirror. “Demon would run off a cliff before he’d hurt me—I’m his person.”
“His person?” Roke frowned.
“The one person he loves,” Ellilah clarified. “My father always used to say there were two types of zorels—the kind who would get along with just about any rider and the kind who loved only one person. Demon is the second kind and I’ve become his person.” She sighed. “Which is kind of a problem, since it would be much better if he had chosen the Crown Prince instead.”
“Who could choose that frog-faced bastard over sweet, curvy you, little priestess?” Roke growled, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her full hips.
He saw Ellilah’s pretty face flush in the mirror and grinned at her in the silvery surface as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
“Roke!” she protested but he noticed she didn’t try to move away. “It’s a real problem,” she pointed out. “I’ve given up on trying to get Demon to transfer his affections. I can barely get him to tolerate the Crown Prince—even when every one of His Majesty’s pockets are stuffed with krispers and sweet biscuits—let alone love him.”
“Well, then what can you do?” Roke asked, frowning. “It sounds like a hopeless cause.”
“It wouldn’t be if the Crown Prince truly loved Demon and wanted his love and affection in return,” Ellilah said. “But he doesn’t. He only wants to look grand and brave riding on him once or twice a year. If I can just get Demon to allow that, we should be all right.”
“When do you think you’ll get Demon accustomed to the Prince?” Roke asked, frowning.