Crown of Beauty and Vengeance

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Do you know how difficult it was to find this place?" the prince asked without even so much as a hello.

Gideon and Lyv glanced at one another before back to him.

She still couldn't get over how much he looked like Jai, a younger, more roughish version of him. He was still handsome as all Fae males were, though. But, just like his older brother, he was a beautiful handsome that made almost all the females instantly want him. Lyv couldn't deny that fact herself as she took him in. His hair was tousled from the breeze of the coming storm outside, russet eyes bright, and his smile even brighter.

"I mean," he continued, stepping inside even though he had yet to be invited. "I have asked everyone if they knew an Audry and Vandor Rey and no one did. But guess what? I'm the prince, so I can have access to any of the city records I was, even if they are not public. One name search...I find this place...and here you are."

He started walking around, checking out the kitchen, looking intrigued by the furniture's placement in the cleared out living room.

"And here you are," 'Vandor' said to him. "Can I ask why? And you do know this is a private residence...so stop looking into every room. I know a lot about Ayverian law – studied it at the university – and even a prince cannot come into someone's home without proper permission. Or a warrant that was justified by a crime committed...which neither of us have done."

"Oh, I know. Besides, you invited me in."

Lyv snorted at that. "No, he did not."

Gideon agreed. "I most certainly did not."

Destan merely grinned and shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm here now, so what's the harm?"

"What's your reason for being here, Prince Destan?" Lyv asked him.

He seemed to remember something, reaching into the inside pocket of that red jacket Gideon had told her he loved...and was loved by the females. Lyv had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from grinning. He was trying to impress her. It was sort of working, too, though the lengths he had gone to track them down was a little – dare she say it – creepy.

Destan pulled a folded piece of parchment, its green wax seal giving away who it was from, and walked over to hand it to her. He kept a respectable distance away...and her heart still stuttered in her chest. "I thought hand-delivering this to you would bring a better chance of getting you to say yes."

His fingers brushed against hers as took the parchment and their eyes met.

Lyv broke the seal and read quickly through the gracefully written words. And then again.

"Your mother wants to meet with me next week."

"It is...um...I was given specific instructions to find you. My mother, Queen Alexea, wants to meet with you personally to discuss becoming the official palace healer. We usually have two, but one is off in Eld with my brother and the other just put in her notice because she got an offer from the university to teach that she couldn't refuse. Her last day will be in two weeks and we need someone to fill the position."

"Why me, though?" Lyv asked.

"Because I might have told her what you did for Posy," he grinned sheepishly. "It was magnificent. And I can...feel just how powerful you are. Most of the time it's just...the normal amount of magic Fae are born with. But with you, it's completely different."