Blood Rider [Alonia's Queenslayer #1]

10

What secret could he keep that could match with hers?

"I'm the elven king's secret bastard son."

Eli's mind suddenly went blank.

"What? And nobody knew about this?" she asked in utter confusion. It made no sense – how and why did they keep it secret for so long? Ril sighed at her puzzled look.

"I've told you more than I should have already," he said. His gaze was focused on anything else but Eli, and he seemed very uncomfortable. Bits of his hair were drenched by blood, and it made Eli annoyed – she liked how perfectly white his hair was. When she thought about it, she did see the resemblance. Ril was certainly more beautiful than regular elves, with a more pleasant voice. But that's where the resemblance stopped – his mannerisms and way of speech were entirely different. So, he was definitely taken away with the rest of the white hunters. He likely wasn't aware that he was a prince for a long time, either. That would explain how he became a commander so young – the average age, as calculated by a famous historian, was thirty-two. Ril didn't look to be much over twenty.

"Come on! This information is worthless without context. You know a secret that could ruin me, Ejder, my sister and probably many others! Cause a revolution!" Eli pleaded. Ril sighed again.

"So can this. Alright. I'll tell you." He scratched his chin. "You are familiar with the fact that the northern region of Notrhl is rather hostile. They're a bit cut off from us and there was always a threat of revolution present. So my king married a self-proclaimed princess from the north to smoothen things out. But it only got worse – they claimed that because she was from their lands, they had a say over the rule, and wanted to take over.

"The king, who so happens to be my father, is sick. When he dies, the rule couldn't go to the little children since they aren't of age yet, and won't be. So the queen would get the throne and cause a massive war and a bout of revolutions. I was born before my father married, so I am a secret. He will reveal me very soon. The queen will be one to officially rule, as by being born out-of-wedlock I'm not entitled to the throne, but I will be a great influence. 

"You're probably aware that Notrhl has no such thing as your human 'Wise Five', and the monarch is the one that makes all the decisions, in accordance to the needs of the people and the lords in order to avoid revolutions. The north won't like it, but they won't have enough funds to rebel. I don't like the idea at all, however, but I am aware of what the consequences of allowing the queen to be in charge will be,"

"Oh. Wow. Your north is like our south, really. Our queen is from the south, and they also like to stir trouble. Nothing big like your situation, luckily," Eli commented. Ril nodded seriously.

"Is my secret good enough?" he asked. Eli nodded.

"I guess so. I will keep this to myself," Eli said, knowing very well that if it weren't for Ril knowing her own secret, she'd be spilling this to both Ejder and Tanya. Especially Tanya. Tanya knew every single thing there was to know about Eli and keeping this from her would be tough. But Eli had honour. It was a promise, and she'd keep it. In spite of how much she wanted to spill. She was glad that she was from Revera, because Ril's situation sounded tense and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. He was a prince, for the Great Sisters' sake! And she was having casual conversations with him. She certainly hoped he'd forget all about her until she became a commander. He was far too clever to be trusted to keep the secret...

"Well, I guess I ought to thank you for fighting alongside me and protecting the prince. However, you made many mistakes on which you ought to work," he said, and Eli felt anger fill her again. Despite their mutual understanding, he just had no manners.