Page 7 of Keeping a Nymph’s Heart

Her heart lurched at the realization; if he was guarding the door, did that mean the meeting had started? It would not do for her to be late to any meeting with the king. Damn Yanez for distracting her.

“Have the herald announce me,” she said in a clipped tone to the male once she was closer to him and the door. It had been a while since she had been at court, but she knew not to stroll into a room with the king without being properly announced, even if it was a meeting she had been ordered to attend.

“Well, hello to you too,” the male said, looking down his nose at her. “Tell me,” he said, “is it customary to make demands of a person without so much as a hello or asking the person’s name?” He smirked at her with a cocky sort of facial expression as he looked her over.

His gaze landed on her rounded ears.

“I heard the Hero of Fontina was full of herself, but I didn’t know she would also be rude.”

Her blood went cold at the name. Thrice this morning she had had to endure the nickname, but this was the only time it was said with contempt, not veneration. She didn’t know which was worse.

“If you already know who I am, then introductions are unnecessary.” She tried to master her expression. It wouldn’t due to give away how the name affected her. “Now kindly, ser, can you tell me if the meeting has started? I prefer not to be late to meetings with my king.”

“Interesting. I thought the Hero of Fontina could do whatever she liked. Isn’t that your whole thing, murdering whomever you please and calling it victory?” He said it with such poison. If Orla hadn’t already been sweating, this would have done it. Her heart raced and her mouth went dry. Tears threatened to prick at her eyes, but she could not cry here. Not in front of this jackass who thought he knew her.

“I knew the Edamish were callous, but I am surprised your heir would be guarded by such a bastard.”

It wasn’t polite, definitely not in keeping with the expectations of court politics, but she didn’t care. If she couldn’t cry, and she couldn’t be seen as weak, she would do the thing she learned in the army: to get big and not back down.

She continued. “I wouldn’t call it murder when your king and his feckless cunt of a son waged war on my kingdom. I was doing what had to be done. But it’s unsurprising that such an incompetent ruler would employ such a vile person as one of their guards,” Orla spat, nerves transforming to anger as she spoke.

He was right of course, she was a murderer, but never before had someone said it to her face. Surely, some at court thought it of her. It was their sons and daughters that she had killed alongside the Edamish warriors. Her cheeks heated at the same time as the cocky smirk on the male’s face changed to a sneer.

“Vile. You’d think being okay with such senseless death would be vile, but I guess when you go around calling yourself a hero, you get to be the moral judge of everyone else.”

Who the fuck did he think he was? She had never been talked to this way. Even being half nymph, most others had treated her with cool indifference instead of outright hostility.

“Bastard indeed. Tell me, ser, what’s your name so I can make sure my king knows the kind of males employed by King Vernon.” Color bloomed in his cheeks. Orla could see that his sneer was an outright scowl now.

The two stared at each other, contempt and malice etched in both of their faces. Both breathed heavily, waiting for the other to speak. His eyes shone with fury as he leaned in closer. Orla assumed he was trying to use his substantial height to try to intimidate her.

Orla knew she wouldn’t be a favored person among the people of Edam; she had killed their heir after all and stopped their attempts at conquest. But she had never expected this level of outright vitriol. If she wasn’t so angry, her nerves would have taken her, but she refused to back down.

Footsteps sounded behind Orla, and she turned to see Lord Kennedum walking up the hall with a retinue of advisors behind him. She turned back to face the arrogant male in front of her as he mastered his expression back into the one of indifference he wore when she first arrived.

“Good, good,” Lord Kennedum said brusquely. “Lady Orla, I am glad to see you’ve met Lord Owain Acer, heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Edam.”

Lord…

Heir to… well, fuck.

Chapter Five

Attempting to mask her shocked expression, Orla looked back up at the male she had just been insulting so publicly. This wasn’t right. She had met the heir to the Kingdom of Edam, well, the one she hadn’t killed anyway. He had come to the palace several years before the Battle of Fontina on his father’s orders. He was a portly male with pale yellow hair and a kind face. He was a bit daft and pompous, but overall, he was genial. Nothing like his sadistic older brother Prince Gwayne.

What was his name, she thought.

“No, that can’t be right. The heir to the Kingdom of Edam is Prince Aengus,” Orla said aloud to no one in particular.

“Ah yes, well, things have recently changed. Unfortunately, Prince Aengus died shortly before he was due to come meet with King Mikki. His brother, Lord Owain, has replaced him as heir and representative of his kingdom for our ensuing talks,” Lord Kennedum informed her.

“I wasn’t aware King Vernon had a third son. Then that would make you—” she said, turning to the male, Owain, who stood beside her.

“Bastard brother of the feckless cunt you killed, yes,” he said, leaning into her space so that Lord Kennedum could not make out the full meaning of the exchange. The venom in his gaze stole her blood. Of all the missteps she could have made when returning to court, this was a big one.

“But they don’t call you Prince?” Orla asked, confusion at war with her anxiety over angering such a powerful male during her first days back in the palace.

“No, they don’t,” he replied with another sneer before turning his back to Orla.