Free Broken Prince (The Broken Ones) by Jen Wylie Page A

didn't love her. Yes, he protected her, cared for
her, but only because he thought her a child. He was a prince and an Elf. She
had to remember those things. It might help in the end, when she got him home
and finally had to leave him.
    She looked down at the pile of dishes she'd collected
and started cleaning them quickly, pushing her frustration into her work.
Idiot, idiot, idiot. She wished she could change the way she felt. She wished she
could love someone else. Or no one at all.
    It would be so much easier if she didn't care.
    She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep
breath. Thinking wasn't helping. Thinking made it worse. Whatever would happen,
would happen. She couldn't change anything.

 
     
    Chapter 6:
    Family First
     
    The next day they made slow but steady progress again.
Though they no longer saw soldiers in the fields, they decided not to continue
their travels along the road. Though riding the forest border had its dangers,
it also provided food and wood for fires. As long as they were careful, they
could forage the fields as well. Their decision pleased Garen immensely and she
felt horrible she'd never considered he wouldn’t want to travel in the human
lands when she’d asked him to join them.
    Her temper remained short. She'd tried walking, and
had been able to for a time until her ankle began hurting again. Frustration
overwhelmed her so much she wanted to hit something. It did not help the days
had seemed to drag by so slowly. Nothing of interest happened. They rode. They
rested. No one talked very much. There wasn't really a lot to be said. Perhaps
her bad mood had started infecting the others, or perhaps they were simply
staying out of her way.
    They found another of the many small streams which ran
from the mountains down to the sea and started setting up camp early. Kei and
Garen both brought back a number of small birds and game.
    Bo started getting a fire going while Kei went off to
clean their dinner. She collected firewood, thinking it sad they were all
rather excited over the large meal they would be getting. Once she had never
been hungry. That had been over a year ago though, before their city fell. It
had also been the last time she'd slept in a real bed, not a pile of blankets
like they’d used in the room they rented. The last time for so many simple
things.
    She glanced over at Prince. He never complained, which
surprised her. He'd snap at her about her manners or speech, but not whine over
being dirty or hungry.
    Leaning against a tree, he had his eyes closed now,
resting. Black hair spilled around his beautiful face, making it appear paler
than it actually was, highlighting the dark circles under his eyes. Sadly, he'd
looked worse. She tried to picture him when she'd first met him, but that really
didn't help. He'd been under an Elven glamor at the time. Though even with it
he hadn't looked well. He'd been dying even then.
    Even sick, he still took her breath away. Stupid .
She turned and picked up another fallen branch. She had to stop this. She was
only making it harder on herself, and making everyone else miserable, too.
    Walking over to the fire she dropped her pile of wood
and went back amongst the trees to search for more. She didn't go far, she'd
learned her lesson the hard way last fall when she'd gotten lost and attacked
by slavers. The sun remained high enough in the sky to light the woods enough
for her to see well. The area of woods they had entered did not have a lot of
underbrush, for which she felt thankful. Brush only slowed them down. Had they
needed to hide, it would have been good, but speed had become their aim now.
    She did not hear Garen move behind her, his large paws
somehow silent on the forest floor. She did hear his sudden growl just before
he bounded past her. Staring at him in shock, she froze as he stopped directly
in front of her, hackles raised, ears flattened back against his head. He
snarled, his lips pulled back from his huge teeth.
    "What is