Starna turned blue.

  “I-I… It was-!”

  “L-o-v-e.” My brother mimicked a kissy face.

  “The Succubus tried to charm her.” I smacked the Camadt between his ears. “It was the only way for her to ward off the charm.” I looked turned to the brunette Elf. “It was smart.”

  “How were you not…” Her tanned skin flushed more as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her long ear.

  “It’s not the first time one of them has tried to charm me.” I pointed at the stallion that was doing a masterful job of staying away from George.

  Vin held his sides with all four arms as he cackled. “You dumped all your lust into the horse!”

  “Yes, now go help George round up all the horses so we can get out of here.” I pointed at the struggling boy.

  “But I haven’t got to sing the kissing song yet!” The large feline cackled as he ran off after the work animals.

  I shook my head as I turned to Starna. “Ignore him.” I touched her hand and looked at the enchantment she’d placed on herself.

  Around the same time as we were in the middle of the Great War on Tefira, the Succubi had launched a campaign to overthrow the High Elf Alliance in the Universe. By accident, it had been discovered that having a mage magically seal two people together in what had been considered an ancient tradition of ‘soulbinding’ made the two people immune to a Succubi’s charm.

  Elves in any leadership position were required to be soulbound to prevent something like that from ever happening again. A mage couldn’t cast it on themself and another person, nor would it take hold on someone who wasn’t willing. To give single mages a means to protect themselves, a variation of the spell was refined that would allow the mage to bind themselves to someone else as a type of proposal. It warded off most charms and could be broken by a simple refusal by the target of their promise.

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  “We’re going to have to leave some of the wagons.” I pointed at Quiggly’s wagon. “It’s probably safe to assume that Nheglek and the Orcs weren’t carrying contraband. Those should be the first three we ditch.”

  “I can fuse the wagons together with ice. We’ll move slower, but we won't have to leave anything behind that way.” She looked away from me.

  “Hey…” I touched her chin to turn her to look at me. Her golden eyes seemed to have more blue flecks in them. “Are you worried about the spell?” I smiled. “I can find a mage in Crylus to link it, if you want.”

  Strana hesitated before she answered. “Is that what you want?”

  I pulled her into a quick hug and kissed the top of her head. That was already bordering on giving Vin more ammunition to tease her with. I looked down at her.

  “I told you, I’m here to see where this goes. You aren’t a fling and I have a feeling this is going to be a permanent thing.” I felt her pulse quicken. “But it’s also really easy to let the rush carry you too fast without realizing it.” I squeezed her, then let her go. “So I’ll make sure to take things slow enough that you can make sure it’s what you want.”

  I’d seen my brother use that initial rush to woo more women than I cared to remember. It was great if all you wanted was something to burn bright, burn out, and then move on to the next surge. But for something that was going to last, a foundation needed to be built and we still had plenty to do.

  “It’s just, you’re a prince and I’m…”

  “Beautiful, smart, a powerful mage, the queen’s best friend?” I smirked. “And you don’t need any of them to justify staying by my side.”

  “There’s just a lot of implications that we have to consider.” Starna took a deep breath.

  “I can abdicate any claim to the throne.” I waved my hand at the grassland and the forest. “I've been around the world…” I tried to remember how many times, but we’d never made an actual trip to circle the planet in one go. It’d always been from port to port. “A lot.” I shrugged. “Growing up on a ship taught me that you can live anywhere, especially if it’s with the people you care about.”

  Starna’s face got bluer as she bit her lip, then she let out the breath she’d been holding. “Fine, you rogue.” She turned to the wagons. “Now help me get these wagons lined up.”

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