Chapter One
The elven city of Raindrop was renowned as a fairy-tale land. Like all elf cities in Canada, it was its own independent state that housed beautiful human-stylized artwork and many other wonderful things. These things, however, did not include social equality or running water.
My fingers drummed a march on the hilt of my gun as I waited at the gates of the city for my client to arrive. The guards wouldn't let me and my business partner in without giving up all our modern technology, which was not going to happen. I'd have been fine with their rules if it wasn't for the fact that there were a couple of humans just beyond the gates taking pictures with their cell phones. 'No modern technology allowed' my ass. They just didn't want dwarves in their city.
"So, working for elven royalty," my partner, Owen, said, picking at his teeth with the arm-hook he had chosen to wear today rather than his more natural-looking prosthetic hand. "Are you finding yourself a handsome elven prince who will sweep you off your feet to live in the lap of stone-age luxury? Ladies-in-waiting, those big ball gowns, corsets that make your breasts look huge?"
"Keep talking," I threatened, pulling my gun from its holster. "I'll put a bullet between your eyes if you say one more word."
Owen grinned at me. I glared in return. His cavalier attitude was doing nothing to improve my mood. The only reason I took this stupid job was because it was the only one offered through the dwarves' protective guild for four months. It wasn't like we were bad at our job. The opposite, in fact. We'd received such a high ranking that people didn't want to pay the wages due to us. If I had a dime still in my bank account, I would have turned down this job. Elves were snooty and holier-than-thou with their stupid dresses and beautiful faces.
"Eloise Brimirdottir?"
I scrunched up my nose at the sound of the musical voice and turned. The elf that had hired Owen and me, Prince Victor Raindrop, stood just behind me. He wore a long coat that buttoned down the center and had embroidered patterns on the sleeves. He was taller than me, with silky-smooth hair done up in elaborate braids. Beside him was a slightly smaller woman wearing a long cloak that hid her figure. Her hair was in a modest bun, her clothing looking more suitable for traveling.
"Your highness." I bowed, well aware that if I offended the elves I wouldn't get paid. Though I had met with the guild explaining the mission, I hadn't met the elves themselves yet. But I knew enough about their people to know that they thought even coughing in their direction was a punishable offense. "I am Eloise. And this is my partner, Owen Blainnson."
The prince inclined his head. "My sister, the princess Charlotte Raindrop."
"Pleased to meet you," Charlotte said. She cocked her head to the side as she surveyed me. "You're very tall for a dwarf."
"My partner here is half-dwarf," Owen interjected as I opened my mouth. He bowed with a flourish. "I, however, am the genuine article. And you, my lady, must be the fairest of the fair elves I have ever seen."
I rolled my eyes at his flattery. "Great. Yeah, we're dwarves, you're elves. If you want us to get you to Manitoba in two days, we have to get going. Our vehicle is this way."
The elven guards that refused to let us pass growled in their throats, but the two royals ignored them. Owen offered his hand to Charlotte to help her into the hummer we'd rented from the guild, and I turned to Victor.
"We’ll take it from here, your highness. Don't worry, your sister is in good hands."
The prince arched a brow. "I am accompanying my sister to her wedding."
Crap.
We hadn't been told we'd have two elf royals. I glanced at Owen. Raindrop was one of the wealthiest, most powerful city-states that the elves had sprinkled throughout Canada and the United States, and their royal family was notorious for taking full advantage of the federal law, even though they themselves had an independent government. I couldn't imagine what would happen to the dwarf community if both their prince and princess were killed on dwarf watch. There was enough bad blood there already.
"We were hired to escort the princess safely to Flowerpetal," I said. What was with Elves and ridiculous names? "Nobody said anything about you. I think it would be best if —"
"You don't get paid unless I go with you."
My jaw snapped shut. My hands curled into fists, but before I could blow the whole deal, Owen interjected. Again.
"Of course, your highness," he said. "But since we weren't expecting two passengers, we will need to ask for fifty percent more for our fee."
Victor waved his hand. "We'll double it."
He climbed into the hummer beside his sister, and I shrugged. It was meant to be a fairly easy mission, anyway. The royal siblings probably just wanted an excuse to ride in a vehicle rather than going on foot like they'd have to do otherwise. I slammed the door behind the prince and climbed into the driver's seat, Owen silently rounding the hummer. We shared a glance as he got in, and I shrugged. He was warning me not to lose my temper.
After the years we had been together, it was easy to read Owen. The two of us had been through a lot together. As a half-dwarf, I had to work twice as hard to prove myself worthy of being entered into the guild and then had to go through fifteen years of the other girls bullying me. I was too tall, too thin, my eyes too dark, my hair too curly. In the guild, we were taught that our greatest strength was the ability to disappear into a crowd, but wherever I went, I stuck out like a sore thumb.
Which was why I decided to sponsor Owen through training. After a mining accident took his hand, he was hard-pressed to find jobs normally available to dwarf men. He was the quintessential dwarf, too. Built like an ox, with wild hair and a wild beard. The claws and hooks he preferred to replace his missing hand helped the image. Next to him, I was almost invisible.
"So," Owen said as we pulled away from the city. "I didn't know elves were allowed in vehicles."
"We are," Victor said shortly.
Well, he was going to be a bucket of sunshine to travel with. I bit my lip and scanned the road, pretending I actually had to be vigilant about this detail. Maybe I could push our speed a little, and pretend like it was an emergency if we were pulled over.
"Our people shun owning things that we can't make with our own hands," Charlotte said, apparently not satisfied with Victor's answer. "Clothing, jewelry, any of our possessions. Our texts are very clear about that. However, there is nothing wrong with borrowing something we cannot make ourselves. We are borrowing your vehicle, in this case."
"Borrowing," I muttered. "It's more like buying our services."
"We are paying you for your time, not your belongings."
I glanced in the rearview mirror. Charlotte still had her cloak wrapped around herself. Was it some strange elven modesty thing? Was she supposed to look like a tent when around other people? I didn't know what sort of rules elves had for women.
"So why hire out the job?" I asked. "You're engaged to the prince at Flowerpetal, right? So if you knew when you had to get there, why not start walking a couple weeks ago? From my understanding, this is more of a speed thing than a protective thing. So why bother?"
"It would be most uncomfortable and perhaps a bit dangerous in my condition to walk that far," Charlotte said.
My brow furrowed.
The princesses continued blithely. "I am near to give birth to a child."
Owen choked. He whipped around, jaw dropping. My grip tightened on the steering wheel until my knuckles were white. What the…? I glanced in the rearview mirror again, to find Charlotte pulling her cloak aside to lovingly stroke a giant bump protruding from her stomach.
Really? What else weren't they telling us? "I thought you elves didn't meet the people who married until you actually married them."
"We don't, but that's no reason not to partake of physical pleasure," Charlotte replied. "However, Damien, the elf who sired my child has been uncommonly possessive. He has sworn to kidnap me before I can marry the prince of Flowerpetal, and hold me until after the child is born. My marriage would be annulled then, as my husband to be's parents insist on a virgin."
What was she on about? I shook my head. "But you're not a virgin."
"Virginity is counted among elves as women who have not given birth. This is my first child."
"Ah, so you're Mary, then," Owen said with a chuckle.
I shot him a furious look, but Charlotte only laughed. "Yes, I suppose, if you conflate the meaning of the word 'virgin' with that of your culture's sensibilities."
I wasn't interested in conflation. "You should have told us before we picked you up that you were pregnant. We didn't schedule in as many bathroom breaks as you're going to need, and then there's the whole ‘a dude is going to try to kidnap you’ thing. That's sort of necessary information if you're going to hire us to protect you. I think we ought to triple our fees since we're bringing three people instead of just two."
"No." That was Victor. "We told you all you need to know."
"No, you didn’t," I argued. "I will turn this vehicle around."
"Fine. Do it."
I scowled. I couldn’t afford to say no to this, and he must have known it. Was that why we had been assigned the mission? Had he asked the guild for their most hard-up pair? I grumbled a few curses under my breath as I pressed a little harder on the gas pedal. This was going to be a long journey.