The Prince stopped and let one hand rest on the balcony banister. “What about it?” he asked.

  “Is it the same storm? You know, from the day of the attack.”

  “It is.”

  “How can that be right? The attack was almost a week ago.”

  “Because the storm comes and the storm goes, but it never ends. At times it gets closer, at others it recedes like the ocean tide.”

  “Do you know what it is?”

  “We call it the Veridian,” he took a deep breath in through the nose, then exhaled. “It’s a stain on the land that has persisted for years.”

  “And it never stops?”

  He shook his head. “Never. It also, unfortunately, is what brings the Wenlow. They are drawn to it. Wayward fae get trapped in the storm, and the Wenlow descend upon them to feast.”

  “The one I fought… it felt like that thing fell out of the sky on a lightning bolt.”

  “Lightning bolt?”

  “You’ve never heard of that?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “No. Are you certain that’s what happened?”

  “No… that’s just what it felt like. There was so much lightning, then there was the wind, and those things are so sneaky. It was impossible to tell where it came from.”

  “Undoubtedly, it came with the Veridian. We are fortunate no one was killed.”

  “What happened after I left?”

  The Prince stared at the horizon, his gaze focused beyond the tall peaks of the snowy mountain range, the lightning from the Veridian reflected in his clear blue eyes; eyes that darkened right in front of me. “I would rather not talk about the Wenlow on our walk. It’s not… how I want to spend my time with you.”

  My hackles rose, a feeling like an electric current rippling up and along my arm, igniting the hairs on my skin. It wasn’t the storm or talking about the Wenlow that had triggered it; it was him. He was holding something back, or maybe trying to hide something. I had never been good at figuring out when people were trying to misdirect me, but I had some experience with being ripped off, and I was getting a similar sense now.

  I decided not to prod, because there was something else I wanted to talk to him about. Something which, had I been totally sober and not dripping with drunk confidence, I would never have dared bring up. It was something that had been burning in the back of my mind ever since I was told what the word meant.

  It was time to bring the whole thing into the light, clear it up once and for all.

  “Very well,” I said. Then I turned to look at him, taking his attention away from the storm. “When we first met… why did you help me off the ground?”

  “You had fallen down.”

  “Sure, but everything I’ve learned about you and your people so far has told me you have a hard time with empathy.”

  He frowned. “That’s not true.” He narrowed his eyes. “And why do you call them my people?”

  I froze. Shit. “Uh, no, I meant… you know, the winter fae.”

  “You are winter fae. Our cold, magic blood runs through your veins, or did you spend so much time in the human world you forgot that?”

  “Right, no. I mean, obviously, I’m fae, like you. Totally. But what I meant was, the court, the people who live here—hell, even my custodian. You have trouble with compassion. For example, when Aronia was injured, Mira seemed a little disappointed I didn’t let her die because with her out of the competition, I stood a better chance.”

  The Prince’s eyebrow cocked. “She’s right.”

  “Yes, but you see… for me, where I’m from—where I was—if someone is down, we help them up. I helped Aronia because it’s in my nature… why did you help me up if it’s not in yours?”

  His eyes met mine, his gaze intensifying, the heat of his stare making my cheeks and nose bloom with warmth. “You want an answer to that question?”

  “More than anything, yes. I have been asking myself that question for so long. All I can think about is how you said the word soulmate to me the first time we met, and ever since then it’s felt like you’ve been struggling to understand why.”

  “There are many things about myself I still struggle to understand. This life, the life I lead now, is not the same one I led a mere month ago. Everything is different, and I’m still trying to wrestle control over much of it.” He paused. “At times, thoughts of you flood my mind and I cannot escape them. Like a siren song, they call to me, and steal control of my body away from me.”

  “They… do?”

  The Prince slid his hand out of the arm link and placed it gently on my hip. My breath hitched, and I held it in my lungs. My eyes widened, and my lips fell just a little. “They do,” he said, his voice barely higher than a whisper.

  “And what… what do I do when I’m running around in your thoughts?”

  “Many things…”

  His eyes had dipped to my lips; I could tell. Inch by inch, he was coming closer, and even though all manner of alarm bells were going off in my mind, I couldn’t fight it. I couldn’t keep from letting my chin rise and my lips fall further apart.

  “I…” I couldn’t form words.

  “Yes?” he asked.

  “Why… why did you call me your soulmate?”

  My pulse was pounding, adrenaline coursing through my veins as his lips neared mine. Instantly, my conscious mind was bombarded with the images the All Seers had shown me. I saw this, I saw us, about to kiss—then I saw myself reveal to him the truth about what I was, an instant before he stabbed me.

  This time, I kept my mouth shut, even as my lips parted to accept his. Unlike my doppelganger, I would keep the secret. And when the Prince placed his hand against my cheek, tipping my head and bringing his lips into contact with mine, there would be no stabbing.

  Only heat, raw and unbridled.

  I lost myself in that moment. When we kissed, the world melted away around me. The palace, the castle, the city itself—the warmth radiating out of my body was enough to reduce it all to puddles of steaming water.

  I let my hand find his face, my fingers brushing against his beard. Tipping my head to the other side, I allowed my lips to part even further, accepting his searching tongue and flicking it with my own. Slowly, he brushed his hand past my cheek, toward the back of my neck, to bring us both even closer. It was just us up here. Just the Prince and I, and the wind.

  And Gullie.

  Shit.

  I broke the kiss, turning my head to the side and quickly covering my mouth with my hand. “I’m sorry,” I said, breathless. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  The Prince backed up a step as if I’d just slapped him across the face. “What was that?” he asked.

  “This wasn’t right. I shouldn’t have—you shouldn’t have kissed me.”

  “I wanted to.”

  “I know, and I—” I groaned, my heart hammering, thoughts racing. Thoughts of Gullie had triggered me to break the kiss. She was there, in my hair, and if the Prince had pushed his hand behind my neck, where would she have gone? But there was something else, too. A feeling. A sense that… something hadn’t been totally right.

  A sense that only kicked in after the kiss had broken.

  “Why did you do that?” the Prince asked.

  I looked up at him, and for a mad moment I didn’t recognize the man standing in front of me. Maybe it was the way the sunlight hit him from behind, darkening the features of his face, especially his eyes. Maybe it was his stance, his hands balled into fists, his shoulders arched like he was ready to attack.

  I felt like I needed to get away from him, and fast.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, again, even though he had been the one to kiss me. “I should leave.”

  The Prince extended a hand. “Wait,” he called out, but I was already moving; hurrying past him, and going right back the way we had come. It wasn’t the first time I had fled from him, only this time I had broken into a full-on sprint, moving as fast as my legs could take me—sprinting across the palace balcony.

  "Dahlia, stop!” Gullie yelled.

  My lungs were already burning, and I could see the door to the villa coming up, so I started to slow down.

  “Dee, are you okay?” Gullie asked.

  We hadn’t reached the balcony yet, and the Prince hadn’t followed us, so I took a moment to stop and catch my breath. Maybe make the world stop spinning. “I don’t know, Gull,” I said, “That was… that was close.”

  “You’re telling me. I was running out of hair to hide in.”

  “Why didn’t it… why wasn’t it…” I couldn’t find the words to use. I was stuck, caught in some kind of weird mental loop. I had to physically shake my head to free my brain and get the words out. “Why wasn’t that good?”

  “Good?”

  “Something was wrong, Gull. I could feel it.”

  “Can you describe it?”

  “No. It’s just a feeling I got. You and I both know I’ve thought about what it might be like to kiss him before.”

  “Sure do. You talk about it in your sleep.”

  “I… what?”

  “You do. Move on. What did you feel?”

  Cheeks flushed again. “I don’t know. I mean, look at where we are, Gull. This place is beautiful, the palace is gorgeous, and it was just the two of us. It was perfect, all the way until I realized you were in my hair and I broke it off. Then… I don’t know, it’s like he didn’t taste right.”

  “Taste?”

  “An aftertaste. I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m probably just drunk-rambling. But whatever that was, it scared the hell out of me.”

  “Alright… okay, let’s get you downstairs, let’s find your bedroom, and get you settled. Maybe once the wine has run its course, you’ll be able to process this a little easier.”

  Nodding, I headed back toward the balcony window where Tellren was waiting for my return. When he didn’t see the Prince with me, he frowned, and asked me where the Prince had gone. I didn’t have the words to explain what had just happened, and even if I had them, I wasn’t going to say anything to him.

  Instead, I asked him to show me to my room. I very much needed to put a door between myself and the rest of this place. I needed to be alone with my thoughts, long enough to recover.

  But the Royal Selection had other plans.

  Chapter 9

  The room I was shown to had two beds in it, not one. I was going to have a roommate, only I didn’t immediately know who. I stood by the door, searching the room from where I stood to try to piece things together. Then I remembered I urgently needed to pee, so I ran off to take care of that, finally finding a safe space where I knew no one would be able to interrupt my thoughts.

  When I was done, I stepped up to the mirror in the bathroom and stared at myself. From behind my neck, a soft green light began to glow. A moment later, Gullie fluttered out of my hair, spreading her translucent little butterfly wings, and hovering over to the basin at the base of the mirror.

  Without my having to do anything, clear, cold water started gurgling into the basin.

  “Much better,” she said, cracking her neck. “I feel like I haven’t left your hair in days.”

  “You basically haven’t,” I said, “And you’re going to have to stay there for a while longer.”

  I dipped my hands into the water to wash them. After drying them on the towel hanging from a nearby rack, I dabbed my cold hands against my hot cheeks, trying to cool them. This had been too much, too quick. Looking at myself in the mirror, I touched my fingertips to my lips. I could still taste him against my mouth.

  “What happened back there?” Gullie asked.

  “Well, things aren’t any clearer than they were a minute ago, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Okay, let’s review… he kissed you. The Prince kissed you. But you didn’t like it.”

  “No, that’s not it. I mean… yes, I guess. But—” I shook my head, “—Gull, I should’ve liked it. And I did, at first. But it just left me with a weird feeling after. I wish I knew how to describe what I was feeling right now.”

  “Maybe it’s just overwhelm, you know? He’s a Prince. You’re… you.”

  I frowned at the little pixie. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, I mean, you’re not royalty, and you’ve barely kissed two guys in your entire life.”

  “Two and a half, thanks.”

  “How do you half kiss a person?”

  I shook my head. “It was… there were a lot of teeth. He didn’t know how to kiss.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Yeah, so, it’s not that I don’t know how to kiss. I know how to kiss.”

  “Does he know how to kiss?”

  I licked my lips, still staring at my own reflection, looking directly into my eyes. “Oh… yes,” I sighed. “He does. He was strong, but also soft at the same time. Gentle, and caring, but I could feel his power. I knew I was in danger, and damn if I didn’t enjoy it.”

  “What do you think would’ve happened if you hadn’t realized I was back there?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m glad you were there. It’s like a spell was broken, or something.”

  “Is it possible you would’ve felt the same way after the kiss was over?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Either way… Gull, if ever I needed more proof that I’m not who he thinks I am, this was it. It felt right, and then it wasn’t. And then the way he looked at me after… like I’d disappointed him. I know he’s a stranger and everything, but I didn’t recognize him for a moment.”

  Gullie nodded. “You need answers, I kind of need them too. But there’s only one place to get them.”

  I shook my head. “Absolutely not. I’m not going to bring this up with him ever again. Like, ever.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Do you seriously think you can run away from this?”

  I shrugged. “I can’t run away from it, but I can hide for as long as possible.”

  “And what’s that going to accomplish? You need to know what happened back there. You have a right to know.”

  I looked down at Gullie, the last breath I took suddenly stuck in my throat. “Wait, hold the phone…”

  “What? What is it?”

  “You don’t think… you don’t think he’s kissing them right now, is he?”

  “Oh Gods…”

  “Shit. What if he tells someone? Or what if someone saw?”

  She shook her head. “No. He’s definitely not told anyone.”

  My stomach churned, all the blood and warmth from my face. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re going—listen to me.” She floated up and got into my face. “Are you listening?”

  “Gull, I can take the trials, that I can deal with, but this is something totally different.”

  “I know, but shut up for a second. Are we shutting?”

  I swallowed hard and stared at the pixie. “Yes.”

  “Good. Now, that was all you and him. You know he thinks there’s a weird connection between the two of you. He doesn’t have that with the others. At least, he doesn’t believe he has it with the others. I’m sure—like, sure, sure—that he didn’t plan whatever just happened with you, which means it won’t happen with anyone else. I’m also sure it was private. That balcony was huge.”

  My heart was still pounding. It hadn’t calmed down even for one moment, not since the kiss. I reached into the bowl of cold water with both hands and splashed a little of it on my face, grabbing the towel and drying it off immediately after.

  “Better?” Gullie asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Alright, now, there are two things you need to do, and you’re going to do them both. You ready to hear them?”

  I nodded. “I am.”

  “First, you need to go to your new bedroom and wait for your roommate to come back. And no, it won’t be Mareen.”

  “How can you be sure about that?”

  “Because it won’t be. Fate won’t be so cruel.”

  “Okay, but if it’s her, I’m going to get really cross with you.”

  “Wait, why me?”

  “I can’t exactly get mad at fate, can I?”

  Gullie shook her head. “Whatever. Okay, now, the second thing you need to do is get answers from the Prince.”

  “Gull—”

  “—no, you need this. I don’t know how you’re going to get them, but you need to find out what the hell that was. I know you. You won’t be able to let it go, but you also won’t do anything about it. It’s time to step up and do the things that make us uncomfortable.”

  “I’ve fought monsters and dealt with beautiful bitches ever since I got here. I’d say I’m facing my fair share of uncomfortable things.”

  “You are, but all that stuff is the norm, now. These are new challenges, and we have to step up.”

  “And what exactly are you stepping up to?”

  Gullie’s eyebrows arched. “I’m stepping up to your scrawny ass. I’ve gone from best friend, to pixie Godmother. Your mothers aren’t here. Mira isn’t here. All you’ve got is me, and I’m… probably not equipped to deal with all of this stuff, but I’m doing my best.”

  I pressed my lips into a thin line and extended my hand for her to settle on my palm. Gullie floated down into my hand, leaving a little trail of pixie dust in the air and on my fingers as she descended. “I’m sorry,” I said. “You are my best friend, and you’re doing more for me than you know.”

  Gullie grinned. “Damn right.”

  “I’m going to make it up to you, I promise.”

  “You don’t have to. We’re besties. I wouldn’t say no to a new dress, though? Know how hard it is to get new clothes when I live in your hair?”

  “Don’t you make your own dresses out of magic?”

  “I can, but I have a hard time recovering my energy out here, and I need to save as much of it as I can, just in case…”

  She left the rest unsaid, but I understood what she meant. Turning herself into a tattoo on my skin was costly for her, and if she couldn’t recover her energy as quickly as she could on Earth, then she did in fact need to be conservative with her magic.