I was slightly on edge after my conversation with Gwenore. So when she left me to attend queenly duties, I navigated the large castle's halls like a ghost, unsure where to go next, what to think. Unsure how I was supposed to feel.

The discussion about her mother brought me to think of my mother, that I'd reunited with only days ago and already lost again. At least mine wasn't dead, but existing elsewhere, in a world far, far from this one.

Too far for me to ever see her again.

I missed her. I'd already missed her for so long, mourning her death—which turned out to be a trick so she could travel to another place and take a new life. Now I had to mourn her while she was alive, but living on another plane, in another realm.

I'd been angry with her for a moment, struggling to understand why she did it; why she abandoned her family and switched places with a powerful mage in a world of colors so unlike ours.

But she'd done it to save herself. To preserve herself. She'd done it to end our misery, our time of fretting over her and her illness. She suffered, but we did too, having to watch her body fight itself. Surely she'd been relieved to go, to let us think she'd died and was in a better place.

Instead, she was here.

Was here a better place? I still wondered.

In any case, it was better than what she'd returned to. Eroa in general, and Springport specifically, was a male-dominated society. She'd grown used to a modicum of equality here, in Efura; but back in Springport, she'd battle to assert her dominance, her heritage. She was royal, and with me gone, the only royal who could rule our continent.

But would the ruthless men on the council allow it? Or would they vote her out and establish a regency to rule in her stead, keeping her in the shadows?

I'd known her as a stubborn woman in my youth, but the woman I'd met here, posing as a sorceress, was much more powerful. She was a force to be reckoned with, wielding magic beyond my wildest dreams. But would that magic endure in her now that she'd removed the cloak and veil of Arden? Would it be of any use to her in a world where magic didn't exist?

I thought of the real Arden, buried beneath the ground in Springport. Would Mother dig them up now that the ruse was over? How would she explain her return to the council, without prompting the advisors to lock her up for speaking nonsense?

I spent the rest of the morning worrying. Overthinking. Envisioning how I could contact her, check on her; perhaps even visit her, at one point.

But I'd made my choice. I'd opted to remain in Efura and see this war of quarreling sisters through. After how Otho had spoken to my mother, after how Jack had abused my staff in Springport, I owed it to myself and my legacy to stay here and seek a sort of vengeance.

I wasn't much of a fighter, but I'd fight. I'd defend Gwenore and her family and her right to rule with my very last breath.

And I'd marry Ysac, tethering myself to this realm once and for all.

The thought of him soothed the ice casting around my heart. All the warmth he'd infused in me, the love, the devotion; it made me warm, made me calm.

I'd long since forgiven him for his part in all the schemes—he was being blackmailed, and never would have chosen this path if he hadn't been forced to.

I rounded a corner, dazed by images of Ysac in my mind, and nearly came face to face with Astrida and Tilda.

My instincts told me to bolt in the other direction, before they saw me. Avoiding Astrida was crucial to my survival in this place.

But it was too late. Astrida's eyes widened, and her cheeks turned a gentle shade of red as she noticed me. Tilda waved me over with such excitement I feared she'd burst.

Tilda didn't bother me so much, though she was a tad too outspoken for my taste. But I owed her my relationship with Ysac. Had she not outed us as having feelings for one another, I'd have never guessed I had a chance with Ysac.

It was Astrida who petrified me most. Almost more than Luned, our common enemy.

Astrida's affections towards me were so blunt, so intense, it was troubling. She was obsessed, and everyone knew it, and she didn't care. She had no intention of stopping, of comprehending that I'd never be available to her.

I remembered how she'd gawked at me earlier, finding me naked in bed with Ysac. Had the covers revealed any more of my skin, she'd have tossed Ysac aside and jumped me right then and there, I knew. Propriety and rules and customs be damned.

"Highness," she said, flustered as she issued a perfect curtsy.

Tilda curtsied as well. "Prince Teodric, how are you faring in our grand castle?"

I tipped forward in a curt bow, one hand on my chest, the other bunching at my side. "Well enough," I said, dodging Astrida's puppy-dog eyes. "It's set up differently than mine, but I've loved admiring all the decorative touches."

I figured keeping to lighter topics would be safest. At least until I thought of a way to escape their clutches.

What about me drew Astrida so? I didn't understand why she was so infatuated with someone she didn't know. Not that I was an ugly man; I'd been told time and time again at home that I was handsome, well-built, attractive. But compared to some courtiers I'd encountered here, even a few soldiers, I was tiny. Unknowledgeable about the town, the continent, the world.

These men were burly and muscular, gruff and gorgeous—yes, I'd noticed them, too, though my heart beat for Ysac—so why would she settle for me?

I was no one. A prince from another land with nothing to my name and no real skills to display. No money, no territory to share with her. None of the riches I knew she loved, and no interesting conversation to provide her.

And yet...since the day she'd seen me in the throne-room at Diamond Castle, she'd been absorbed in me. She became a different person whenever I was in the room. She fawned over me—from afar, now that I'd caught on to her obsession—and batted her lashes and grimaced whenever she didn't have my full attention.

"Perhaps you'd like to join us?" Tilda waved towards the hallway where I'd come from. "We fancied a promenade outside, with this lovely weather." The sun beamed down on her as if in response, through the opulent window towering behind her.

I did fancy a walk outside; but not with them. Not while knowing that any time alone with Astrida might result in me drugged and dangerously naked in her bed, where she'd have her way with me. She didn't care that I was engaged to Ysac. Any means she could employ to steal me, she would.

That was the rumor among the serving staff, at least. I'd overheard conversations, detected tension in the air whenever I passed a group of courtiers.

Astrida was out to get me for herself, and she didn't care who knew.

She wouldn't drug me, would she? The issue was that I didn't know her well enough and was afraid of asking anyone to what lengths she'd go to get me. I didn't want to give anyone any ideas; especially not her.

"Please, Teodric," said Astrida, a slither of too much anticipation in her voice. The way she jittered beside her sister, eager to be closer to me, put me off.

If I'd considered even for a second accepting their invitation, I now wanted nothing more than to flee. "Actually," I peered up towards a clock above the nearest fireplace, "I do believe I'm late for something."

I snuck my hand behind my back, doing my best to hide my shaky arm. The fear loading up in me was about to overflow, and I didn't want either of these princesses to know. Mostly Astrida. If she saw that fear, she'd exploit it to pull me to her and I wasn't sure I'd survive a night with her.

I didn't want a night with her.

Yes, she was gorgeous. A vision of rose-gold threads, waves of crimson hair, skin like soft silk. Any other man would bend over backwards for her, comply to her every request. She smelled like roses in the spring, her laugh a lullaby to those who surrounded her. Enticing, enchanting; a true princess.

But me? I dreamed of a man with golden hair, bells on his hat and shoes, a firm chest I enjoyed pressing myself against. Purple eyes that worked like magic charms, luring me in and capturing me.

I had nothing against breasts—and Astrida's, spilling out of her corset, were definitely appetizing—but they weren't on my mind at the moment.

Only Ysac was.

"For...something?" Tilda arched an eyebrow, her icy eyes narrowing. She'd decked her dark, cropped hair with a golden net of red flowers, and her arm linked with Astrida's twitched.

I begged her to understand. She knew of my ties to Ysac, how much I cared for him. Why would she try to throw me into her capricious, frantic sister's embrace when I didn't want to be there?

Please, I pleaded, internally. I hoped my slitted eyes and deepening frown would indicate my discomfort to her. Aside from saying it outright—let me go, I beseech you—I didn't know how to escape this hungry princess and her much-too-nice younger sister.

"Something," I said at last, teeth gritted as I gestured towards the opposite end of the hall. "Something the queen asked me to do." An epiphany barreled through me; I smiled, perhaps too widely, pleased by my ruse. "We were on a walk together, and she charged me with some...secret business she made me swear not to divulge to anyone." When Tilda's nostrils wrinkled, I shook my head. "Not even to her sisters."

Tilda rolled her eyes, lips pursing. "Oh, very well, do go attend to that business, then."

Astrida said nothing as her sister dragged her off, but she sulked, her footsteps heavily clacking on the tiled floor.

I prayed Gwenore would back me up, if confronted.

But I couldn't waste another moment down here, in the open, where Astrida might snatch me up later. Where she might accuse me of lying and then make me beg for her forgiveness in the form of sexual favors.

I raced across the building, somehow making my way back to my quarters, desperate to close the door and seal myself away from the woman's threatening allure.

Inside, I melted, alone at last. It was darker in here, the sun having moved to the other side of the castle. A few candles had been lit, basking the space in soft light.

As I rested against the door, catching my breath, I noticed a shape on my bed.

A shape in the form of a person. A man.

My man.

My jaw dropped as I approached to get a better view, and my heart thumped in my chest at the sight of him.

Naked. His sculpted body was like that of a museum statue, pure perfection and curves and lines in all the right places.

"Hi there," said Ysac, lounging on his side, his hand wrapped around his cock. A cock that was so erect, so...delicious. I squirmed.

"You..." I gulped, unable to remove my gaze from his member, hypnotized as he stroked it. "Didn't you have something to do with the guards?"

He licked his lips, eyes roving down to my middle, where my own cock flickered to life, excited at the vision of his naked flesh.

The light cascaded over his hair, brushed over his chiseled figure, leaving me breathless. Thirsty.

And growing harder by the second.

He sat up, hand still holding on to his cock, still sliding up and down.

I felt myself start to drool as I removed my coat, shrugged off my shoes. I knew what was about to happen and I had no desire to prevent it. After my commotion with Astrida, I needed this. Needed his caresses, his kisses, needed the sensation of him filling me up.

"Oh, there was something to do, all right," said Ysac, standing, striding up to me. He continued massaging himself, and the tip of his cock met with my thigh, making me shudder. He slid his free hand under my shirt, his touch leaving goosebumps in its wake. "You. I need to do you. And you're my priority, lover."

I shivered as he leaned forward and kissed my neck.

All my anxieties flew out the window as I succumbed to him, as I let him woo me over to the bed.

If he knew my troubles, he also knew how to erase them for me. When his mouth found its way to my cock, everything in me stilled, all the screams in my head ceased.

There was only him and I, wrestling our nakedness, chasing the high of our climaxes.

And it was all I'd ever need.

♥♦♣♠