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I had no idea how Princess Ianthe felt about this awful situation, or even how much of the truth she actually knew. Arranged marriages were rarer these days, but still happened among the monarchies in Otherworld. We’d just gotten better at hiding them from our subjects—making the fae believe that they were true love matches.

Although I was quite sure the Spring Fae struggled to believe that as much after my elder brother’s seemingly endless string of ‘true love matches,’ when his wives got cast aside for someone younger and hopefully more fertile.

“Prince Elvis,” one of the guards said in surprise as we approached the gates. “We were told to expect you tomorrow.”

“It’s very good to see you again, your highness,” the other guard said as they both bowed, then hurried to open the gates. “How were your… travels?”

“Fine.” I made sure to keep my stride confident and even as I made my way into the palace grounds, Vince just a step behind me.

“This is wild,” he muttered once the guards were out of earshot, looking around at the lush, manicured jungle that was the palace gardens. It was the only part of this place that I’d actually missed.

“The guards at the doors have spotted us,” I said back quietly, keeping my face expressionless. “Which means my mother will soon be informed of our arrival.”

As I’d suspected, the two guards at the palace doors looked at each other, before one stepped away from his post and slipped inside.

“Okay.” Vince was starting to sound a little nervous. “Does that mean she’s going to come and… I don’t know. Talk to us?”

“Maybe,” I muttered back, flicking my gaze over the palace windows, spotting some curtains twitching as staff peered out. “Or she’ll make a point of ignoring me.”

It turned out to be the latter. After making our way into the palace—with Vince trying to subtly gawk at the huge front hall with its domed glass ceiling covered in wisteria—we were greeted by a member of staff who quickly informed me that my mother was busy and “might possibly be able to make an appearance at dinner.”

In reality, she was sulking because she’d been caught off guard. She hadn’t expected me until tomorrow, and she certainly hadn’t been expecting Vince.

We were shown up to my former chambers, which had surprisingly been cleaned in preparation for my arrival. They looked largely the same—almost untouched since the night I’d fled. It was wildly disconcerting to step back into my bedroom and have it feel almost like the last six years had never happened. Like all the progress I’d made for myself had been stripped away in an instant.

I knew, without a doubt, that was the only reason my mother hadn’t had my rooms gutted. She was good at playing mind games.

“Wow.” Vince set down the suitcase and looked around once the door was closed and we’d been left alone. “So this is where you grew up.”

Fresh heat crept into my face as I tried to take in the opulent room through his eyes. It was frankly excessive in all ways—pompous and stuffy, all of the furniture carved with spindly legs and ornate leafwork, the ceiling domed and painted lilac with gold leaf marbling, the four-poster bed draped in a thick sage green and gold canopy.

I tucked my wings in tight and clasped my hands together behind my back, anxiously clearing my throat as Vince eyed the room with an unreadable expression.

“Yes.” My voice was tight with embarrassment. I heard myself hoarsely say, “I’m sorry.”

He immediately gave me an odd look. “Huh? You’re sorry?”

Fresh heat rushed to my cheeks. “I mean—I don’t know why I said that. I just… I know it’s…” I gestured vaguely and finished with, “A lot.”

He chuckled, making his way closer. “It is a lot. I’m kind of too nervous to touch anything.”

“Touch whatever you want,” I immediately blurted. “None of it matters. It’s just stuff. Smash the whole room to pieces, if you want.”

He stopped in front of me and gave me a wry smile, smoothing his palm down my arm to tuck his fingers into mine. The touch made my breath catch, and I quickly turned my hand to thread our fingers together.

“I think you’re just saying that because you know it’d piss your mom off.” Vince looked amused. “Which, don’t get me wrong, sounds great, but I don’t think unnecessary destruction of palace property is the road we’ve decided to go down.”

I sighed. “Yes, you’re right.”

“Besides, there are way more interesting things we can do in this room than vandalise it,” Vince added, tugging gently on my hand to draw me closer until he could capture my lips in a kiss.

My heart thumped hard as I kissed him back, my free hand clinging to the front of his shirt. His long tongue dipped into my mouth, gliding against mine, and for a few wonderful seconds, I managed to forget where we were and what I was going to have to do tomorrow. That soon—whether it was within the next few hours or the next day—I would have to come face to face with my mother again.

A polite knock on the door had us reluctantly breaking apart, and I could feel the flush in my cheeks as Vince shot me a wicked grin before stepping back to a respectable distance. Then, before I could move to answer the door, he jolted and lunged for it.

“Forgot I was supposed to be your butler,” he whispered with another grin.

I blushed. “You don’t really have to—”