A wounded look flashes over the fawn-like prince’s face. “Dyfri,” he says softly. “My offer will always stand. Just say the word and I’ll pull some strings and have someone claim you.”
“Keep your pity, Selwyn. I don’t need it,” says Dyfri as he shoves the parcel roughly into his brother’s chest.
Selwyn smiles deep enough to flash his dimples. “As you wish, brother dearest.” He hefts the parcel. “Are you sure this will work?”
Dyfri scowls and crosses his arms. “You may take your business elsewhere if you doubt my skills.”
Selwyn grins again, turns on his heels and leaves without another word. Dyfri launches into clearing his workbench. Herbs are tipped back into jars and corks are shoved into bottles of alarmingly coloured liquids.
“I…er…can come back if you are busy?” I say despite not knowing if it is true. Pinky has vanished and I’m not sure if I could find my way back. I don’t even know if I am allowed to leave.
“No, it’s fine. I’m done now,”
He gestures to me to follow him into the next room. I obediently trail behind him, only to freeze when I come face to face with the ornate four-poster bed decadently covered in layers of deep purple velvet.
Dyfri looks back at me and rolls his eyes. “I’m not going to give you a practical demonstration. You are Rhydian’s.”
That was reassuring. Up until that last part. Does that mean he would, if I didn’t belong to his brother?
Dyfri sits down elegantly on a purple and cream striped settee. He pats the empty space next to him. I shuffle forward.
“What are we learning today?” I ask.
“Manners,” replies Dyfri curtly.
I take my place next to him. I’m strangely disappointed. Apparently, part of me wishes to know how to be a fiend in bed. Which is ridiculous for all sorts of reasons. Not least of which is the fact that I haven’t even got the chance to try the blowjob tricks Dyfri taught me. Anything else is going to be just as useless.
“Tea?” asks Dyfri.
“Yes, please.” Hopefully, it will come with cake because Pinky didn’t give me breakfast.
Dyfri claps his hands and a small army of servants spring into action, setting a table by the settee, complete with white linen and a three-tier silver cake stand.
Look at me. Taking tea and learning manners in Buckingham Palace. What has the world come to?
Chapter ten
“It’s getting late,” says Dyfri.
I glance at the window and nearly spit out my mouthful of lemon cake. It is dark outside. Have I really spent the entire day hanging out with Dyfri? This is the third round of snacks he has called for, so quite possibly.
I appreciate his dedication to good food, but I’m going to get fat. I don’t have whatever fey magic or metabolism he has that keeps him so slender.
“Come on, I will take you back.”
The poor man probably has a shit ton of things to be doing other than babysitting me.
I put my plate down, scramble to my feet and gather up my many pages of copious notes. Fey etiquette is complicated and confusing and I’m never going to remember it all. It’s such a shame they can’t magic it into my brain like they have with their language.
I roll my papers up, tuck them under one arm, and scurry after Dyfri as he strides out of his rooms. The hallways of the palace feel different now, and not just because they are busier. Something has changed since this morning, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It feels darker, and far more than it simply being nighttime now. There has been a shift. The very air feels strange. It isalmost as if this morning I walked through Buckingham Palace, and now I’m walking through the fey court. A shiver runs down my spine, and I walk as close to Dyfri as I can without treading on him.
Several people pass us, but I keep my eyes firmly on the plush red carpet as befitting the proper behaviour of a pet.
A pair of ornately patterned boots pause right by us. “Ah, rhocyn, I could do with some company. Come with me.”
I nearly walk into Dyfri but manage to stop myself just in time. Shit. This can’t be good.
“I would be delighted to, Your Grace, but sadly I must take care of Prince Rhydian’s pet,” says Dyfri sweetly.
