“Alright, Princess, it’s time to head back.” He turns his gaze toward the horizon where the sun is beginning to set, casting a golden hue across the landscape. “I have a promise to keep to the King and Queen, and I don’t think they’d be too pleased with me if I broke it.” As he speaks, the sun highlights the light brown and gold streaks in his effortlessly perfect tousled hair. I let him lead us back to the hoverboards, his arm still draped around me.
I can’t help but tease him, “So you actually want my parents to like you?” The words escape my lips with a playful lilt, but I notice a flicker of something darker in his eyes. For just a brief moment, the playful mask he usually wears slips away, revealing a glimpse of the secrets buried within. But as quickly as it appears, he regains his composure, sliding his mask back into place with practiced ease.
That sudden shift unsettles me, creating a knot of unease in the pit of my stomach. “I want everyone to like me,” he replies, his tone light,though the faint tremor in his voice hints at something more lurking beneath the surface.
A thousand questions rush to my mind, but it’s not my place to push, and we’ve shared a lovely day together that I don’t want to ruin. He’s not obligated to divulge his secrets to me. I am, after all, just a momentary blip in his life. By the time he graduates, he’ll be ushered into Bonding ceremonies where he’ll find a wife and then be crowned king. This is all temporary. So why does his shutting me out hurt so badly?
Instead of pressing him for answers, I swallow my disappointment, trying to keep my emotions in check. I roll my eyes in a feigned expression of annoyance and march ahead.
“You’re truly insufferable, Prince,” I tease when we finally reach the hoverboards, my sarcasm tinged with some truth. He merely chuckles in response. I struggle to shake off the sadness and heaviness in my heart that he feels obligated to hide a part of himself from me. I wish he would let me in—if only just a little.
He loads all of our purchases into a seagrass bag and straps it to his back while I fish out the hand controls from my own overstuffed bag. As if sensing the change in mood, he steps closer, tilting my chin up.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asks quietly, his eyes searching my face for answers.
I bite into my lip and shrug as nonchalantly as possible, begging the burn in the back of my throat and my eyes to go away. By some miracle, my eyes don’t fill with unshed tears. He studies my face a moment before I wrap my arms around him, burying my face into his chest. If he won’t let me in, I’ll just be here in whatever capacity he allows.
“I don’t want today to end,” I admit, my voice betraying me as it wobbles.
He wraps his arms around me, tucking my head into his arm as he presses his mouth to the top of my head. For long moments, he doesn’t say anything; he just holds me, and that unsettled feelingleaves me in the form of a few tears, but once they’re shed, I feel so much better.
I step back and tuck my hair behind my ears, wiping my eyes before looking up at him with a small, closed-mouthed smile. He studies me again, brushing my hair back before placing a soft kiss on my forehead. After a short pause, he pulls back, nodding like he’s accepting whatever just happened between us. I exhale and turn to get on my board. The sun will set soon, and I want to be back before it gets dark. Plus, I really want to meet Princess Clara.
Anders’ hands wrap around my waist from behind me. His grip tightens, his thumbs brushing the bare skin on my lower back until my feet are strapped in.
His hands leave my waist, and he walks in front of me, cupping the side of my cheek while his other hand places the barrier back on my temple. “Thank you.”
His thumb brushes so close to my lips while we maintain eye contact. He dips his head, and just when I think he might actually kiss me, he whispers a response of “My pleasure” back.
I hear him sigh and, at the same time, get a lungful of his scent. In a moment of desperation, I’m gripping his shirt, holding him in place. A raucous laughter breaks whatever spell we’ve been in, and he pulls away, placing his own barrier on his temple.
“Keep up, Princess,” he teases before jumping on his board. His one-eighty in his emotions has me confused for a moment before I laugh and follow after him.
twenty-three
. . .
During the rideback to the resort, I replay how Anders leaned in repeatedly in my head. Was he going to kiss me? Did I want him to? The whole day with him felt so unexpected and so…perfect. I wasn’t worried about the Bond, even though it was there the entire time, and I didn’t worry about the future. With him, I felt completely at ease and normal.
We are both silent the whole way, taking in the landscape. Over the open ocean, pastels of pink and purple paint the skies, and the water glows a dark cerulean. The waves are smooth as they creep toward the sandy shores before the tide sucks them back out. Fishing boats worn with age and salt bob near the shore, their colors faded from the sun, and a few larger vessels are anchored further out.
Anders studies me several times, his gaze lingering, yet I choose not to lift my eyes to meet his. A sense of contentment has settled between us that feels like it’s balancing precariously on a ledge as we near the resort. The world we’ve shared, so blissfully separate from reality, is about to collide with the outside.
As the resort comes into view, the flickering torches lining the path cast a warm glow, illuminating the shadows around us. Andersdecelerates, coming to a stop at the front desk. We return the hoverboards and barrier disks, and when Anders extends his hand to me once more, I shake my head, feeling a knot of insecurity as we approach the gate.
Anders falls into step beside me, adjusting his long strides to match my own pace. It’s a subtle gesture, one he has repeated throughout the day, always anticipating my rhythm without needing to be asked. There’s a comfort in the way we move together, even as we approach reality.
“Today was really special.” I cling to my bag to give my hands somewhere to be.
“I’m glad we could make it work,” he responds, his voice hinting at confusion over our sudden distance. Our feet shuffle along the boards as we pass the first path.
“Where are you staying?” I ask. He gestures toward the room down the path to the right, close to mine.
“Clara and I leave tomorrow. I promised her I would take her to see the aquarium before we leave for Malaya.” I nod, offering a tight smile as I push open the door to my room, allowing him to follow me inside.
“I just need to change for dinner.”
It’s now chilly outside, and I want something warmer than the skirt and top I’m currently wearing. He settles down on the deck below while I slip into a long summer dress and pull a soft, thin cardigan over my shoulders. I brush my hair, leaving it down and weaving in a small diadem. I add some lip stain and slip my feet back into my sandals.
