Briefly, the deer appeared in a soft glowing outline before fading into nothing.
I walked up to the door and set my skis to dry on the covered front porch before heading inside. The warmth of the space was stifling after the icy wind outside. Setting the rose on a small windowsill, I began stripping off clothes. After hanging my outer clothes onto the nearby rack, I slipped into the bathroom and changed into a sweater with jeans. In stockings, I moved into the cabin. Even though we rarely visited it, Georgiana had insisted on giving it a Valentine’s Day touch by adding delicate, pink-colored candles to the fireplace mantel and a single bouquet of white peonies in the foyer.
I walked into the main room and was surprised to find Uncle James sitting on the sofa, enjoying a steaming cup of hot chocolate while he looked over documents. My uncle was the king regent of the fae, holding the spot for me, the heir, until I was ready to take over.
He smiled at me. “Have a good time skiing, my boy?”
“It was refreshing. I thought you had already left for New York?” Uncle had meetings he needed to attend before coming to the Saints and Sweethearts Festival in Austen Heights.
“Not quite yet.” He patted the suitcase next to him. “But I’ll leave soon.”
The dying embers in the fireplace began to pop and spark. The hearth spirit that resided there was temperamental and hated it when the flames burned too low. I stepped up to it and added another log, then grabbed a poker, adjusting the wood. The fire crackled to life.
I set the poker aside. “I’m headed to the study to work.” By work, I meant I was going to review the information I’d collected about my parents’ murder and Moonrot.
“Did you find something new?” My uncle asked. I’d told him about how I suspected that someone had murdered my parents a few weeks ago.
“Not yet.” I’d been over the details a hundred times, and I was stalled out. My parents had died in a car accident the same night that the curse Moonrot had spread among the fae. The fact that it happened on the same day was a secret that only my family and the council were aware of. We announced my parents’ death several days after they’d actually passed to reduce speculation that the two might be connected. But they were. Or at least I thought so.
And I’d discovered evidence that they may not have died in the car accident after all.
I’d made a list of people I planned to interview and discover what they knew, but I couldn’t do those interviews from miles away. The Saints and Sweethearts Festival was approaching, and it was tradition for the council and the prominent fae to travel to Austen Heights for the celebration. All of my suspects would be in the same place, making it the perfect opportunity to gather new information.
Uncle set his hot cocoa on a coaster on the table. “Before you do that, do you mind if we talk?”
“Sure.”
My uncle was tall and had the same light brown hair and green eyes as my father. He pushed an article from a newspaper in front of me. “They printed another one.”
I picked up the paper. The article titled “Prince Valemont, Lazy or Reckless: Backs Changes On Dangerous Creatures But Won’t Take The Throne.”
“Things are getting unstable with the council, and the increased bad press is making it harder,” Uncle stated. “You have a month until you turn twenty-eight and must ascend the throne. Then all this will be over.” He observed me. “Or you can take the throne early.”
My heart sank, and the newspaper crinkled under my hand. “I need these last few weeks to focus on Moonrot and my parents’ murder.”
“I don’t want to stop you from finding your parents’ killer or from discovering the source of this horrible curse, but don’t you think you might do both?”
How could I become king when the people were hurting from this curse that had something to do with my parents' death? My duties as king would limit my time and slow me down in uncovering the truth. The council, however, didn’t even believe my parents had been murdered. They ruled it an accidental death. I’d been searching for the answer to my parents’ deaths and the cure to Moonrot for three years. I refused to give up until I found out the answers.
“You can see how close I am to solving this. When I turn twenty-eight, I will take the throne.” The law said I had ten years from when I turned eighteen to take the throne. And that time was coming swiftly to a close, so I didn’t have any other choice. But if the council turned fully against me before my next birthday, then my uncle would have to find someone else to rule. “Can you hold the council off? Convince them to wait?”
Uncle regarded me thoughtfully. “I can try. But there have been a lot of questions since I took over as regent. And now with the recent blows to your popularity, you must keep your head down until your birthday and do what you can to improve your public image.”
There had been rumors flying around about me. The death of a fae who’d supposedly been murdered by a vampire a fewweeks earlier had turned public opinion against me—all because I pushed for reforms involving vampires and werewolves. I didn’t regret my stand. Most of them were victims, rather than monsters, and needed our help. But the papers and fae media kept misrepresenting my intentions.
From the earnest look my uncle gave me, it was clear he had a particular idea about how I could improve my image.
“And what do you suggest?” I asked warily.
“The best way to fight the damage to your reputation is to show the people and the council that you’re ready and willing to take your place and be their king at the end of the month. The people will rally behind the king they have long awaited if you give them something to celebrate.” A smile spread across his lips. “Such as a royal engagement.”
I sighed. “Not again, Uncle.” He’d always been nothing but supportive of me, but for the past few years he’d been trying to get me to marry Rosalie Trent.
“Lady Catherine and I have been talking, and Rosalie is the perfect woman for you. Someone the people love from a prominent family and of course is highborn fae. Her family is very traditional, so they will help you lay these rumors about you to rest. Her mother, Vanessa Trent, is on the council and has promised to sway them in your favor.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“In fact…” Like a contestant showman revealing what was behind door number one, my uncle jumped to his feet and opened the door to an adjacent sitting room with a flair. “I have invited her and her family to come visit us.”
