The Valdorian stables were older than Solmarina's, built into the hillside with stone walls that had been standing for centuries.The smell of horses and hay was the same anywhere in the world, comforting and familiar.
I walked down the main corridor, looking at the beautiful animals in their stalls.Thoroughbreds, mostly, with a few local breeds I didn't recognize.All of them well-cared-for and clearly valued.
Movement at the far end of the barn caught my eye.Someone in jeans and a dark shirt, moving with easy confidence around a grey mare.My heart jumped.
Peter.
No.Archie.Here in Valdoria somehow, checking on horses like he always did when he needed to think.
I started walking faster, already planning what I'd say.That I'd decided to stay.That I'd torn up the papers.That I wanted to try,
The person turned around.
Not Archie.Just a groom, probably in his twenties, with similar build and coloring but completely different features.
The disappointment hit me like a physical blow.
I missed him.Missed Peter, who was really Archie, who was really just the man I'd somehow started falling for despite all the reasons I shouldn't.
That was my answer, wasn't it?The fact that I'd hoped to see him here, in a completely different country, because some part of me wanted him nearby even when I was upset and confused and trying to make impossible decisions.
I turned and walked back to where Captain Steiner was waiting.
"Everything okay, Your Highness?"
"Yeah."I smiled despite the disappointment."I just needed to check something.I'm ready to go back now."
"To Solmarina?"
"To Archie."
On the flight back, I pulled out my phone and typed a message:On my way back.Need to talk to you.Are you free tonight?
His response was immediate:I'll clear my schedule.Are you okay?
I'm good.Better than good, actually.I'll explain when I see you.
I'll be waiting.
Three simple words, but they made my heart do something complicated in my chest.
I leaned back in my seat and watched the clouds pass below us, feeling lighter than I had in days.I'd made my choice.I was going back to Solmarina, back to the palace, back to the complicated mess of royal life and sabotage plots and learning which fork to use.
Back to Archie.
And this time, I was choosing it.All of it.
Even the scary parts.Especially the scary parts.
Because the best things in life usually were.
