Little thing?I gaped before my eyebrows furrowed. I was not athing!My fists balled and the man had the audacity to take another step.
“Don’t be shy. My name is Edward Lucillen, and I am one of the High Lady Cressida’s counselors. You can rest assured I’m honorable.”
Does he even know what honor means?I shook my head and he reached for my wrist.
“Come, just one dance.”
“Don’t touch her.” My racing heart calmed as Ezra stepped in, placing his hand on my waist, as if claiming me as his own.
Ezra!I nodded enthusiastically to the man, but he was staring at the prince.
“You look…”
“If a woman does not want to dance with you, Edward,” he said, “I suggest you leave her alone.” A circle slowly formed around us, as the man let out a scream.
“He’s… alive?”
“Who is it?” someone muttered near us.
“It’s him!” Another one burst in.
Ho‘ohuli was there in a moment. “It’s the prince!” he exclaimed loudly, his eyes sparkling because he knew it all along.
And then the music stopped as Cressida, sitting on the throne, rose, her face pale. “Ezra?”
Beside me, Ezra took off his mask and a ripple of gasps escaped around the room. “It’s the prince!”
“He’s alive!”
More than terror, like the look on Edward’s face, was the relief in the room. It felt like a gentle wave over the water’s surface, the kind that lapped on the boards of the ships, not crashed against it.
Cressida’s expression mirrored that of seahorse mustache and his grouper fish friend, but then her face broke into a smile, one that showed relief and joy.
“Prince Ezra, you’re alive and well!” Tears pooled in her eyes and I frowned. I suppose I expected her to give him a cold welcome, but she ran down the throne and threw her arms around him, giving him a big hug. Those in the room said soft “oohs” and “awws.” She had thrown herself so forcefully on him, he didn’t have a chance to move or recoil, and his hands fell from my waist.
Jealousy sucked the air from me like squid tentacles. I knew this was his betrothed–or was? And I would be leaving, but I felt a stinging hatred for her, something I’d never experienced before.
Ezra stood back awkwardly, giving them space. He hardly hugged her back, his eyebrows furrowed. “I am back,” he said. “I was able to break my curse, with some help.” His eyes met mine, and I nodded encouragingly. Cressida gave me a cutting look, then quickly covered it with a smile.
“But I am back,” he said, then took a step away from Cressida. “And I’ve returned to reclaim what’s mine.”
I wanted to clap my hands at the whole scene. I’d never been so proud of Ezra in my life, and that was saying something when I’d known him only a day or so.
CHAPTER NINE
EZRA
Iwas back. The entire room silenced as every head bowed. The guards, which had surrounded Cressida, now made their way towards me.
“As heir to the throne, Ezra Keoki Kanahele is the rightful king of Kaiora Kingdom,” said Ho‘ohuli, stepping forward. He congratulated me with a hug, then many others followed, teary-eyed, welcoming me and wanting to know what occurred.
I tried to explain things, but Ho‘ohuli helped out by saying he would send out a royal decree immediately explaining that the beloved Crown Prince of Kaiora had been turned to a frog by a curse–which would very well be investigated–but that he was back and would be crowned king.
I’m back.
The rest of the night was a whirlwind as my servants, guards, and counselors thronged me. Cressida seemed to all but fade away and Aulani stood to the side, folding her arms and watching, a big smile on her face. She looked nothing but proud of me, and that made my insides soar.
I promisedAulani I’d take her to the sea as soon as I became king, but the next few days had me swamped. And not in a frog kind of way.
