“At the masquerade ball last summer,” he said, looking up with red-rimmed eyes. “You stood up to your mother.”
I pulled away, hugging my elbows. “That was different.”
I tried not to remember that night. The impractical weight of my dress as I hiked up the stairs to the balcony, my heart at my throat, hoping I would make it before Mother did any more damage. The way she had looked at me, her face twisted with rage and betrayal. How hot and disheveled and shaky I felt when I finally said what I had been thinking for ten years.
What you are doing is wrong, Mother.
It was terrifying. But freeing all the same.
“That was the night I fell in love with you. When I saw you up there,” Bennett said, startling me out of my thoughts.
There was admiration in his eyes, strong and unfettered. I never thought he could ever look at me that way.
I shook my head in disbelief. “But you didn’t trust me, even after that. Why did you ask Giselle to test me with love charms?” I asked.
Bennett’s eyes softened. “Because you’re beautiful. You were especially so that night. I was afraid I was...infatuated. I didn’t trust myself.”
“My hair was covered in feathers,” I mumbled.
Bennett smiled, but grew serious as he looked down at his hands. “You were so brave. I wish I had that same courage for my father. At least that one time. You needed me. What did you think when I didn’t come back for you? Did you blame me?”
All protagonists in great romances sacrificed for their lovers—their wealth, their position, even their duty. But I never expected that from Bennett, nor would I ever. I knew he would never do anything half so foolish as renounce his title. Olderea needed him. And I hated that he was guilty because of it.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course not,” I said.
Bennett’s voice cracked. “Truly?”
“This kingdom is lucky to have a crown prince as devoted as you,” I said firmly. “Besides, His Majesty is willing to change. My invitation is proof.”
Mother, on the other hand, would never change.
“Do you really think so?” Bennett whispered.
“The king has had enough rebellion in the past few months, don’t you think?”
He exhaled. He raised my hand to his lips and pressed a lingering kiss on my knuckles. “You are the best crown princess I could ever ask for.”
I warmed at his touch. “Perhaps your father can be persuaded into letting me help reform laws, then?”
“You’ll be perfect,” Bennett said, his voice earnest. “Youareperfect.”
He angled his face closer. I grew flustered, though I hardly knew why.
Perhaps being away from him made him all the more magnetic. Or because he was breathtakingly handsome in the dim lamplight of the gardens, the night sky surrounding him like a crown of stars.
“So you’ll forgive your father, then?” I asked, my words stilted.
Bennett paused. “Yes. I suppose I will. He should have told me he invited you,” he said. His gaze lingered on my features, as if committing each one to memory. “I usually don’t like surprises.”
I bit my lip. The movement drew his eye. “Then shall we go to the banquet? Everyone’s waiting.”
“I confess I don’t want to go.” Bennett leaned in again.
“Misty and Pippin are having kittens,” I blurted out.
“Oh.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that to happen when I—”
“When you picked him up off the street,” I finished. “Did you think you could get away with that without my knowledge? Even with Giselle playing along?”
