Immediately, the colour in Ivy’s face drained to a pale creamas she doubled herself over into a panicked bow.
“Your Majesty?” she blurted out, her cheeks flushing pink. “Please forgive me for acting so informally, I did not realise—”
“It’s quite alright,” Lukas chuckled, gesturing for her to rise. “There’s no need for any formalities while I am here.” Then his voice took on a more lilting tone. “I’m just glad that I was able to meet the one friend that Naria has spoken so highly of.”
I shot Lukas a look, which he met with a subtle wink.Lying charmer.
“Spoken so highly of?” Ivy passed me a shy grin. “Oh, Naria, and here I was thinking Marius was your favourite.”
Innocently, I shrugged, “You’ve always been the best at medicine mixing.”
That was no lie. Ivy was one of the most talented medicine crafters in Honeymeade – possibly even the realm.
“You’re too flattering.” She swatted my arm playfully. With a quick glance back at the village, she added, “Shall we introduce your handsome royal friend to the rest of the group? Everyone is taking a break in the schoolhouse. If we leave now, we can catch them all together. They’ll all be so happy to see you.” She grinned, taking my hand again.
“If I may,” Lukas cut in before I could reply, “I’d quite like to steal Naria for just a minute. There is one small matter we must discuss, but then afterwards I’d be honoured to meet the rest of her Corlixin friends.”
Ivy blinked up at him. “Of course.” She smiled, before her gaze landed on me. “Enjoy yourdiscussion.” With a playful wave of her fingers, she turned to hurry back towards the village.
The moment she was gone, I tilted my head towards Lukas. “Is something wrong?” I asked.
“It’s nothing to be concerned about,” he reassured me, “but first, let me show you something.”
Guiding me up a gentle slope, away from the village, hestopped us by a small section of grass, hidden partially by some trees. As I peeked around them, my breath caught. I could see it all from up here – my old dormitory, the herb supply, even Ivy running back to the schoolhouse. Nothing could have wiped the grin off my face.This was my home.
“Naria?”
My heart fluttered like a little butterfly at the sound of my name. Then, that butterfly bloomed into a thousand roses when I spun around and sawhim.
Lukas was once again before me, but this time he was down on one knee. In his hands, he held a stunningly-crafted ring. The golden band glimmered in the light, while the precious stone centrepiece reflected a rainbow of glittering colours.
“Princess Naria,” he began softly, “I know that we are technically already engaged, but I wanted to do this properly and give you this ring with a promise.” He took a breath as my heart caught in my throat. “Like I said before, it might not happen overnight. We might run into problems. And it may even take years to find the funding, but, if you accept this ring and willingly become my wife, I assure you we will rebuild your kingdom. Together.”
Sunlight pierced through the thick clouds above, making his bronze skin appear to glow. I almost couldn’t breathe. This had to be a dream.
When I didn’t answer, he continued, his voice stuttering slightly, “I know this probably feels like a lot, and I’m not asking you to love me. This is really more so I can justify all the spending to the court council. We can keep our… relationship completely political. At least until you’re comfortable.” The tips of his ears flushed red. “I’ll never force you to do anything. We wouldn’t have to—”
“Oh hush,” I finally replied as the happy tears broke through. Falling to my knees, I collapsed onto the ground in front of him.“You have done so much for me. So much that I feel I can never say thank you enough.” I held his face with my hands. We were so close I could hear his breath shudder.
“You…” I wanted to say more, but then my gaze caught on the ring. Up close, it was even more impressive, with delicate engravings in swirling patterns etched around the band. I could’ve studied it for hours. “This ring is… I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Lukas grinned. “It wasn’t easy to make.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You made this?”
“Of course, metalwork is one of my many talents,” he said as his grin straightened into a proud smirk.
“I can’t believe it,” I breathed. “You’re so—”
“Talented?” he offered. “Charming? Any maiden would be lucky to have my heart?”
“Modest,” I decided with a laugh.
Our eyes locked, but only for a moment until my gaze found his lips. Then, that was all I could focus on as I felt myself being drawn slowly towards him, closer and closer before finally, without letting myself think anymore, I pulled his lips into mine.
He froze. A few heartbeats passed. And then my back was against the soft grass as he kissed me endlessly. With the two of us so close, all I could taste were summer fruits, salted caramel, and the sweetest daydreams. But if this was just a daydream, I never wanted it to end.
My fingers tangled in the soft waves of his hair as one of his hands slipped down my waist.
