1
Roses
“I’m going to be sick.” Evelyn moaned as she gripped the edge of the ship deck.
“Princesses do not vomit during their journeys,” her sister, Hannah, declared. But even she was rapidly turning green.
The sisters had only been princesses of Carrowmore for a month. The previous royal family, the Kennedys, had been murdered and their deaths went unsolved. The Elemental lords ultimately selected Tristan Connolly, Lord of the Fire Court, to take the throne. Overnight, Evelyn and Hannah had gone from ladies to princesses. Their older brother, Rowan, was a future king instead of future lord.
“At least we are almost there,” Hannah said encouragingly. “The air keeps getting warmer.”
“That’s the problem,” Evelyn groaned. “A cold breeze is soothing. A hot wind is vile.”
As if she had summoned it, a gust of humid air swept over the sisters. Evelyn’s breakfast reappeared and she vomited into thewater. Hannah sprinted away to avoid losing control of her own stomach.
When Evelyn had nothing left to surrender to the ocean, she stepped back from the edge and wiped her mouth. She felt more like a creature dragged from the sea, rather than a princess traveling through it. Evelyn’s dark scarlet curls were long and tangled, currently resembling a sea witch. Her older sister’s light copper hair was straight and flowed beautifully in the breeze. If Evelyn was a sea witch, Hannah was a siren.
It. Was. Not. Fair.
“I’m still alive!” Evelyn called.
Hannah took a deep breath and returned to her sister.
“This is all your fault,” Evelyn accused. “We’re only on this godsforsaken ship because you were invited to meet Prince Alexander.”
“It was not my idea!”
“You could’ve said no!”
“I cannot refuse an invitation from a king!”
“You wouldn’t have refused, anyway. I know you’re excited.” Evelyn threw the observation like an insult.
Hannah smiled. “Maybe a little. Come on, Evelyn! You’ve seen the portraits of the Ducasse family!”
They had seen the portraits of King Gerard, Queen Camille, Prince Christopher, and Prince Alexander many times. The royal family of the Kingdom of Gryon looked like lions personified, with golden blond hair, tanned skin, and warm features. The king and queen didn’t appear any older than the human age of 40, but they were over 1,000 years old. Prince Alexander was 207, double Evelyn’s age of 103, but fae only seemed to care about years in multiples of 500 anyway.
Prince Christopher, the original heir to Gryon’s throne, tragically died nearly three years ago when he was killed while traveling. Just like with the Kennedys, the assassin was nevercaught. The Ducasse family only recently came out of mourning. Alexander became the heir when his brother died and was apparently ready to marry soon.
“He’s notthathandsome,” Evelyn said dryly.
“Are you jealous that he requested to meet me and not you?” Hannah asked.
“Absolutely not! I didn’t want to be a princess, much less a futurequeen!”
Hannah bit her lip. “What if he doesn’t like me?”
“Alexander? Then he’s a fool.”
“Just because I’m a princess doesn’t mean I’m what he wants! What if he sees me and shakes his head and the king makes us leave immediately?”
“If he’s that disrespectful, you don’t want to marry him anyway.”
“But—”
“If he shakes his head at you, I’ll set his hair on fire.”
“Evelyn!”
