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“How old were you when you started coming here?” I asked curiously. “Did your mom ever find out? Before you left, I mean.”

“Twenty-two. It was terrifying at first, but it got easier each time. I got more used to how loud and crowded it was. And yes, my mother found out. A guard saw me leaving one night, and she was waiting for me when I got back to tell me I wasn’t allowed to come here again.”

“What did you do when you came here?”

“Not much at first. Wandered the streets, watching everyone. I was too scared to go into any shops or bars or restaurants, knowing I would make a fool of myself. But eventually I plucked up the courage to go into a bar, and performing on stage was Corey in drag.”

I blinked in shock. “Really?”

“Yes. After his show, he spotted me in the crowd and realised I was fae, so he came over to introduce himself.” Crossbody shook his head with a tiny smile. “He told me he was an orc. I’d never met any other supernatural species before then. I’d never met any humans either. I’d definitely never met a drag queen.”

I laughed. “Corey in drag is an impressive sight.”

“Yes. Suddenly I was talking to this huge male orc wearing a beautiful dress and a giant wig and heels, in the middle of a crowded bar in the human world, and I thought, ‘I want this kind of freedom. I want to be able to do whatever I want.’”

A lump formed in my throat. “Kind of a culture shock, huh?”

He nodded. “Yes. But the best kind. It made me braver. I found a way to keep coming here, despite my mother’s best efforts, and I wanted her to see that she couldn’t control me completely. Corey bought me some modern clothes and I would wear them at the palace. She didn’t like it at all.”

“So did Corey help you move here? Leave Otherworld?”

“In a way. He told me to come and watch him wrestle. Bought me a ticket. And when I went to the show, it was just… so far removed from everything I’d ever known. Loud and hectic and bright and chaotic. Completely exhilarating. And the audience loved the wrestlers for something real, something they enjoyed and worked hard for. That was what I wanted. A purpose for myself.”

My teeth ground together as I remembered what he’d told me—his mother saying that his only purpose and reason for existing was to continue her name and bloodline. Saying that he was her property to do as she pleased with.

“When Corey found me after the show, I asked him to introduce me to the manager,” Crossbody continued. His shoulders rose in a delicate shrug. “And then I asked Holt how I could join Goliaths.”

“What did he say?”

Crossbody huffed a tiny laugh. “At first, he said he couldn’t decide whether he was impressed or offended by my ‘ballsiness.’ But when I told him who I was, he completely lit up at the idea of having a fae prince on the docket.”

I grunted. “Sounds like Holt. Loves a gimmick.”

“Yes. But because I had absolutely no experience, he told me to come back in a year. So I spent that year sneaking out to train with Corey, practising every moment I could, getting fitter. When the year was up, I went back to Holt and he finally offered me a job. Mostly thanks to Corey’s assurance that I had been training hard.”

“So that was when you moved here?”

“Not at first. I…” He hunched up. “I lied and said my mother didn’t have a problem with it, because I was scared that he’d rescind the offer. But I also had no idea how I would be able to do it, because I still didn’t really know anything about this world. I had no idea how to find somewhere to live, how I’d even get to work… At first, I planned to stay in Otherworld so my mother never realised what I was doing, and come over as much as I could.”

My brow quirked. “That wouldn’t have worked, anyway.”

“No. I realised that very quickly. So I asked Holt for a bit of time to get my affairs in order, and I planned to start figuring the rest out now that it was actually a possibility, and then…” He swallowed. “My mother informed me that I was to marry Princess Ianthe in two weeks’ time. Just like that. Not even a courting period, not even a chance to sit down with her beforehand.”

I clenched my jaw. “Had you even met her at that point?”

“Once or twice. At gatherings. My mother has been trying to create a stronger alliance with the Summer Court for a while, and when my older brother realised he couldn’t have children…”

“How did he realise that?” I couldn’t imagine them having fertility tests in Otherworld.

“He was on his fourth wife by then,” Crossbody said dully. “Each time his wife failed to get pregnant, Mother divorced them and made him marry someone new. They eventually realised that the issue was with him.”

I swallowed. “So that was when she decided…”

“That I had to produce heirs for her.” He nodded stiffly. “All she cares about is continuing her bloodline. Making sure her family name remains in power. I have a younger brother too, but leaving it to him would be cutting it too fine for her. If he also has fertility issues, then her bloodline would die out with him. I was the safer bet. She wanted to get her future heirs secured with plenty of time to spare.”

“Are you even attracted to women?” I asked tightly. “I mean, I guess she wouldn’t care either way.”

“She wouldn’t. And I am, but… I’m not attracted to Ianthe.” He looked up at me. “There’s nothing wrong with her, but she’s a stranger. Another pawn like me. And all I could see was this… bleak, loveless existence in front of me. Where the only thing I achieved with my life was creating heirs for my mother with a woman I didn’t love. I didn’t want to bring children into that. I didn’t want them to have the lonely childhood I had or be controlled by her like I was. And by then I knew what else was out there. What I could do and achieve for myself. The freedom I could have. So I fled Otherworld the next night.”