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His jaw tightens. “I wish I knew. We haven’t discussed it at length.”
Torin instructs the pilot to take another pass over the island.
“Only about a third of Cara is settled,” he says.
The villages are nestled into the hills, mostly along the coast as they depend so much on fishing. The houses sit close together, but the rolling hills up behind them show that the island has lots of space.
“The largest village is the one just down the hill from the castle. It’s walking distance from the front of the castle to the middle of town,” he says, pointing. “The town has six thousand people, give or take. The others vary from a few hundred to a couple thousand.”
The island really is remote, and he tells me that all of the land animals on the island have been introduced by humans. The only animal life that’s native are sea mammals like seals. There are several types of birds, but they’re all sea birds.
“But Fiona has an endangered animal sanctuary here that takes up about another third of the island,” Torin says, pointing out the window again as we fly over the other side of the island.
I gasp and lean in. I can’t see any animals from here, but the third of the island that isn’t mountainous and doesn’t have any clusters of houses and buildings, is clear.
“Really?”
“You know she rescues wild animals?” he asks.
I nod. She’s the reason the petting zoo in Autre has turned into an animal sanctuary with everything from lemurs and tigers to camels and giraffes. She rescues exotic animals from “zoos”, circuses, and collectors who have them illegally or who are abusing or neglecting them. She doesn’t keep them all, but she rehomes them.
“She talked my grandfather into making Cara a sanctuary for endangered animals of all kinds. The island is truly, fully protected geographically and also by the fact that our family makes the rules.” He shrugs looking a little sheepish. “I guess maybe there are a few perks to a monarchy. We have wildlife protections here that the US has spent decades debating and negotiating. All because my grandfather said that’s how it will be.”
“That’s amazing.” I squeeze his hand. I want him to understand that he really is in a position to do so many good things. “Are the animals just free range?”
“More or less. We have buildings for all of them since the weather varies. We also have some barriers between predators and the animals they consider prey. But they all have plenty of food and the sanctuary is nearly four hundred thousand acres, so they have enough space that I don’t think they even notice that they can’t get from one side to the other.”
My eyes are huge, I’m sure. A four hundred-thousand-acre sanctuary for endangered animals and now everything I need to make indoor farming a reality for every person on the island.
I’m going to really like it here.
Then we fly over a homestead that’s a distance from the castle, up in the hills, away from the coast. It’s also very well lit, though, from the house to the long drive leading from the road, up the hill.
“And that’s my ranch. The Rogue.”
I look at him. “The Rogue?” I lift a brow.
Jonah had told me Torin was a reluctant royal, that he was home only because of his family, and that he struggled with the idea of power without purpose. It seemed that Torin was very aware of his reluctance. That he’s made it obvious to those around him, as well.
He shrugs. “We name ranches here like they do in the US. The full name is the Rogue Royal Ranch. It’s appropriate. It’s where I go to get away. It’s the only place I can go here in Cara and not be the prince.”
I study his face. I realize that I don’t want him to hate being the prince. I’ve always loved what I do in general, but Torin has made me excited about it in a new way that I didn’t realize I wanted and needed. I want him to feel the same way about what he does.
“Do you go there often?” I ask.
He meets my eyes. “I do.” He pauses, then admits, “Probably more than I should.”
I don’t say anything.
“But,” he goes on, watching his thumb stroke over the back of my hand. “Maybe that will change now. I’ll feel more useful at the palace.”
Right. That would be good. I want him to feel useful and to find his purpose. To embrace his position and understand how important it can be. But, that also means I’ll be at the palace.
The palace.
How did my life suddenly swerve so hard that I’m going to end up living in a palace?
"Can I hang out at the ranch when I need to get away?" I ask, hoping he doesn’t realize that I already want to get away.
