Page 19 of A Fate In Moonstone

“I know it’s expected for us to get to know each other, but that doesn’t mean we have to be all business about it.” Tor opened the bottle and the fizzy scent of tangerine champagne blasted my senses.

My nose wrinkled as the smell tickled, making Tor chuckle.

“Yeah, the cook said it was a strong batch sent over this morning. Apparently, it’s a breakfast champagne. Not that I’m trying to get you drunk or anything. It just sounded good.”

I held out the glass and tilted my head. “Are you nervous?”

“Fuck, yeah.”

I laughed. I liked that the prince was real. Perhaps he experienced being surrounded by people who pretended around royals, perhaps not. But I certainly did.

“Do I make you nervous?” I asked and went straight for the cheese tart.

Tor ran his fingers through the brown waves of hair on his head. He gazed down at the food.

“I was told to come and marry you.” He took a large gulp from his drink and hissed when the fizz burned his throat. Our champagne came with an extra kick than most. “You’re beautiful and just not what I expected. Makes me think this whole arrangement isn’t as bad as I was thinking.”

I stared at him with my mouth parted.

He groaned. “I shouldn’t have said that, should I have?”

“No.” I set my food down and grabbed his hand. “I’m glad you said it. I was thinking the same thing. You’re handsome, and so far, kind. Maybe this isn’t a horrid idea. We can spend more time together. It could work.” My chest tightened for the barest of seconds, but I breathed through it. It could work. That wasn’t a lie.

Tor lifted my hand to his lips for a gentle kiss before letting go of me.

“Well, here’s to making it work.” He raised his glass and I nodded while clinking my drink to his.

“To making it work.”

I sipped from the glass and saw a shirtless body stomping out of view from the training area before focusing my gaze back to the male in front of me. The only one I should be paying attention to.

I could do this.

Chapter Eleven

My morning with Tor loosened a knot that sat in my gut since my parents mentioned his arrival. We talked for hours, mostly sharing tedious information in typical courting fashion. How he liked to spend his time.

Archery, riding his unicorn, hunting, and enjoying the court life like socializing at balls. His intelligence was fun to play with, though he liked to keep conversations light and easygoing. I appreciated the simplicity in him.

My intuition whispered safe, safe, safe in his presence. And he was.

So why wasn’t I jumping at the chance to drink the blessed waters from my mother’s unity diamond cup and marry him today?

I shared the basics of myself. I liked to socialize as well. I liked to read and draw. I was a fair archer, but hunting wasn’t my favorite. My father loved it and tried taking me on trips with him, but I never connected with the act of shooting for sport.

What I didn’t share with Tor was the wildness within me, choosing to keep the improper side close to my chest.

How would Tor feel about a wife who ran off into dangerous woods to fight goblins?

We’d known each other for a day. We needed more moments like this to commit to an immortal life together.

After we parted, I met up with my mother to look over the plans with the kingdom’s architect, Daven.

The crow fae was a little… eccentric. He was an artist, a visionary, and sometimes a lunatic. But he saw the vision for Crysia with my mother when she became queen hundreds of years ago. Nature first. There wasn’t much for me to do in the meeting, but Mother wanted me to be a participant regardless.

“One day you’ll be queen. This is part of that life. You never know. Crysia may one day be ruined, and you will need to rebuild.” It’s a statement she’d told me every year of my life. I wanted to roll my eyes. The likelihood of Crysia falling was minuscule.

We were the strongest kingdom in the Fae realm. Sure, there were evil forces out there, but we’d kept them at bay for a long time. Plus, beneath the ground, all around the kingdom, lay my mother’s diamond wall. In the event of an attack, she’d lift the wall and nothing could penetrate it. Crysia would never fall.