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We break away from each other, her shock mirroring my own at the way our limbs were tangled in one another.

“Ramona,” my father addresses her. “You have won my son’s heart for the evening.”

She looks smug.

“And so keeping with the tradition, the winner will spend one night in the Hollow with the Prince, as a way to prove their prowess as a potential future partner.”

Spit flies from Ramona’s mouth, but before she can respond, my father cuts in.

“Go now, young loverocs! Into the Hollow to test your compatibility.”

The crowd closes in on all sides, ushering us to the circle cut out in the tree known as the Hollow. Vines are pulled aside, and both of us are pushed into the darkness.

“This is insane. They can’t just toss us in here.” Ramona turns around, attempting to leave through the wall of vines we were just pushed through only to smack head-first into a magical barrier.

I grit my teeth. “Probably should have told you about that part.”

“Oh, what part?” She stomps. “That we would be sealed inside here? That this was some sort of secret betrothal? A weird sex test to see if we are compatible?” She curls two fingers in the air with that last word. “I thought this was a dance! And what was with that kissing contest? Why are Elves so pervy?”

“Ram—”

“Is this why you didn’t want me to participate?”

“Ramo—

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Ramona!”

“If you didn’t want to kiss me, you could’ve just told me.”

“RAMONA!” I grab her waist with both of my hands. “Of course I wanted to kiss you. I have for a long time!”

Oh shit.

“Oh shit,” she says.

A bird sings in the distance. A short song, calling for its mate in clusters of notes.

My fingers squeeze around the thin fabric of her dress.

She rises onto her toes.

And any restraint that I was holding cracks. I reach under her legs and swing her into my arms, moving so quickly up the dark spiral staircase carved out of the center of the tree. Only glow worms mark my path as I spin up and up until the stairs even out and the tree hollows once more. The Hollow is a poorly fit name for a place like this. Yes, the pathway to get here is only accessed by the hollow of the tree, but this utopia is something different entirely.

I set Ramona down on plush ivory blankets in the center of the rounded floor. A short railing covered in vines is the only protection from falling off the highest terrace in the palace. What makes it especially unique is how it’s exposed to the sky. The canopies surrounding the Hollow would trick even the most clever to thinking you’re on the forest floor and not hundreds of feet in the sky.

Servants have already set up the space with blankets, wine, and an assortment of snacks. A fully prepped hidden oasis for the prince and his potential betrothed.

Ramona is staring up at the midnight sky. “It’s only been a few nights, but I missed them.”

I tilt my head back at the twinkling stars above. “It’s one thing I liked about living among the humans. We rarely get to see the stars growing up in the Forest. Unless you’re harvesting outside or traveling, the stars were always fireflies and glow worms.” I grab the bottle of wine near the blankets and sit down.

Ramona snatches it from my hands and takes a long pull.

“I thought you didn’t like wine.”

“That was before I found out about the treehouse-betrothal-dance that leads to a secret balcony above the treetops to test out my compatibility.”