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The ogre snarled. “Then on your head be it. It’s a shame, but it seems the strongest men in my service are always the most reckless and eager to throw their lives away.” He shifted his shape again, sinking into the form of a large rat. Green fangs. Rotten smell. It scurried across the great room, almost faster than Archie could breathe a single word.
“Leo . . .”
The rat was at Archie’s boots. It would be enough to panic even the most hardened warrior. But Leo heard the fae’s cursed words screaming inside his head—demanding he hunt and kill every rat he saw—and even Tabitha couldn’t object to the cat accepting the opening the miller boy had given him.
As a cat and even a prince, Leo planned and did everything himself, but he didn’t want to be a cat anymore.
His paws sprang into liquid motion. He yowled. He swiped.
And he crunched the rat with his tiny cat fangs.
He never liked his uncle anyway.
* * *
No matter how confident Archie wanted to be in his plan, he still had watched all of his very-short-and-possibly-insignificant-life pass before his eyes, waiting for Leo to appear.
But now the tabby cat held a limp rat smugly in his jaws.
And just like that, the princess was saved. Archie was saved. And the kingdom wouldn’t have to worry about the ogre and his monstrous creations ever again. Sure, Archie had called the cat in and couldn’t take credit for the final kill, but perhaps he shouldn’t dwell on that right now?
Ainsley had used the distraction to slip her guard.
She jumped into his arms. “I’m so glad you’re safe!”
Archie tried to hold her, but he was too flummoxed. They both ended up on the floor. “Me too. That you’re safe, I mean. But what are you doing here? You’re a princess! Did you really think anyone would believe that you’re a miller’s daughter?”
Ainsley jerked back from him with her hands on her waist. But they were still on the floor, so it probably didn’t have the effect she was going for. “Well, you said you couldn’t take me, but I still assumed you wanted me to come if I found my own way. And can you blame me for worrying? That man was an ogre! Though I will admit that it wasn’t my finest moment. I wanted to help you.”
Archie sighed. “Well, your presence was certainly . . . inspiring.”
“Mean. Accurate. But I suppose that’s what I get for telling you to speak your mind more. I have created a monster!” Ainsley let off with a dramatic trill.
Archie nodded, but now that the danger had passed, he couldn’t help but feel a sinking in his stomach. He reached to get them both untangled and tried for a smile. “I’m glad you’re safe, Ainsley. That will always be the most important thing. But I can’t help but be disappointed that I can’t claim credit for your rescue or the defeat of the ogre.”
“Why not? You told Father all about your cat, and he never said you couldn’t have help.”
Archie frowned. “I think it was implied that I should be the one to defeat the ogre if I want to say I’m worthy to gain a title and pursue your hand.”
“I decide who is worthy of my hand, and as for the title—what is it that you think titled people do all day? Even the king? He pitches in where he can, but mostly he gathers up experts in specific fields to advise him and then sends out whoever he thinks can most expediently get the job done. Then he takes full credit—or blame—for the outcome. If you analyzed the situation and found that the best one to send in was a cat, well, it seems you were right. The ogre is dead, and no one else got hurt. And from what I can tell, many here are ready to follow you as the new Marquis even without my father making it an official appointment.” Ainsley looked at the surrounding castle staff expectantly.
Most were standing silently, as if they were still having trouble believing the ogre was gone. Then one of the guards shrugged. “After you have an ogre as a Marquis, any alternative seems preferable.”
Ainsley nodded to his point with a dramatic flair. “See? Thunderous and unanimous support. And that is what we will tell my father and see that he agrees to it.”
Archie shook his head. He really didn’t know how anyone could manage to argue with the princess.
She stood, brushing out her dress. “In fact, I think I prefer your method. Leo was always running off on his own and well . . . I prefer your method.”
Archie cursed. How could he have forgotten? But there had been an ogre. And a princess. And . . . everything. But now the space where the cat had been was empty. “We need to find Leo.”
Chapter 30
Catastrophe
Archie and Ainsley searched the ogre’s castle and finally found the brown tabby cat in the library with a book open in front of him and his prize—the crumpled and bleeding body of a venomous rat. Leo didn’t look up when they appeared, just flipping another page from the book. Then he gave an angry yowl and ripped out a page, displaying an illustrated frog in a crown to accompany the words of a familiar story.
Ainsley cocked her head in surprise. Perhaps she hadn’t seen enough of Leo’s incredible feats herself to fully believe in his magical prowess, but a cat reading and systematically destroying a book of faerie stories was hardly the strangest thing that had happened even in the last hour.
