horsemanship, Queen Millicent’s patience had obviously frayed. Mouth a thin line, she sipped at her coffee and glowered at the young man.
Finally, her father, experienced at deflecting this sort of thing, deliberately shifted the conversation to include Tatiana and Willow. As King Puck went on about their prowess on horseback, Willow felt her eyes glaze over.
Chad, too, barely stifled a yawn.
After listening to this for a few minutes, Eric magnanimously decided they must all go riding after the meal.
Gazing at Chad, Tatiana smiled and breathlessly agreed.
Willow clenched her jaw and continued eating. Riding. On horses. Where she’d be expected to pretend to be gracious and magical and … Bright. Everything she was not. This would be another possibility for an epic disaster.
Though Willow didn’t demure, she had no intention of accompanying them. This was her perfect opportunity. While they were out riding, she’d have time to get to the veil and cross over to Teslinko. With any luck, she could find the missing magical earring and be back before anyone even noticed she’d been gone.
After all the plates had been cleared, everyone dispersed to get dressed in their riding gear. They had agreed to meet at the barn in half an hour. Rather than give an excuse and waste valuable time, Willow planned to simply not show up.
She had to hurry. Dutifully heading to her room, she rushed down the hallway with her heart pounding. She prayed no one—particularly Tatiana—would follow her. She needed a few minutes to change—into jeans rather than breeches—and then make her escape into the woods.
This one time, at least, she hoped her prayer was answered.
She took a deep breath. The meeting with the EastWard princes had rattled her more than she’d expected. Though Prince Chad seemed charming enough, something about him unsettled her. She suspected it was the possibility that they were a bit alike. Used to living unnoticed in the huge shadow cast by their perfect older sibling, like her, he was able to do many things unnoticed. Slipping underneath the family’s radar was a trick she’d perfected ever since she could walk. Chad most likely did the same. She had the feeling he saw way too much. For once Tatiana had been intuitive rather than self-absorbed.
A knock on her door startled her. Heart pounding, she opened it. Chad.
“I didn’t want to go riding, either,” he said, flashing an easy smile. “How about we go for a walk and get to know each other?”
Stars. Her plans not so secret anymore, she said the first thing that came to mind, which happened to be the truth. “I can’t. I’ve lost one of my mother’s earrings and I’ve got to find it. Once I do, I’ll come looking for you, all right?”
To her relief, he dipped his head in a nod and left her alone. She closed her door and locked it, willing her rapid heart rate to slow.
After changing into jeans and boots, feeling much calmer, she went to her window and, grasping the trellis that she’d had installed a few years ago as an escape route, climbed down the outside wall. She looked both to the left and the right and seeing no one, she hurried away and slipped into the woods. Her woods.
The moment the shadowy forest enveloped her, all the tension left her. The scent of damp earth and leaves, pine and oak filled her senses. The dappled sunlight felt welcoming and warm. Here, she felt at home as she did nowhere else. She rolled her shoulders, breathing deeply, her footsteps quiet on the cushion of leaves.
Nearby she sensed several of the numerous forest creatures she’d befriended, but she didn’t call them to her as she usually did. Time was of the essence today. She had to get to Teslinko, find the missing magical earring and return to SouthWard before anyone noticed she was missing.
With this in mind, she hurried toward the veil. Once she thought she had heard footsteps behind her, but when she had slipped behind a tree to listen and watch, there was no one.
Because it never hurt to be careful, she picked up her pace. Dead leaves crackled underfoot as she hurried toward the portal.
Jogging, then sprinting, she found herself breathless by the time the shimmering power of the veil made itself known. She felt it long before she finally saw it, but once she did, she leaped forward, leaving her home the same way she’d returned, as though a demon from hell was on her heels.
Only this time, one actually was.
Prince Chad of EastWard couldn’t decide whether to be amused or angry that the SouthWard royalty had thought to marry him off to their youngest daughter. Obviously, Willow wasn’t of pure royal blood, not looking like that.
Again, he grimaced. Not that Willow was ugly. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was just … different. Both her parents had the standard Bright appearance—blond hair, violet eyes and pale skin. Like all the SouthWard and EastWard people. The Bright. Boring, but the epitome of both feminine and masculine beauty, as far as he was concerned.
No, Willow looked more like the Shadows. The people of the north and west—the Shadows—were completely different in their appearance. They were the polar opposite of the Bright. With her dark hair and dusky skin, Willow easily must have come from either NorthWard or WestWard. She was the quite obvious by-blow of some Shadow lover.
Which meant the rumors were true. For years, it had been whispered that Queen Millicent had strayed with one of the Shadow princes. Willow obviously was the result of that union. Evidently King Puck hadn’t wanted to risk humiliation and had accepted her as his own.
Furious, Chad clenched his jaw. As second son, he was always given second best. Once again, as eldest, Eric would get the most beautiful daughter. The bastard one, who was rumored to have weak magic as well, would be foisted off on Chad.
Like that would ever happen. Though he grudgingly admitted Willow had her own exotic beauty, he could never marry a woman who looked like that. There were his future offspring to consider. His children. Mating with her would risk tainting his bloodline.
Acknowledging this, he realized something else. She intrigued him. Something about her innocent sensuality appealed to his bloodthirsty nature.
While he couldn’t marry her, he still wanted her. He’d freely admit that Willow of the SouthWard fascinated him, unlike her sister who—like his brother, Eric—had absolutely no secrets. Willow moved with an unconsciously sensual grace, and the slight tilt of her almond eyes was alluring. Her lush mouth gave her an earthy sexual appeal.
Though he knew she wasn’t aware of it, Willow had passion simmering underneath her complacent, dusky beauty. Chad thought he might just be the one to awaken that in her, even if he had to use honeyed lies and false caresses.
He wouldn’t marry her, but he would have her. Of that he was determined. His brother Prince Eric might be showy, but Chad always got what he wanted, no matter how underhanded the methods he had to use to obtain it.
Always.
His initial fury subsided. This entire situation had actually surprised him, not an easy feat these days. When the marriage between Eric and the spectacularly lovely Tatiana had been arranged, the South-Ward royal couple had wanted to throw their youngest daughter into the bargain. Chad had thought it a bit odd, but what the hell. Eric was expected to marry and produce an heir. It would be to Chad’s advantage to do the same, just in case something happened to his elder brother. And you never know, he thought wickedly. Something just might.
An earring, eh? Even better, a magical earring belonging to Queen Millicent. Who knew what impressive powers the piece of jewelry might contain? Willow might have lost it, but if he could find it before her …
Whistling under his breath, he’d rounded the back corner of the palace just in time to see the Princess Willow climbing down a trellis and taking off into the woods. Alone, acting as if she had feared being caught.
Chad hadn’t even stopped to think. Intrigued, he’d followed her, intent on learning her destination without her discovering his pursuit. No doubt she went in