12

The moment I woke for real, I teleported Neldor to the ocean. Darby was already awake and blinked at me with wide eyes.

I shrugged. “I just wanted him to wake refreshed.”

His lips twitched. “Sure, agra . Sure you did. Please make sure the sharks or whatever won’t eat a vampire if you punish me that way because we know I can’t open portals well when flustered.” He glanced towards the covered windows. “Though a swim in the ocean sounds lovely.”

“Not when it’s this cold,” I argued.

He snorted. “You’d heat the water or put us in bubbles to do it.”

Good point. “That would be good training today. You up for it?”

“With you? Always, but I believe there is fun waiting for you on the terrace,” he hinted.

I rolled out of bed and threw on a bra and sweater since it was now winter in Theripolis.

Neldor came out of a portal in the main living area and drenched the whole place. He immediately started using runes to dry himself and clean the mess. The look of promised retribution he shot me was amusing.

“Not sure the freezing fucking winter ocean was appropriate since that water is so cold it hurts when you ingest it, and you will when you wake to it,” he said his tone just as frosty. “Certainly, not for one toot joke when I was half asleep.”

“Shit,” I sighed when he walked off in a huff.

“He’s not wrong, shorty,” Hudson mumbled.

“No, he’s not,” I grumbled, hating when I fucked up and was in trouble.

Especially when it was really valid like that.

I raced after him and caught him before he even left the hallway. I grabbed his arm but let go since I hated when people tried to trap me when I was upset. He had every right to not want people to touch him and to give permission just like I did.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “You’re right, that was too much. I meant it as a joke, but I for—I was thinking it was spring. It’s not here and I forgot.”

He gave a swift nod and seemed like he was going to let it go but then went stiff again. “I don’t disagree that I need to cool off sometimes or dropping me in water is fitting, but I would prefer not waking that way. Especially for a joke. I have enough trouble sleeping and nightmares. I don’t like feeling as if my sleep isn’t safe.”

“Sorry, Nel,” I rasped as he walked away. I rubbed my hand over my face and felt like shit. It was so horrid of me that I hadn’t known that and had made things worse for him when he did so much to help me—adjust to me always.

And now I’d totally ruined our first night in our new rooms— my first night really in Faerie.

He was waiting for me at the stairs and extended his hand to me. “I’ll be a little miffed, but it’s fine. It’s not worth ruining this moment for all of us, and it’s your first night in Faerie, baby doll. I honestly was scared that would never really come.”

“I am really sorry,” I promised as I took his hand.

“I’ll punish you later,” he threatened and kissed my cheek before we walked down the stairs. He dropped my hand when we reached the door to leave the resident wing of the castle. “Let’s go have some fun. I’m excited too. I’ve missed waking in Faerie.”

I smiled when I saw a bunch of hobgoblin kids waiting off the terrace, and not just the ones I knew well. I went for Elasha first. “Ahhh, my castle is being invaded by cuteness! ” I scooped her up and twirled us. “I must tickle the invaders. They have to be stopped at all costs.”

“No!” she squealed. “We brought food, Tamsin. We’re not bad.”

“How do I really know that? You could be spies ,” I teased as I set her on her feet.

Darfin jumped towards us and immediately started dabbing. “We are still loyal and remember the dance, Princess.”

“We do! We do!” most of them started cheering, doing it.

Except the other kids didn’t know what was going on.

“It’s something humans do for fun that we learned at school,” I explained to them. “Do you want us to teach you?”

“Oh yes, their parents will be just as thrilled as we were that you did, Your Highness,” Irma drawled.

“Sassy hobgoblins will be ignored at breakfast,” I threatened, laughing when she reached up and swatted my butt. I danced out of the way and went closer to the kids but froze when I saw Essie and cameras. “Umm, hi?”

She chuckled. “Clearly, you weren’t warned.”

“The princess was exhausted when she arrived and still hasn’t had a chance to unpack,” Hudson said diplomatically. “She raced ahead when she saw the hobgoblins.” He smiled at me. “Izzy approved it. It’s just—you’ll see. We were going to warn you but didn’t want to spoil the surprise. It’s just clips for people to see later and causal.”

“Izzy will check it all to approve,” Julian promised.

“Got it.” I shrugged it off and went back to teaching the kids how to dab, and then we did a conga line around the terrace while food was being brought out. I saw Neldor was still a bit salty, so I tossed Elasha towards him.

No one could be upset holding the goofy, giggly ball of love.

“Why is Prince Neldor upset, Tamsin?” she asked, quick to catch on like always.

“Because I was bad and was a jerk to him,” I confessed. “He made a small joke and I overreacted, so he needs extra hugs and happy.”

“Because we don’t bully,” Darfin said firmly. “And we can’t throw tantrums if we are guests at the castle.”

“Exactly,” I agreed, going over to him and twirling him around. “So what should be my punishment for being mean?”

“It depends what you did, Princess,” one of the other kids called over.

“I threw him in the ocean when he was still asleep, but I forgot it was winter and the ocean was super cold. So I’m a really big jerk,” I accepted, biting back a smile when Neldor snorted.

“Bring him treats,” someone suggested.

“He gets a day off work,” another kiddo called out.

“Kisses! Momma gives me kisses when she snaps at me. It makes me feel better,” the last one said.

“I’ll take kisses,” Neldor chuckled. He shrugged when I shot a look at him. He shrugged. “You’re the one who involved the kids.”

“You can kiss my assets,” I purred. “I think treats are a good apology. Who wants to help me think of which ones?”

“You can while eating because a lot of this is hot and with purpose, shorty,” Hudson called over. “And you need to recharge.”

Darby grabbed my arm when I walked by and pulled me onto his lap, peppering my face with kisses. “ Agra , you love me, right? Tell me you love me and will give me whatever I want. I’ll beg, plead, and—”

“That’s enough from you,” Irma chuckled and smacked him. “It was a simple oversight.”

“What? What’s going on?” I worried.

She sighed. “Coffee like on Earth isn’t normal for Faerie. We didn’t think of that and prepare it. He’s being a cheeky brat—”

“Oh my gods, will you be okay?” I asked Darby as I held his face in my hands and studied him. “Are you going to wither right before my eyes?” I gasped and turned to look at Julian. “And you—”

“Don’t drag me into these antics, my darling wife,” Julian chuckled. “Irma feeds me and she’s getting upset. I can go get coffee later and bring some back with a French press. We were more than able to bring it with our belongings.”

“Sorry, Irma, I was just teasing,” Darby immediately said when he saw the hobgoblin was a bit red. “Really, I was. You know I’m useless before coffee, and—I apologize.”

“Fine, fine, just—everyone worked hard to prepare this for the princess,” she grumbled.

I slid off his lap and knelt in front of her, hating when the hobgoblins were upset, but this was more than that. I grabbed her arms and made her face me, studying her closely. “You need a break, my friend. A vacation, and—you’re burning out. Can I hire more people to help? Is that what you need?”

Irma looked ready to brush me off but sighed when I cleared my throat in warning. “Yes, more help would be welcome. We planned for—I went off of the normal outline of what the previous—how the castle used to run. You are doing things differently.”

I gently flicked her forehead as I sat back on my feet. “I’m not killing myself to make the lives of everyone in Faerie better only to shit on the people I love. I want your life to be the bestest of the best, my friend. You’re the boss. Hire all the people you need and lounge around eating bonbons while bossing them around, okay? That’s the job.”

“Oh, enough of you,” she chuckled and swatted my arm. “You would never do anything like that as the boss. Don’t even tease me like that.”

“Fine, Saturdays, we both rest and eat bonbons, deal?” I purred, covering my head with a laugh when she swatted me again. “Sundays? Friday nights?” I gasped when she really hit me that time. “I’m going to force you to take a vacation if you keep abusing me.”

That broke her. She burst out into peals of laughter and hugged me.

“I love you too. I know the wedding and getting everything ready was too much. I need you to do this, Irma,” I told her as I kissed her hair. “I can’t get over the finish line without you when you are the one who pushed me to start all of this. So please don’t break yourself. I’m kinda rich, so hire whoever we need. I—do what you need?”

She let me go and studied my face. “What were you going to say?” She shook her head when I told her it was nothing. “No, if you’re pushing me to be honest, you cannot fib to me now, Tamsin Vale.”

“I was simply going to tell you later,” I promised as I pushed to stand. “I realized that after the festival I wanted more of that. Not festivals—though I plan to attend them all even if in hiding. No, I want to…” I glanced at Darby because for some reason I thought he might understand me.

He winked at me. “I think it’s great, agra .”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s completely you, cream puff,” Lucca chuckled. He nodded when I still seemed hesitant and focused on Irma. “She wants to try dishes from every restaurant and café in Faerie. It was awesome to experience the local spin and directly from them. No one can top your cooking, Irma. You know I love it.”

Irma nodded. “But it’s always different to have it local, and—pasta in Italy is unlike just any pasta.”

“Yes, that is exactly where my head was,” Lucca confirmed.

“Mine too,” I admitted. “It would be too disruptive if I just walked in and tried food and I don’t want to always walk around Faerie with glamour.” I went over to my spot and sat down, looking over what was all there. “I thought maybe we could give the kitchen a couple nights off and like two dinners a week would be local takeout. The commanders pick up food for meetings.”

“It’s lovely of you and something we can absolutely discuss,” Irma told me. “And yes, you need to taste more of your home. That’s what we’re starting today. Each rest stop did a local menu for where they’re located and food was brought from there. They were all sampled by your tasters and passed the security protocols.”

“Good, good,” I said as I bobbed my head. “This is like the best breakfast ever. What is it all?”

She moved over to me and hugged me. “Welcome home, Your Highness. May this be the first of more mornings in Faerie than you can count.”

I hugged her back. “That sounds perfect, it really does.”

We started with the dishes that were best warm, and I insisted the hobgoblins all eat with us and pull up chairs. The guys helped find some benches, and the kids had already eaten but really just wanted to be included. They talked all over each other as they hurried to tell me what each option was and what they liked best.

I nodded and tried it all, laughing and goofing around as we did. I tossed several things that Hudson caught in his mouth, and then it became a competition between Lucca, Hudson, and Neldor who could catch food better. It was the goofiest damn thing and the kids kept cheering whenever they got something.

It was the perfect intro to how living at the castle would be because we started making lists of what we needed from Earth to be kept on hand. Hudson wanted a few sauces and so did Lucca. I swallowed a chuckle when it was for kick. Even Julian looked like he was going to agree but didn’t want to upset Irma.

“It’s fine,” she forgave. “You are the aliens now, not the princess. Of course we will adjust for your palates.”

I burst out laughing when Hudson and Lucca choked on their next bites. Neldor and I high-fived as they tried to recover.

“We’re not the freaks anymore,” I chuckled.

“You’re always a bit of a freak, baby doll,” Neldor snarked. “I love human food, but Taco Bell is one of your favorites. I think even humans might say you were a freak for that.”

I threw something at him and the brat just caught it in his mouth with a smirk. “Yeah, you like Arby’s .”

Julian coughed and gave Neldor a shocked look. “Really?”

“That was supposed to be a secret,” Neldor grumbled.

“You started it. My agra will finish it,” Darby chuckled darkly.

“And Long John Silver’s,” I added, nodding when a few of them made gagging noises. “I’m all for seafood—fried everything, but that place is…” I gagged.

At least the ones I’d been to. Honestly, I hadn’t been to many, but the couple I had were so gross that I couldn’t even think of trying again.

Mean but true.

I smirked at Neldor. “My Taco Bell isn’t so bad now, huh?”

“That’s the last secret I tell you, baby doll. I won’t—”

“Why is this going out to Faerie live?” Shael demanded as she landed on the terrace.

We all froze. Essie looked scared and was focused on the cameramen.

“No, I swear it’s…” the one guy whispered when he was able to recover and then about dove over towards where everything was plugged in. His eyes went wide and he dropped to his knees facing me. “I promise it was an accident, Your Majesty. I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Okay, calm down before you have a heart attack,” I said gently, waving Shael off when the guy broke down sobbing. “You didn’t film me in the shower, or—I’ve done way worse things than dance around with kids. I think this is the first live anything where I didn’t even swear, so it’s—well, it’s not fine, but please calm down.”

Except he didn’t. He sobbed begging not to be beheaded and it was really an accident.

I glanced at Shael and gestured for her to handle it. She was the one who scared the shit out of the guy, and… I didn’t do well with this sort of thing.

And Neldor looked like he was waiting to be in big trouble as well. I wasn’t sure why until I realized he’d called me “baby doll” a few times.

Then I wanted to groan.

I gave him a look and kind of shrugged. Whatever. It wasn’t his fault, and—yeah, he shouldn’t have done it in front of any outsiders, but I’d forgotten that they were there too.

I made a note to talk to Izzy about no more breakfast interviews or things like this. Clearly, we couldn’t handle that like adults.

I focused back on my food and goofing around with the hobgoblin kids.

“Your Highness, you’re still live,” Shael reminded me.

I sighed. “If we cut it now, it looks like we were up to something, Commander. Mistakes happen. I hope people got a good laugh from us being idiots, but we’re in our twenties at breakfast after working too much and all tired. If people expected prim and proper, they need to live in reality more.”

I shrugged. What else was there to really say?

The kids all started dabbing to try and change the mood and we all chuckled. It worked for me.

I did one better and used my phone to play some music, bouncing all around with the kids.

“You guys wanna see a live teddy bear?” I offered. I nodded when Lucca chuckled. “Yeah, I can go get him some fish real quick and you guys can feed him, okay?”

“Can we?” one of the kids squealed. “We never could go near the shifters at school. They didn’t like us.”

Lucca instantly melted and moved over by them. “A lot of us did. We didn’t want to scare you guys, and some people were mean to you at school. We worried your parents would be upset we might do something.” He chuckled when they all begged him and winked at me. “You promised fresh fish, cream puff.”

“I’ll handle it,” Neldor chuckled when I went to pull off my sweater so I could let out my wings. “I’ve gotten familiar with the docks and fishers of Theripolis shadowing your father and working with Hudson. I know who to go ask and pay later.”

“Thanks, Nel. I’ll get you some Arby’s later.” I laughed when he snapped his teeth at me.

He flew off and came back about five minutes later with a huge basket of fresh fish… Like some were still flopping around. Lucca had already shifted to Harry and was sitting on the ground with the kids. He about drooled when he saw the fish and jumped up to hug me before getting his present.

Julian came over and hugged me too as we watched the kids toss fish at him. “I think your father is right that you’ll never have a normal life, my sweet mate.”

“Yeah, but it would be great if it could be fun like this more often,” I whispered as I snuggled up to him.

We all died when one of the kids dropped a fish and it flopped towards the edge of the terrace as if knowing where the ocean and freedom would be. Poor little guy was never going to make it. Instead, I caught it with magic and gave it back to Harry who gobbled it up without making it a mess.

He made a few funny noises and I realized what he wanted, nodding when I listened in.

“Okay, that’s all he can eat before his tummy hurts,” I told the kids. “Lucca ate a lot already, so we don’t want them to get sick. Everyone give the bear a hug, and then I think you guys have more going on with your day, right?”

“Thanks, Lucca,” they all cheered and practically attacked him with hugs.

Too fucking adorable.

Lucca had to actually go back inside the castle as a bear, but then someone rushed over with a large bath sheet for him. He nodded and took it from them, wrapping it around him enough to shift back and then readjusted it.

“Well, that’s a morning in Faerie we’re never going to forget,” he joked. “Seriously, cream puff.”

No, no, we would not. I chuckled as I hugged him and we headed to our rooms to get ready for the day.

Or unpack for a bit first.

I saw something awesome and glanced over at Darby. “Thank you, my sexy Irishman.”

He winked at me. “I have no idea how to handle your clothes, and I know you ordered a bunch of items like fairies wear. But I know how you like your books organized and I could help with that.”

“You’re awesome. Really, because I know you’re busy too.”

He snorted. “We had so much help that I was done in under an hour, agra . I don’t have all that much stuff and I’m not one for clutter.”

Plus, he’d always felt a bit in limbo living at my house, especially when we’d had issues. Hopefully, that would change now.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him into his room, checking it out and commenting on the color. I glanced all around and then spun towards him so I was plastered against his chest. “You’re going to settle in more this time, right? I don’t want to be pushy, but I want this—this is forever now, right?”

“I go wherever you go, Tamsin Vale,” he whispered as he brushed his lips over mine.

“I’m glad, but this is your safe space and—whatever you want, okay?”

He studied my eyes a moment. “Then I would really like some of my mate’s paintings in my room.”

“What?” I whispered, shocked that was where his head was.

He nodded. “More than anything, I would like some paintings of us. Not physically, but what you feel when you think of us.”

“I don’t…” I wasn’t sure I understood what he meant. “You mean like the cafeteria where we first really spent time and like my dorm room where we…”

“Yeah, like that.” He cleared his throat when I didn’t say anything. “It’s stupid, right?”

“No. No!” I gasped, saying it a bit too loudly. “I just…” I kissed him. I didn’t know what else to do or how to say what I was feeling. It was so ridiculously sweet.

He wanted his room full of us. My prickly pear was seriously amazing.