Page 31 of Crown of Slumber

He exhaled with relief. “Both our kingdoms are weak, Aurelia. We need allies. We need defenses. You need stardust, and I need Dragonfire. The onlylogicalreason for us to acquire both is through a union of marriage, where our kingdoms can share resources.”

“Or we could sign a treaty,” I interrupted.

He arched an eyebrow. “After centuries of animosity, what would prompt this treaty?”

I scoffed and crossed my arms. “What would prompt a marriage contract?”

“Well…” Fenn drew out the word, offering me a lopsided smile.

I scowled. “You expect the entire realm to believe youseduced me?”

“No one knows you. Even my mother didn’t know what to expect from you. And it’s safe to say you completely caught me off guard when we met in the woods.”

I let my arms fall, my chest loosening at his words. Yes, he had certainly caught me off guard as well. For one brief second, I allowed myself to yearn for that stranger, that dashing man who had swept me into the most glorious dance of my life.

But he was an illusion. He wasn’t real. Because the man standing before me was not the same person at all.

“It will be easy to let other people believe you are prone to my… irresistible charm,” he said, still grinning, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Even if you very clearly aren’t.”

I shot him a glare that told him exactly how much I loathed this idea. “What doyouget out of this? You seem a bit too fond of the notion of pretending we are courting.”

He laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself, princess. I’m just presenting an opportunity for our situation.”

“Bullshit.” I crossed my arms. “Why are you pushing this? Be honest with me, or the deal is off.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “We need strong allies right now. With my court under attack from unseelie tribes, it’s the perfect opportunity for our enemies to swoop in and take the city while we are defenseless. If the realm knew that the Midnight Court allied itself with the only court who possessed deadly dragons…” He trailed off.

“Then, they would leave you alone,” I continued.

“Exactly.”

I couldn’t fault him for this. It was similar to my own situation; we were weak and under attack, too, if in a different manner. To have a strong ally would deter our enemies from moving in as well.

Which was strange, considering the court I wasmostworried about invading was the Court of Midnight.

“You are about to take the throne,” Fenn went on. “It’s the perfect opportunity. I couldn’t very well seduce your father, now, could I?”

At the mention of my father, my gaze flicked to the emerald spires of the castle—my home—just visible between the trees. I thought of Father, asleep at his desk, and Mother and Gigi, unconscious in the tea room.

I could do this. If it meant freeing my family and my people, I could pretend to be engaged to this bastard.

“It’s also the only reasonable explanation for why we are traveling alone,” Fenn added in a low voice.

My gaze shot to his, my heart lurching. “What does that mean?”

“You know what it means,” he said in exasperation.

I swallowed. “Even if we are engaged, it would still be highly improper to be traveling without a chaperone.”

“Not with me. I have a reputation for being… well, as you said, a rake.”

“Oh, really? So, you’re notorious for escorting highborn royals without an envoy, guard, or chaperone?”

He winced. “Not exactly.” He drew closer to me, his smirk returning. “But it won’t be hard to imply that we were so enamored with one another that we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and we had to dismiss our escorts.” He tilted his head at me, his eyes darkening with a fire that made my stomach clench. He wasn’t even touching me and my skin felt hot from his nearness.

He lifted a hand, brushing his knuckle against my cheek. My breath hitched.

“Ah, see?” he said. “That’s all we need.”

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