Page 15 of The Winter Prince

“What’s your name?” she asked.

His gaze shot up to hers; then he grimaced and looked away, making some of his hair fall over his shoulder. She wasn’t asking for his true name. She just wanted something to call him, as she had before when she had first arrived in the Winter Court. She just didn’t know what an intimate question she asked.

Either way, he found he didn’t want to give her a name that could be tied to him in the waking world, not even his shortened name—and he couldn’t give her a false name.

“Do you like your new home?” he asked instead.

She smiled. “Of course I do. Everything is so... fine.” She trailed off as she looked around her warm, cozy cottage—rustic and pleasant, but by no means fine. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. What was the question?”

Revi sighed. Clearly the confusion of the dream state was still pressing on her mind. “Do you like your new home in the waking world?”

At those words, her eyes cleared, as he’d expected they would. Once one realized they were in a dream, it became far easier to navigate it.

“Oh. Oh. It’s very beautiful,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Are you from the waking world? Do you live in the castle too?”

He grimaced but nodded.

She rested her chin on the heel of her hand. “Do you have a bargain with the beast, too?”

He flinched and stood, setting his teacup down hard enough to slosh a little tea over the side. He’d reached his limit for this charade of pretending he wasn’t exactly what he was: the beast in question. But perhaps he could nudge her to at least consider staying on the right course in the waking world. “Keep your bargain. Spend time with the beast, and perhaps you can free us from our cruel misery.”

Her brow furrowed. “Of course I will. I’ve already agreed to it.”

“Then perhaps all hope is not lost,” he muttered.

“Do you know why he wants me to stay for a year?” Her eyes pinned to him, bright and hopeful.

“I think it’s time for you to wake up now.” He locked gazes with her and reached out, running his fingers down her cheek and pushing her from the dream.

Of course, doing so threw him out of the space as well, and he jerked upright in his own bed, back in his quarters in the castle. He groaned, the sound coming out as more of a growl—because here he was not himself; he was a monstrously large frostcat. He huffed and dropped back to his belly.

It had felt good to be back in his own form for a little while.

And, he admitted quietly to himself, seeing Kienna smile at him, speaking to him without an edge of fear to every word—that had been a balm on his soul. Even as it frustrated him.

He didn’t know yet if he would go back and visit her dreams again in his true form. His original plan of using it to get to know her was a foolish one. To break the curse, she needed to love the beast in the waking world, not the false prince in her dreams.

But he might return. Not to woo her; he didn’t want her help breaking the curse anyway. Maybe he would go—just to be greeted warmly. To bask quietly in her kindness.

Perhaps he had left the dream too soon. He settled into the soft bedding, his heart quickening as he recalled the softness of her face under his fingertips.

Chapter 10

Revi

Hedidn’thavethemagical reserves to return to her dreams again, but Revi found himself seeking Kienna out in the real world in the following days.

No, not seeking her out. He just happened to want to spend time in the library when she was there. Every single afternoon that week.

He had a lot of reading he wanted to do.

Today he sat in wolf form, on his preferred sofa, a book across his large paws. But while his eyes were trained on the page, his ears were attuned to Kienna’s every movement.

He hadn’t tried to speak to her. She’d tensed that first day when he came in, but he’d given her a brief nod and then—as far as she could tell—ignored her. So she’d ignored him, even if fear still lingered in the air. They’d spent their days like that. Him reading—or pretending to—and taking care of any Court business his steward brought to him. Kienna read or, if Zoya was there, asked her maid questions about Elyri culture and language. She seemed frustrated by their limited collection of books written in Kasmian Common, so she’d set herself the task of learning Elyri instead. Revi briefly considered gifting her the language with his magic, as he had for Zoya, but he quickly discarded the idea. If she didn’t end up staying, he had no desire to give her a tactical advantage over his Court by knowing the language as fluently as an Elyri. And if she could read the language, she could read the curse inscribed on the scroll laid out under the window. That wouldn’t help anyone.

But… if she cared enough to learn it herself, he wouldn’t stop her. Maybe her eagerness was a promising sign.

She asked dozens of questions, and Zoya humored her, though she seemed hesitant to answer Kienna when Revi was present. It was like she was nervous around him.

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