Page 180 of Bride of the Fae Prince

“I need to meet that baby of yours,” she says, smiling as her tears slip free. “And I need to meet himbeforehe’s an adult, for heaven’s sakes!”

“You will,” I promise.

When we have said our last goodbyes, I return to the throne room with wet cheeks but firm shoulders. Ash’s penetrating gaze runs over my face. I smile at him. “I missed her.”

And then I get back to work.

The Prince

At last, the sundeclines, casting the throne room in alternations of shadow and brilliant golden beams. The doors are shut, the crowds dispersed, and I am finally left alone with my wife. Her head swivels to me, her long hair falling over her shoulder.

“You were somewhere else most of today,” she accuses, pointing one dainty finger at me.

“Guilty as charged,” I reply, unable to stop my grin. I’m much too excited for her surprise.

She stands, comes to a stop in front of my wide-spread knees. “You must tell me why. I’m agog to know. You’ve had a glint in your eye all day.”

“Probably because I’ve been looking at you,” I say, and pull her into my lap.

She squirms, attempting to get back on her feet, but I wrap both arms around her and keep her firmly where I want her. “Ash!” she hisses, her face turning my favorite shade of pink. “A guard could walk in here at any moment. This is hardly a dignified position for a queen!”

I pull her closer, savoring the feel of her swollen belly under my hand, and whisper: “I have a surprise for you.”

She stops struggling immediately and whips her attention to me. “A surprise? What is it?”

“It’s back in our quarters. It was delivered today.”

“Delivered? Did you get me new clothes because these are starting to be too tight? I cannotbelievehow big I’m getting already!”

“It has nothing to do with that.”

“Then what? I cannot imagine what you would have had delivered! New poisons? No, no, you would never trust someone to handle those for you. Hmm, let me—”

I place a finger over her lips, stopping her as my grin widens. “Why don’t we go see what it is? Instead of sitting here and risking a guard entering and seeing how undignified their queen is?”

“Don’t throw my words back at me,” she huffs, but she can’t hide her smile either.

When we get back to our quarters, I tell Stella to sit down and wait. She insists she’s been sitting all day and would rather stand. I shrug and agree, only on the condition that she closes her eyes. She frowns but obliges.

“Milton!” I call.

He comes at once from the back rooms of our quarters, a carrier under one arm that jolts at random intervals. “At last! It’s been whining all day.”

“Whining?” Stella asks, puckering her brow. “It sounds like five sets of nails scraping against something!” Then both eyebrows rise nearly to her hairline. “Did . . . did you get me apet?”

“Keep your eyes closed!” I say by way of answer, taking the carrier from Milton and setting it on the ground. “Are you ready? Three, two, one—”

I turn the latch for the carrier, and the idalpuff shoots out like a squirrel with a jay on its tail. Stella opens her eyes. She only catches a glimpse of the creature’s shiny, luminescent shell before it launches itself straight into her arms.

Her mouth and eyes go wide at the same time, and she lets out a terrified shriek. “It’s a giant bug!”

The idalpuff has grabbed its front legs onto her dress, and begins crawling up in its overenthusiastic attempt to make friends. Stella lets out another scream, falls back on the couch, and tries to shove the creature off her.

I scoop it up quickly, holding the cool, wriggling body in my arms. “I’m so sorry! I thought—these are common pets of ours! I thought you’d like the color of its shell—”

Stella’s shrieks have turned to tears of laughter. “It looks like a massive rainbow cockroach!”

“Cockroach?” I cock my head to one side, glance down at the adorable little face, the way it has wrapped all sixteen of its legs around my arm and elbow. “What is that?”

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