Page 92 of Prince of the Northwest Forest
“Let me see if Justice wants to come visit—I don’t want to take off for days without seeing him first—and then you and I can go to the Fire Realm and see if you can reason with Eleanor,” I say.
“I can go by myself,” he says.
I think, deliberately and clearly, about firecats on the trail.
The blood drains from his face. “You had to battle one?”
“Sure did.”
“All right, perhaps it makes sense for us to go together.”
“I still want to talk to Justice,” I muse.
“Who is—” Mats starts. He cuts himself off with a smile, but then he grimaces. “TMI, brother.”
“You’re the one reading my mind,” I say, my cheeks heating.
“Well, don’t think those things.”
“Fine. Would you like me not to think of a marbled murrelet, either? Or, for that matter, a pink elephant?”
“I know, I know.” He sighs again. “This is why I needed to get away—and why I don’t mind marrying Eleanor, at least in theory. I am truly sorry to have caused all these problems. I did not think that I was going to be gone that long.”
“Then we should get this sorted. I’ll send for Justice,” I say, and race out to find a blue jay.
A few hours later, I meet Justice on the outskirts of our realm.
“Hey,” I say, breathless at seeing him again, even though we’ve only been apart a few hours. I cup his face in my hands and kiss him. He eagerly kisses me back, holding my neck and stepping in close.
“Hey,” he whispers.
I kiss him again, not caring that my security can see. Or that anyone who comes upon us can see.
“Ready to come tour the castle?” I ask with a grin.
“Yes.”
I take his hand, and we both look down to see where we’re joined, though neither of us says anything. Something always clicks into place when we’re together, and it feels even more right when we touch.
“Can I ask you something?” I say, as we get to the outskirts of our settled area.
“Sure.”
“I know I have no right to ask this, given that I’m still in danger of being told to marry another, but I’ve decided I want to fight back and figure out a different way to settle matters with the Fire Realm.”
“Okay,” Justice says slowly.
“So … would you consider being my boyfriend?”
Justice’s eyes light up, and he pulls me to a stop so eagerly we bump into each other. He wraps his arms around me, under mycloak, and kisses me. “Yes,” he whispers against my lips. “Yes, I’ll be your boyfriend. If you’ll be mine.”
“Absolutely.” I kiss him one more time and squeeze his hand. “Come on.” I’m elated, and I could gladly stand here kissing him all afternoon, but we need to get to the castle. “Mats and I are going to go to the Fire Realm so he can talk to Princess Eleanor.”
“You found Mats?”
“Not found, so much as he just came back. Thank goodness. The fae released him, I guess. And he said he’s actually interested in getting to know Eleanor, so we’re planning to head there as soon as possible. But I’d already told my family about you, and I thought if they met you and saw how marvelous you are, maybe they’d realize they need to stop asking me to marry for the sake of the realm. So the plan is, family dinner—no pressure—and then Mats and I will head out and try to reach some Fire Realm solution that doesn’t involve sacrificing me.”
“He is going to marry her after all?”
