Page 22 of Return of the Nutcracker Prince

She craved his kiss so much it pained her.Engagement be damned.“Please.”

He brought his other hand up to cup her face, his gaze sweeping over her countenance.Memorizing her as she also committed his handsome face to memory.The orbs that had followed them through the gardens circled around them, giving off just enough light.As her prince leaned in, she closed her eyes, and he tentatively pressed his lips to hers.

Just like the first time, a tingle erupted from her mouth and spread to other parts of her.Klaus must have felt it too, because his hands dropped from her face, and he wrapped her in a tight embrace.Clara grasped at his jacket, her arms around his waist.His tongue brushed her lip, igniting something deep within her she’d never felt before, and she gasped.When his tongue slid along hers, their passions inflamed further, and before she knew it, she was panting for air as Klaus rained more kisses upon her lips.How long they sat there under the mistletoe she couldn’t say, but when they parted, he pressed his forehead to hers as they breathed each other in.

“Worth the wait,” he rasped.

“It was.”

They stayed pressed together on that bench for some time.His blue eyes filled with longing as he unwrapped her arms from around him, holding her hands in his as he rose to his feet.“I should let you get some rest.Tomorrow is a big day.”

Clara didn’t want to rest.She wanted to keep kissing him.To keep ignoring that this dream would end.Resigned, she stood as well, pressing her thighs together at the ache between her legs.Who was this wanton creature?It must be Klaus that caused this reaction.She’d heard about feelings of passion and lust from her married friends, but never experienced it herself.‘Twas a shame it only happened to her in a dream.

They strode back to the guest wing in silence; the orbs following them as far as the castle door.Clara pondered Klaus’s story.Could it be true that she’d only had these feelings for him, and him for her, because of a plant?Or was the moral of the story that the plant was just a messenger of fate?

Outside the tall white pair of doors that led to her rooms, Klaus kissed her once more, his lips lingering on hers.“Clara…”

“Yes?”

“I wish you could stay.”

That threw a cold bucket of water on her thoughts.“I know.”Even Klaus knew this was a dream.At some point Clara would wake up and be forced to return to the real world.She slid out of his embrace and opened the door.“I’ll see you tomorrow.Good night, Klaus.”

“Sweet dreams, lovely.”

His gaze never left hers as she shut the door.Leaning against it, she waited for his footsteps.It took ages, but she finally heard him leave.Then she breathed a sigh of relief.

As she prepared for bed, wrestling with the ties to her corset, she thought about what he’d said.Could she abandon her duty to her family to stay in this Realm of Dreams?

The von Galens were a prominent family, and good friends with the Stahlbaums.Berengar was the eldest son, set to inherit the barony from his father.Mama would tell her tying the two families together would strengthen them.

Inwardly, Clara groaned.She’d be expected to producechildrenwith the foul Berengar.And no matter what Mama promised her, she would never love him like her parents loved each other.His leers made her feel dirty, and she couldn’t bear his condescending tone.She was sick just thinking about it.

On the other hand, Klaus made her feel beautiful and valued.He’d been so concerned for her well-being and comfort.You are far more important to me than a horse.She couldn’t see her own brother saying such a thing, much less his best friend and cohort.

But a broken engagement would bring shame to her parents.Their friends and acquaintances might think their daughter unmanageable.Yet spinsterhood sounded far better than a miserable marriage to a man she despised.And her parents would need someone to care for them, eventually.As an unmarried woman, that would fall to her.The more she thought about it, the more she preferred that scenario to the first.She could make that trade.

Climbing into bed, Clara came to a decision.No matter how things turned out here, she would tell her parents she could not marry Berengar when she awoke.They wouldn’t be happy about it, but she would rather disappoint than humiliate them.That meant she’d better talk to Mama and Papa before the New Year’s Eve party.That way, only the two families would know about the broken engagement.

As she closed her eyes, she prayed to carry her memories of this dream for the rest of her life.

Clara faced the beautiful Galiena in the center of a large, empty room with ceilings higher than any cathedral she’d ever entered back home.An inch of sand covered the floor.“Has my son discussed the attributes of magic in our world?”

“A few, Your Majesty.”

“And what did he tell you?”Galiena cocked her head to the side, her dark eyes watching Clara.

She tried desperately not to fidget under her sharp gaze.“That it’s mostly women who have magic.But he also mentioned Godfather Drosselmeyer has some; that’s why he can pass between worlds.”

The Sugar Plum Fairy’s eyes narrowed.“You know Ludwig?”

Clara nodded.Galiena hummed.

“Yes, Ludwig is what we call a Tinkerer.There are three classes of light mage.Tinkerers, Casters, and Healers.I can already tell you are not a Tinkerer.They always have violet eyes.”

Her jaw dropped.“But Godfather —”

“— wears an eyepatch in the Realm of Waking, does he not?”Galiena said knowingly.

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