The thought had never occurred to her. She would have to ask him exactly what that entailed. But it could wait.
“Oh, pear nectar sounds so good,” she told him.
He shrugged, poured out a glass, and handed it to her.
“To us,” Willow said, lifting her glass.
He touched his glass to hers and they drank long and deep.
26
Heath
Heath stood firm and tried not to smile.
“Your Majesty, it’s bad luck to see her in the dress,” Iona said, hands on her hips, practically stamping her foot.
“I don’t care,” he told her.
“I won’t have my princess saddled with bad luck on your account,” Iona said.
“What if I keep the veil down?” Willow offered from behind the paper screen.
“No,” Heath and Iona answered at once.
There was a pause, then Willow began giggling.
He wished he could see her.
“Come out,” he said. “Or I’m coming back there.”
“I’m still getting dressed,” she scolded him.
“You have seven seconds,” he told her.
“No,” she said. “Never make a bargain with a Fae prince. That’s like the first rule of how to survive in Faerie.”
Heath laughed and Iona scowled at him.
“Mistress Iona is called to retrieve the princess’s jewels,” a servant said at the door.
Iona buttoned her lips and sighed through her nose.
“By all means, go,” Heath urged her with a flourish. “Don’t keep the jewels waiting.”
“I’m warning you,” Iona said. “Don’t you go back there.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Heath said, raising his hands up.
She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and then headed off briskly with the servant.
“I hope you didn’t just lie to Ashe’s nanny,” Willow teased.
“Fae can’t lie,” he said flatly.
“That tracks,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s just that I’ve never been able to lie either,” she said. “I thought it was my conscience stopping me.”
Knowing his sweet Willow, it probably was.
“I miss you,” he told her, already wishing he could break his promise to that bothersome nanny.
“Well, we can’t have that,” Willow said, appearing on the side of the paper screen.
His heart almost stopped beating.
She was clad in traditional Fae princess undergarments. Sparkling lace like dewdrops formed a belt around her hips, another length of winking lace held up her round breasts with seemingly no regard for gravity.
They covered more than her mortal underwear, but somehow made her look even more sexy.
“Princess Willow,” he breathed, falling to his knees at her feet and pressing a kiss to her navel.
She laughed as if she thought he was kidding.
And while he was being maybe just a little melodramatic, mostly he was acting on instinct.
He had nearly worked his thumb under the whisper thin fabric on her hip when the door flew open.
“Prince Heath,” Iona spluttered.
“I did not go back there,” Heath said, scrambling to his feet.
“And I’m not wearing the dress yet,” Willow said, with an adorably guilty expression that made him want to go right back to doing what he had been doing before.
“Honestly,” Iona grumbled. “I can’t leave you two alone for a minute. You know you’re going to be married tonight and then you can do as you like.”
But she was trying to hide a grin and they both saw it.
Heath winked at Willow and she smiled so hard her cheeks nearly covered her eyes.
“Get back there, lass, go on,” Iona scolded her. “I’ll help you get the dress on before he can get it off again.”
“Now that’s teamwork,” Heath declared.
“And I’ve sent for her brothers,” Iona said to him. “They’ll accompany the princess and won’t let her out of their sight, so you might as well go on and get ready.”
Well, it was hard to argue with that line of thinking.
And the sound of boots and deep male laughter from the hall told him his soon-to-be brothers-in-law had already arrived.
“I’ll see you out there,” Willow called to him. “Everything will be fine, I promise.”
Iona raised her eyebrows at him.
“Okay, fine, fine, I’m going,” he said, surrendering.
Sterling marched in with Torsten and Duncan behind him, jostling each other just a little bit as they came through the door.
“No, no,” Iona said. “I’ll not have roughhousing in here with the princess dressing in all her finery.”
“Sorry, Iona,” Sterling said.
“Sorry,” his brothers echoed, looking suitably chastened.
Heath tried to hide his smile.
“We’ll see you out there, Heath,” Sterling said, smiling back.
Heath nodded and headed out the door.
The corridors were long and chilly, but he thought he was beginning to get at least a vague sense of where everything was.
After a few minutes of searching, he found a room of glass doors leading outside. Surely this led to the courtyard.
But once he was outside, he found he was in some sort of ice garden.
The last of the twilight shone pink in the glassy surfaces of the trees and plants. The sight was exquisite. He wished that Willow were here so that they could explore the icy wonderland together.
Instead, he just needed to find his way out.
“Prince Heath?” a male voice said politely.
Heath turned to find a well-dressed man of about his age.
“I’m Prince Harland of the Spring Court,” the man said with a guilty smile. “I’m, uh, sorry I almost married your betrothed.”
“From what she says, you were helpful to her in extricating herself,” Heath said.
“That’s also true,” Harland allowed.
“Then it’s nice to meet you,” Heath said. “Do you know how to get to the main courtyard from here?”
“Did they kick you out upstairs?” Harland asked, his eyes dancing.
“Yes,” Heath said. “How did you know?”
“Come on,” Harland said, starting off through the garden.
Heath followed.
“I went to the kitchens to see about a snack,” Harland said. “And everyone in there was whispering about you not leaving the princess’s side and poor Iona fit to be tied about the bad luck it would bring.”
“Glad I could provide some entertainment for the staff,” Heath joked.
“Hey, after what you two have been through, I wouldn’t leave her either,” Harland said sympathetically. “How did they pry you out of there?”
“All of her brothers came up and said they would stay with her,” Heath said, still feeling a little grumpy about it.
Harland threw his head back and laughed and Heath couldn’t help but smile.
They walked the rest of the way in a companionable silence. Heath found himself grateful that he had gotten a little lost, if it meant he had a chance to meet Harland and see that he was no threat.