“I couldn’t say, Miss Rosalina.”
He was no help, but I refused to be deterred. I tried a different tactic. “I’ll bake you your favorite lemon bars if you tell me.”
Rather than being tempted by my offer, he merely gave me a look of disapproval that clearly revealed his training as a guard to not accept bribes from desperate heroines. Stubborn guard. I couldn’t believe one of my treats had failed me in my time of need.
I turned my efforts to interrogating the other servants around the palace, which also yielded no results. Each morning that followed, Duncan remained at Ali’s post, confirming my greatest fear—he’d left the palace in order to get away from me.
My heart broke. True love had been within my grasp, but it had been suddenly snatched away. This heartache became even more unbearable as I was forced to continue to endure the lovesick attentions from the wrong prince, whom I’d been avoiding as much as possible. My story had transformed from a fairy tale to a tragedy.
I trudged to my room, in need of a good cry, and discovered a note awaiting me just inside my bedroom door. My heart leapt when I recognized the handwriting. Ali! Was this a love note or nothing more than his farewell letter to me? My hands shook as I tore it open.
Dear Rosie,
I must speak with you. Please meet me at the enchanted tree near the hedge maze.
Ali
I reread the note three times, my heartbeat escalating with each perusal. The delight at the thought of seeing Ali again competed with my fear at what he could possibly want to speak to me about.
I braced myself and turned to leave in order to find out, but paused when my gaze settled on my nightstand, where my last spelled chocolate remained hidden.
A plan formulated in my mind should my meeting with Ali not go well. I, Rosalina, would not be the tragic heroine in my story. I would keep fighting until I’d obtained my happily ever after.
My heart beat wildly as I slowly approached the shimmery tree, aglow in the glistening sunlight, where Ali stood with his back to me. I paused to stare at him, as if my study would allow me to read ahead in this scene to see if it contained the confession I’d longed for…or the unhappy ending I feared.
The only way to know would be to continue reading. I took a wavering breath and hesitantly stepped forward. “Ali?”
He spun around to face me. For a moment we merely stared at one another. Then in three strides he was in front of me and I was in his arms for the most wonderful embrace, one I never wanted to end.
“Rosie…” He nestled his head against my hair.
I burrowed against his firm chest in relief and sighed happily as his arms tightened around me, as if he wanted to keep me close. Already this scene was going much better than I’d anticipated. “I’ve missed you, Ali.”
“And I’ve missed you.”
I tipped my head back to search his eyes, radiating with an incredibly gentle look, which despite his recent avoidance, gave me hope that this conversation would go in the direction I desired.
“Then why have you been avoiding me? Are you angry I got you in trouble with Aiden?”
“I haven’t been avoiding you; I just needed some time away to think about things.”
“About what?” I asked breathlessly. How I hoped it had been about me.
He cradled my face, a promising sign. “I’ve been thinking about our future and trying to decide what to do. Ever since you came to the palace and into my life, I’ve been distracted. I tried to ignore you so I could be the guard worthy of protecting the princess, only to find the task impossible. Prince Aiden was right—our situation can’t continue like this. But I can’t bear ignoring you any longer.”
My heart tightened. Once again, I’d inadvertently hurt him. By the look in Ali’s eyes, I knew he was about to tell me he couldn’t serve as Eileen’s guard anymore…which meant he was leaving.
No matter what, I couldn’t allow that to happen. My fingers curled around my remaining piece of spelled chocolate. “Will you do something for me?”
“I’ll do anything for you, Rosie flower.”
I held out my hand to present him with my love spell. He stared at it in astonishment before raising his bewildered gaze to mine.
“That’s—”
“The last of my love spell. Please eat it.”
He gaped at me before swallowing. “You want me to eat it?”
“Yes, so you’ll fall in love with me.”
Ali’s eyes widened. “You want me to fall in love with you?”
“Oh, please, Ali.” I wrapped my arms tightly around him, clinging to him with the determination never to let him go until he was mine. “I’ll die from heartbreak otherwise. It’s the most romantically tragic way for a heroine to go, but please don’t make me experience it. I just want you to love me. Please eat this, Ali.”
He was silent for an agonizing moment. “You won’t trick me into eating it?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t do that to you. I want you to choose to. I know it wouldn’t be true love, but at least spelled love from you is better than no love at all, for I could at least imagine that your love for me was real.”
He was silent a moment more, and when I snuck a peek into his face, he seemed utterly bewildered. “Oh, Rosie…” He attentively ran his fingers through my hair, causing shivers to ripple over me from his soft touch. “I can’t take your love spell.”
“Why not?” I was crying, but my ridiculous blubbering was worth it when Ali once more wiped away my tears before hooking his finger beneath my chin to raise my gaze to meet his. His eyes smoldered not only with intensity but with the secret I’d been trying to excavate from him for weeks.
“I won’t take it because”—he took a deep breath—“I don’t need it.”
I gaped at him. “You don’t…need it?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“But—” I wrinkled my forehead. “If you don’t take it, how can you fall in love with me?”
Ali cradled my face, his touch soft despite his calloused hands. My heart flared to life, pattering so wildly I was certain he could hear it.
“Oh, Rosie,” he murmured as he leaned down and rubbed his nose along my jawline. “I don’t need your silly little love spell to fall in love with you. I’ve already been spelled.”
My breath hooked. “You have? You mean you took—”
“No, Rosie, I didn’t eat your enchanted chocolates. I didn’t need to.” His hazel gaze penetrated mine, smoldering. “I fell in love with you on my own.”
My heart fluttered as the beautiful confession I’d been waiting for enveloped me. “You love me?”
He smiled. “More than anything.”
The chocolate slipped from my hand as I squealed and pounced on him, hugging him fiercely. “Since when, Ali? Do tell me before I burst from utter happiness.”
“Almost from the very beginning. You cast your spell on me the moment you opened your mouth and shared the thoughts of that delightful and imaginative mind of yours. I immediately knew my heart was in jeopardy.”
“The beginning?” I gaped up at him incredulously. “That long?”
“That long.” His lips caressed my cheek and I shivered, my hold on him tightening.
“What’s happening?” I whispered.
“The hero and heroine are at long last coming together,” he said.
I hooked my arms around his neck to stare adoringly up at him. “This wasn’t how the story was supposed to go, you know.”
“This is exactly how it was supposed to go,” he said. “Aren’t stories full of twists and turns and all manner of delightful surprises?”
I traced each of his features with my fingertip, lingering in particular on his lips. “And princes in disguise?”
His lips twitched beneath my tracing finger. “Is that my role, then?”
“Definitely. You’ve always been my prince; it just took me a while to figure that out.” I sighed. “What a fool I’ve been. You were right in
front of me the entire time and I couldn’t see it.”
“I’m easy to miss considering I’m not particularly princely.” He bit his lip. “Are you disappointed?”
I lifted his hand and pressed a kiss first on one fingertip, then another. “No.”
His eyes widened in wonder. “And we didn’t meet in the way you wanted, either; I recall your mentioning that the thought of meeting true love in a corridor the most boring of all scenarios. Not to mention our story played out quite differently than you anticipated.”
“None of that matters as long as we’ve found each other. Now that we have…” Heat tickled my cheeks as I leaned closer, staring at his lips.
“True love’s kiss.” He leaned down and captured my lips with his own, and I gasped at the beautiful sensations now encompassing me.
I’d read about hundreds and hundreds of kisses in my fairy tales, but reading about something and experiencing it were completely different things. Mere words were inadequate to describe the sheer wonder of feeling someone so dear caress my lips, love’s most beautiful waltz.
I moaned as I kissed him back, wrapping my arms more securely around his neck to burrow my fingers in his hair to pull him closer. My prince’s arms tightened around me and lifted me off the ground. Warmth, tenderness, sweetness…a fluttering of delightful emotions beginning in my heart cascaded over my entire body, sheer magic.
All too soon it was over. Ali had no sooner broken our most-perfect-of-all-kisses than I found myself murmuring, “Wow.”
He chuckled. “That sums it up quite nicely.” He stroked my cheek, his eyes boring into mine. “I love you, Rosie flower. You’re the perfect heroine for my story.”
His words were like an embrace from the sun. It wasn’t until I’d heard them that I realized just how long my heart had been aching for them. “I love you too, Ali.” My forehead furrowed. “This is certainly an unexpected twist. I truly didn’t see this coming.”
“Love is like that; it sometimes sneaks up on you when you least expect it.” He leaned down to lightly kiss me again.
“Ours is the most perfect of all stories,” I murmured. “Love at first sight for the hero and a prince in disguise for the heroine. Can it get much better?”
“It can,” Ali said as his lips caressed my neck. “For this is our story. And we’ll live happily ever after.”
We lost ourselves in another perfect kiss, as all kisses from one’s true love always are.
Chapter 27
As we basked in this most magical of moments enfolded in one another’s arms, I suddenly jerked away. “Prince Liam! He’s still spelled. Oh no, what am I going to do?”
He rubbed my back soothingly. “If our true love’s kiss hasn’t broken the spell, perhaps you should tell him you spelled him.”
I gasped in horror. “Are you out of your mind? I couldn’t do that.”
He stroked my cheek. “I’m not in jest, darling. You should be honest with His Highness about what you did.”
My cheeks burned at the thought. He lightly traced my blush, eyes incredibly tender.
“I’ll be right by your side; we’ll slay the dragon together.”
And despite my terror for the upcoming battle, I knew I could face the fearsome beast, for now that I’d found my prince, I knew every obstacle in my fairy tale would be conquered thanks to my gallant knight.
Several minutes later when we stood outside the parlor where Aiden and Eileen were entertaining Prince Liam, I wasn’t so sure. I stood paralyzed, my breath coming up short and feeling on the brink of a faint.
Ali gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “True love breaks any spell,” he reminded me. “Trust me.”
I searched his sweet expression. It was hard to believe I used to think him stoic when his emotions were revealed in subtle ways—in the lines of his features, the way his mouth twitched, and especially his eyes, which currently shone with absolute adoration.
I trusted this man, utterly and completely. He read this feeling in my eyes and squeezed my hand again. “Let’s conquer your dragon, flower.”
With a deep breath, I opened the door. Clinging to Ali’s hand, I shakily entered the dragon’s lair, where my lovesick foe sat. His eyes lit up when he saw me, while Eileen immediately took in me and Ali’s clasped hands with wide eyes.
She squealed. “Please tell me this means you two have finally gotten together.” At my nod, Eileen seized Aiden in a side hug. “Finally, finally, finally. I told you, Aiden. I told you they’d get together. It took forever.”
He grinned with obvious approval. “I didn’t doubt you, my love. They had an obvious connection from the beginning.”
I exchanged a shy yet adoring look with Ali. Meanwhile, Prince Liam gaped at our entwined hands with a crumpled look. He raised his devastated gaze to mine. “What’s the meaning of this, Rosie darling? I thought your heart was mine to forever cherish?”
I stared at him blankly, scrambling for the words that didn’t want to come. “I—” No, I couldn’t do it; it was too mortifying. I spun around to make my escape, but Ali caught me in an embrace. I buried my face against him and shook my head. “I can’t do it, Ali.”
“Of course you can.” He kissed the top of my head. “It’ll be alright, Rosie. I promise.”
My fear melted away at his earnest and assuring expression. With a deep breath I turned in Ali’s arms to face Prince Liam, gaining strength for this confession from my knight’s comforting embrace.
“Prince Liam, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Liam, my sweet,” he said. “You know there’s no need for such formality between us, darling.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Ugh. “Liam…”
“Look at me, Rosie, so that I may see your beautiful eyes.”
I sighed and stared determinedly at my dragon. It was time to vanquish him once and for all. “Prince Liam, I gave you a love spell. The chocolate treats I made for you were enchanted.” The words tumbled out as nothing more than a jumble of sounds. Prince Liam frowned and tilted his head.
“Pardon? Can you repeat that, my dear?”
I had to make my confession again? This was the worst. I took another deep breath. “I gave you a love spell. You don’t really love me, and I most certainly don’t love you. I’m so sorry I did something so dastardly, but at the time I thought I wanted you to be my prince. Now I realize that I don’t.”
Prince Liam gaped at me, expression blank. I wrung my hands together.
“What’s worse, I have no idea how to remove it.” I buried my face in my hands. “I’m so sorry.”
An agonizing and tense silence followed, the longest of my life, but then…. “Rosalina?”
I peeked at Prince Liam through my fingers. He’d not only used my full name for the first time since he’d been spelled, but his entire manner was calm rather than infatuated. To add to my shock, he smiled in a friendly way, no trace of his previous sappy grins.
“Thank you for telling me. Please be assured that the spell has been removed.”
“You mean…you don’t love me?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. Don’t get me wrong; we can still be friends, but I’m not looking to be romantically attached. I’m relieved you finally share my sentiments.”
I gaped at him. This couldn’t be happening. I’d done nothing special to remove the spell that had caused me and everybody else such trouble and heartache, and after a confession it was simply…gone?
“But how?”
Prince Liam propped his leg up on his knee with a goofy grin. “For the simple reason I was never spelled to begin with.”
I stared at him in disbelief, his words failing to register in my swirling thoughts. “You weren’t?” But he had to have been.
Prince Liam shook his head, expression amused. “Not at all.”
“But—but—” I could barely think through this entirely unexpected revelation, let alone speak. “But you behaved spelled.”
“It’s called a
cting, Rosalina, and I must say I did a rather fine job. I had all of you convinced I was a spelled prince.” He laughed.
“Are you telling me,” Aiden said through gritted teeth, “that this entire love spell has been an act?”
Prince Liam’s grin widened in triumph. “Yup. You have to admit the entire scheme was quite fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed my part in it.”
Aiden glared at him. “You mean you put me through all that torment for no reason? Do you have any idea how frantic I’ve been trying to keep your condition a secret from the court while trying to figure out how to fix this mess? And this entire time you were faking it?”
“I was.” Prince Liam smirked, bursting with pride. “Don’t give me a look like I just betrayed you; I knew it was fake, and thus there was nothing to worry about.”
“Nothing to worry about?” Aiden’s manner only hardened further, while Eileen sat beside him, gaping at Liam in dazed astonishment. “I was convinced that the King of Draceria would get wind of this and it would cause me all sorts of political trouble. I even banished Rosalina for your stunt until she could create a counterspell.”
Prince Liam’s expression became guilty. “I didn’t realize you’d sent her away; I thought she was merely returning to Arador for a visit. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” His remorse quickly melted away, replaced with another wide grin. He propped his arms up behind his head and leaned back. “Still, you must admit my performance was quite the achievement.”
As the conversation washed over me my shock slowly dissipated, replaced with a multitude of questions. “Wait, I don’t understand. How can you not be spelled? I gave you a chocolate spiked with love potion. I watched you eat it. You became so…annoying the moment you did so.”
Prince Liam only chuckled. “You did nothing of the sort.”
“I certainly did.”
“You only thought you did. Alastar, will you explain?”
I spun on Ali, who looked both amused and undeniably guilty. I smelled a traitor. “You knew about this?”
Prince Liam chuckled. “Knew about it? He was the mastermind behind the whole deception.”
The Kingdom Chronicles Box Set 1 Page 55
