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"I understand. You want me to tell you everything. That’s a pretty tall order."

Her lips quirked into a smile. "Well, you’re a tall man. I’m sure you’ll say what matters."

What matters. I chewed the inside of my cheek. Us. We mattered, or, at least, we should. We should have the opportunity to get to know each other as slowly as we wanted. I thought of the hot spring, or as quickly as we wanted...

Either way, it should be in our own time or not at all.

But I was a king, and she was a princess. We didn’t have the luxury of just thinking of ourselves. We each had a duty to our people. All of whom were in danger.

So, I humbled myself and got to the point. "My crown is at stake."

To my surprise, she didn’t gasp or look particularly taken aback by my revelation. Perhaps, it was her own royal training kicking in. Instead, she asked, "From who? Is there a particular individual or order?"

"Right now, the island is governed by my court, the seelie. We have reigned for over a century, but it hasn’t always been that way. They unseelie have ruled before, and they wish to rule again. They are already preparing to make their move."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your encounter with the Unseelie Queen was no chance meeting. I’m almost certain of it. And there have been disappearances too. Servants of important council members. People who might have information. They are seeking my weakness."

She lifted her chin in sharp defiance. "And they won’t find it. At least, not from me."

I hadn’t even told her that her own kingdom was in danger. This show of loyalty was for me alone. "My fierce little sparrow. Will you peck at my enemies?" I reached out and caressed her cheek. "I’m afraid there’s more. They won’t stop at the isle, they’ll take your kingdom too. They have no tolerance for humans. They will send storms—bigger and more terrible than any you have ever seen. They will batter your shores until there is nothing left. No homes, no crops, no survivors."

She shuddered, and for just a moment, I imagined what she must have looked like as a little girl, sitting in her bedroom window watching the storms come over the ocean.

"Hopefully, it won’t come to that. We just have to be better–smarter, quicker, stronger."

She stiffened her back and sat at attention. "How can I help?"

I gazed into her round, willing eyes, and the words dripped from my lips like honey. "Marry me."

She frowned. "But we’re already bound to be married."

"Yes, you are bound. Unwillingly. I’m beginning to doubt that will be enough."

She cocked her head to the side. "Enough for who? And what does our marriage have to do with any of this?"

I hung my head. "Our marriage is the only thing left that might break this curse."

She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned deeply. "Why would our marriage break your curse? What aren’t you telling me?"

I paused for a moment.

There was so much I wanted to say. There was so much I couldn’t say. A single wrong word, and everything we had built could come crumbling down. There were so many secrets between us, but not all of them were my own. There was one that could destroy her. One that I could not speak. No matter how much I might wish to do so. I was bound through magic not to do so.

A part of me was thankful I couldn’t. I didn’t want to be the person to do that to her. I didn’t want to see the hurt flash across her face or the tears stream down her cheeks. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted us to be happy.

Maybe that made me selfish.

Maybe that made me a coward.

I opened my lips and said the simplest truth I could. "I was cursed by a member of your bloodline."

"My what?" she sputtered. "That can’t be true. Witchcraft is forbidden throughout the twelve kingdoms."

"Nonetheless, it’s true. When I first brought you here, I thought you were a witch too. I hoped you might simply lift the curse willingly."

"I am not a witch!" she cried.