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“Nothing. Let’s just look at dresses.”

“Marra.” Mom’s tone holds a warning.

One I ignore. “Look at this gown.” I hold the phone out to her.

She doesn’t pull her gaze from me. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Laughter sounds, then my dad and Bash enter the room. I give them a double-take, trying to figure out why they’re so happy. I should be glad, but I’m just confused. Bash is in one piece and isn’t pale anymore.

Relief washes through me. I leap up and throw my arms around him, but look at my dad. “Did you guys have a nice talk?”

Dad whacks Bash on the back. “Better than nice. I hope you’ll bring him with you often when you come to the castle.”

I turn to my boyfriend and lift a brow. “What did you talk about?”

He kisses my forehead. “Mostly you.”

Curiosity gets the best of me. “What about? Why were you laughing?”

“He was telling me some stories about your childhood. Sounds like you were a character.”

“Do I even want to know?” I can barely remember my childhood, it was so long ago and so removed from most of the rest of my life.

The corners of Bash’s mouth twitch. “He told me about the time you streaked down a busy hallway when a bunch of dignitaries from another kingdom were visiting.”

My face flames and the heat extends out to the rest of my body. “I don’t remember that. It probably never happened.”

Mom laughs. “I nearly forgot about that!”

I spin around and glower at her. “Not you too.”

“Oh, it was cute,” she says. “You were only two.”

My dad puts a hand on my shoulder. “And you actually helped diffuse a tense situation. We’d just left a meeting that hadn’t ended well. And after that, we had a good laugh and were able to resolve our differences.”

“Can we talk about something else?” I look back and forth between my dad and my boyfriend. “And remind me to keep you two separated in the future.”

They both laugh and exchange a look like they’re sharing a private joke, probably at my expense.

I decide to change the subject. “Shouldn’t we work on my sparring skills?”