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My chest caved in on itself. No, it wasn’t possible. The world tilted on its axis, the ground no longer beneath me, the sky no longer above. I existed somewhere in the middle, tethered to nothing.

Summoning my senses against the dizzying hit of reality, his name slipped from my lips. “Nicholas.” My stare remained wide, as if I didn’t believe what I was seeing. I had to be wrong, yet each second I took in the visible portion of his face, the truth hammered in place with ridiculing force.

A moment of confusion furrowed those masculine eyebrows until they softened. He gingerly raised his hand to my mask, his thumb dragging down the corner on my left cheek just so, revealing the upper portion.

“Nora,” he said, equally as taken aback when his stare fixed on my beauty mark.

My throat dried out, to the point I couldn’t swallow. Panic ensnared me, realizing I stood with the Prince of Highcrest completely exposed and that he knew of my secrets. Knew portions of my heart in the memories I’d shared of my father. That I’d grown a garden of trust for this man, and it had taken root. That I’d given my body to him in the woods. That I had spoken of my hatred toward him.

I’d bled myself in so many ways before the one person I wanted to bleed dry.

I gathered what strength I had left in my arms, using them to shove him forcefully away from me. “This can’t be happening.” There was nowhere to retreat. We stood between kingdoms, surrounded by nothing but woods and wildlife. And Melody was still missing. I narrowed in on him. “What the fuck?” I asked in a whisper.

He merely stood, broad shoulders squaring his perfectly princely posture. How had I not noticed the formal way in which he carried himself? The way he fought with trained precision, the access to castle knowledge. My thoughts blurred, struggling to find purchase on solid ground. “What the actual fuck?!” I repeated louder, then again for a third time. Birds flew from their perches when my anger echoed in their homes.

He peeled off his hood, dropping his mask below his perfectly sculpted jaw. The sight took my breath away, but my fury continued lashing around me.

“Nora…”

I bent over, gripping my knees for support. My mask only recycled my hot erratic breaths until I had to remove it for some fresh cool air or I’d faint. I supposed it didn’t matter now, anyway.

He made to move toward me, but I threw a hand out, a targeted finger aimed right at him. “Don’t.”

He stilled, heeding my order. I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing, but with my energy zapped from the ride, my muscles aching, and my overriding shock, nausea swept through me. Before I could try and combat it, I hurled up bile and chunks of apple. His steps were muffled, but I didn’t care what he was doing. I spat and wiped the corners of my mouth with my sleeve.

“Here,” he said.

I peered up to see him extending a canteen. “I don’t want anything from you,” I snarled, my words as acidic as the remnants at my feet. My anger and pride wouldn’t let me take the water my body desperately needed.

“Don’t be this way, Nora. This changes nothing.”

A laugh with no warmth barreled out of me. “It changes everything.”

“It doesn’t have to.” I could hear the frustration growing in his tone. “I may have kept my identity a secret, but so did you,” he snapped, trying to pin some onus on me.

My head turned with feral grace until my wide eyes met his. “You think I’m upset because you hid your identity?” It took all my composure to straighten myself before him without wobbling.

“Then why?” His question was bold, more so command. His shoulders dipped and rose in time with his chest.

“What was the point of all this, prince?” The title held no hint of admiration, a scathing reminder of his position and power. “Did you get a little too bored behind those protective walls? Found a way to add a little excitement to your perfectly perfect life? Wanted to see how the rest of us live in the slums so you could go home to your riches and lavish events and bask in all your glory?”

Years’ worth of animosity and hate bubbled to the surface. I wasn’t even sure what I was saying, only that the words begged to be said, rushing out in an eruption of aggression.

“You know that’s not true.” His fists balled beside him, the muscles in that perfect jaw of his tensing and flickering.

Another venomous laugh painted the humid morning air. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

To his credit, he didn’t retaliate. Didn’t deny it. Didn’t do a thing except stand there with perfect stillness. As the words resonated between us, a growing feeling of discomfort bloomed. That couldn’t be guilt I was feeling? The seconds ticked by, still with no response. My mind fought to thread together the two men I’d come to know. The memory of his lips on mine, the way he held me as we danced, his fingers between my thighs…

I shook my head violently—as if refusing to accept it would change this disorienting outcome.

“Nora, I’m here to help you,” he said with expert kindness, taking a step forward.

“THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!” I lashed out, my arms waving frantically. “We’ve petitioned you for months, months, Nicholas, about the disappearances. You removed your guards! You left us to suffer and lose more of our own. If you had done something, Melody wouldn’t be missing now!”

My fingers dug into my scalp. Air, I needed more air. I gulped down a lungful, but it didn’t satisfy. Hair that had loosened from my braid fell before my face. “And there I was, running around at night with the one man who has the power to stop it all, yet refused. This means something to me! It’s not a chance to add some excitement to my life, it’s not a game!”

“It means something to me, too,” he finally said, quieter than before.