Page 14 of Coral Prince Conundrum (Runaway Prince Hotel #1)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Seero

The next twenty-four hours are a blur, shrouded in a web of lies of my own weaving.

Father insisted on having several private meals with the Corali guards and Daryl.

I spoke Corali the entire time, and Daryl played the part of the quiet, demure fiancé.

Fortunately, Father brushed away my stint of running away from my great global survey, now thrilled and fixated on my betrothal.

Daryl has said almost nothing to me in private as I apologized incessantly.

With our meals complete, it is time for me to escort my now fake-fiancé back to my kingdom.

I finish placing the last of my belongings into my knapsack and gaze around at the hotel room.

This small space has been my home for months, and now it’s pristinely clean, ready for another hotel guest to take my place.

While the quarters are small compared to our many palaces at home, this was no prison; it was freedom.

I had the liberty to start fresh, to not be the Coral Prince, to meet surface-dwellers, and to do what I pleased.

I was also granted the opportunity to make love to Daryl Tishman.

I shake my head and close the door. I would not blame that handsome American man if he despised me from now on. But the Corali royal guard was ready to make an example of him, to harm him. In a snap decision, I saved him in the short term, only to ensnare us both in a whirlpool of deceit.

I walk to the front desk where my fiancé―I mean, Daryl―is waiting. Before I can round the corner, I hear the sound of his friend, the coworker from the café.

“So like, you’re, what, a princess now?” Justice asks.

I stand by a wall, unwilling to announce my presence or walk away.

“Man, it’s not like that. I mean, I don’t think.” Daryl clears his throat. “Are you going to watch my car or not?”

“I’ll park it at my place. But who’s going to cover your shifts?”

“Layla knows what’s going on, and she informed Sam I’m going on a work sabbatical.”

“A work sabbatical? Daryl, you’re going to a foreign country! And not one of the nearby kingdoms, like Icedonia, but like, an overseas country!”

“Hence the sabbatical. You don’t need a coffee maker like me.”

“But why does the Coral Kingdom need you? And cut the crap.” Justice lowers his voice, but my hearing is stronger on the surface than the average man’s.

“Why are you engaged to him? He’s hot, but you’ve known him for like what, a month?

What is with everyone I know getting engaged so quickly for political reasons? ”

I can hear Daryl huff. “It’s…complicated. There are things at play that I can’t explain right now.”

My heart gets heavy. Daryl is still protecting my privacy despite all the complications I’ve brought into his life.

“I just need to…be with him for now. Please say nothing to the press, or anyone.”

“I won’t. You know how it is, man,” Justice replies. “No media allowed at Renversé Plaza. Plus, Layla will have my head if I talk about any of the secret royalty here.”

The two friends snicker, and even I must smile. I have met a surprising number of fellow royals from around the world and beyond since working here.

“Just promise me you know what you’re doing,” Justice says quietly. “No one knows anything about the Coral Kingdom. And all of a sudden, you’re on track to be part of the royal family? I’m getting real sick of royal weddings.”

“I am…working on it,” Daryl says with mild trepidation.

“We just need to act like fiancés for a little while, that’s it.

” My heart sinks further, knowing that, after this, he will never want to be serious with me.

Logically, I knew that, because he’s not Corali, I could never marry him.

Still, I wanted us to grow closer, because Daryl makes me feel brand new.

But now all we are is a fake relationship.

“And won’t it hurt your feelings when you have to break up with him?” Justice asks.

My breath pauses as I lean closer to the wall. Does Daryl actually want us to be betrothed?

“It…um, well…” Before I can eavesdrop more, I hear a voice by the front door.

“Daryl! Thank the heavens I caught you!” Layla walks in with her booming voice, carrying fabric on her arm. This is as good a moment as any to announce my entrance.

I step forward to the front desk, and Justice and Daryl look between me and Layla. “Oh, Seero, you’re here, too.” Layla smiles at me. I nod and give a short bow to all of them.

“Daryl, I have something for you before you go.” Layla hands off the large brown bundle of fabric.

“What’s this?” Daryl gazes at it as he unfolds it. He’s wearing a dark sweater, known as a hoodie, and denim pants, along with a filled backpack.

“It’s a water-resistant coat. I found it at a thrift store and thought of you. Since, you know…you’re traveling across the ocean.” Layla turns to me. “You better not harm a hair on his head.”

“I solemnly swear, no harm shall come to him overseas.” I bow again. “Thank you again, Layla, for all your hospitality.”

She smirks. “Yes, well, now I gotta cancel aquatic aerobics class, unless Zane wants to take over. Those ladies had a crush on you.” We all laugh. “But princely duties call, I get it. You’re welcome to attend the charity ball this September. And if you ever need a place in America to crash…”

Her voice trails off, and it warms my heart. “I will always be thinking of you, Layla.” I turn to Justice. “You as well. You have all been welcoming.”

“You better be welcoming to our boy here,” Justice replies. He taps Daryl’s chest, who is now wearing the brown coat. The garment reaches down to his knees, and he appears warm and comfortable.

“Thanks for the coat, Layla, but like…aren’t I gonna be too hot?”

“Not during the travel,” she says.

“Aren’t we going to be on a boat?” Daryl turns to me, and I wince.

Layla shakes her head at me, and an uncomfortable silence descends on us.

Twenty minutes later, we’re waiting by a foggy beach. Father and the guards stand to my right. When Father whistles, several of our sea dragons appear yards away in the water.

“Woah,” Daryl murmurs.

“We will see you at home in a few hours, my son.” Dad leans over and wags his eyebrows.

“And you as well, new son.” He guffaws, then the five of them wade into the beach water.

In a blink of an eye, they’re darting through the ocean with ease.

Just as quickly, they hop up and mount their dragons, and then disappear into the fog.

“We’re um…travelling via sea…monster?” Daryl plays with his fingers as he grimaces at the ocean.

I whistle to summon my fearless steed. “Not sea monster. Sea dragon .” I wave my hands and part the ocean tides so that my betrothed can walk on the sand. Fish flop about our feet as we approach my dragon.

Daryl gazes in awe at the seafloor, but I continue to move my arms about to keep the water away. “Meet Drakey, my pet sea dragon. Drakey, meet Daryl.”

Drakey huffs and bends his head down, like the obedient boy he is. Daryl grimaces. “Uh…hi, Mr. Dragon,” he says with a grimace. He looks at me, and I nod. After another moment of hesitation, he walks up my sea dragon’s neck and onto the gray standing saddle.

“Hold on!” I shout, and Daryl crouches to grab the edge of the saddle.

With a wave of my wrists, the waves crash around me, and I see Drakey dart upward with the water displacement.

I follow along, pushing the water beneath my feet and expelling myself upward.

I fly through the air, and, just like we’ve practiced for years, he moves to catch me.

“Woah!” Daryl says, standing up. “That was…”

“Dramatic?” I ask with a quirked eyebrow.

“Incredible,” he replies in a breathless tone. He gazes at me, and for the first time in two days, we’re truly alone. His handsome face calls to me, and I remember how I felt inside him. My pulse picks up, and I step forward.

“ Hifff ,” Drakey bristles, reminding me that we’re atop my aquatic steed.

“Right.” I shake my head of water, and Daryl ducks inside his new coat. “You ready to go save the world?”

“I…don’t know about that. I might not be able to help,” Daryl replies.

I step close to him and stroke his face.

“I believe in you, Daryl Tishman.” Before we can kiss, Drakey moves forward, throwing us off balance.

I roll my eyes and smile. Next, I reach down and take the reins.

“Get comfortable, it is going to be a bit of a long ride. And you might want to hold on to me.”

Daryl nods, then crowds my space. He wraps his arms around my torso, and his warmth jolts straight to my groin. We are embarking on a fake-fiancé gambit to stop political unrest, but I still feel this intense attraction to him.

Quelling my lustful thoughts, I whistle to direct Drakey to keep going. With speed, he darts across the water, leading me back to my home.

Hours later, Daryl wakes up in my arms. When he was getting tired, I told him to switch places with me so that he wouldn’t fall off, and he complied. The top speeds on the water were alarming to him at first, but sometime after hour three, he got used to it.

Now, he stirs on my chest as I sit behind, arms wrapped around him, holding the reins. The whirring noise of the great blue ocean around us is a familiar soundtrack to me. He must have already grown used to it, because he stretches and gazes around.

“I’ve always been one to fall asleep on long car rides,” he says.

I lean my head almost on his shoulder. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah. Drakey is one smooth ride.” We both laugh, and he cuddles close.

“He is the most loyal steed. He’s even faster underwater, but I gave him specific instructions to stay on the surface.”

“Yeah, please don’t dive deep, little dragon.” We laugh again, and he taps the platform below him. “He listens to whatever you say?”

“Yes. I raised him since he was a baby.” I clear my throat. “In a lot of ways, he’s my best friend.”

“Yeah? No one close to you at home?”

I shrug. “My siblings, sort of. But Father always made it clear that I am the heir, I am the Coral Prince, and that I had higher duties. So we were not allowed to play together for many years. Until recently, they treated me like an extension of him.”

“But what about boyfriends?”

I snicker. “I learned a long time ago that many people want the Coral Prince for his power. But no one wants to know me. That was never satisfying. So, occasional trysts and short-term intimacy were all I could accomplish.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Seero,” he says. He turns to me, his face so close to mine. All it would take is me leaning forward to kiss him again. But no, we are simply fake fiancés on a mission.

I clear my throat and look away. “I should be sorry. I am the one taking you away from everything you know for this…charade.”

“You did it so the guards wouldn’t kill me, I get it.” He grins, and I’m humbled that he’s so understanding. “Besides, now I get to help you prepare your case for your Corali Court.”

I smile at him and hold him closer. “That is true.”

“And plus, I get to ride on the back of a freaking dragon.” We share a chuckle and gaze at the ocean passing us by.

“That is so very common in my kingdom.”

“I can’t wait to see it all.” His wistful expression is one of beauty, and for a moment, there’s nothing fake about us. After a beat, he giggles and cuddles closer to me. “Getting to travel and see a new kingdom…I’m actually kind of excited to be your fake fiancé.”

My smile falls―I must not forget my mission, and more importantly, my heart. Daryl has been forced into this relationship. We are not real; we are only temporary.

“There is much I can show you.”

Daryl turns to me. “Are they going to kill me after I…you know?”

“After what?”

“After we find a way to break off this engagement and I go back home?”

My mouth goes dry, and I grip the reins tighter. The idea of no longer being with Daryl is a frightening one. “I will make sure no harm comes to you.”

He nods in understanding, then looks forward again. “Good. Because if I get hurt, Layla might personally swim here and cause an international incident.”

We both laugh, a mirthful, joyous noise in the middle of the sea. “She is a good boss and a great person.”

“Yes, well, I don’t want to be in danger when we break up.” He turns to me again. “How are we going to break up?”

I bite my lip and ponder that same question. Before I can say more, the fog grows denser. Drakey beneath us slows down, and I sense the movement of water in the air.

“Woah, stormy weather,” Daryl murmurs.

He cuddles closer to me, and a smirk breaks from my lips. I breathe in his scent, then look up. “There is nothing to fear. This…” I wave my hands around, repelling the water manipulation of our guards. The fog clears, like an open gate on the ocean. “This is home.”

We pass through, and the storm is gone. It is good to know our border guards still make effective storm barriers. A surface-dweller boat would have turned back, but not I. The guards stand at their posts atop rafts, and they each bow to me.

Several guards approach and flank me on their own sea dragons. Daryl looks around, likely shocked at the fog dissipating so abruptly. Drakey slows as we get closer and closer to the port.

“What the…” Daryl mutters.

Arcs of water splash above us, and several people cheer, indicating my return. “Welcome…to the Coral Kingdom.”