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“If you’ve had the misfortune of coming into contact with the skin of an Unseelie fae, immerse your hands in immortal water for a minimum of ten minutes to avoid warts.”

Unseelie Fae: A Scientific Study

“R onan. I wasn’t expecting you this early.” Thank goodness I bathed last night, otherwise it would be at least another hour for my hair to finish drying.

Today, my hair falls in soft waves over the blue and white pinstripe dress Madame Ella altered. Gone are the heavy sleeves my mother once wore, replaced by lace ties that refuse to stay up properly. The ruffles at the bottom of the skirt have been cut clean off, and she sewed on a length of baby pink fabric that grazes the tops of my matching pink slippers. I never would’ve paired the two together myself, but they create a stunning garment.

The prince grins from the stoop, one shoulder casually propped against the doorframe. “I couldn’t wait until noon to see you.”

Do they teach princes to be charming or is this an inherent trait?

From behind his back, Ronan reveals two boxes. The white one I recognize from Madame Ella. It’s hard to believe she sent another dress already. She must be working round the clock.

The second is from the café where we went on our first date.

The pie inside appears to be the very same peach and blueberry masterpiece I enjoyed so much.

“You mentioned that you wanted to figure out how to make it yourself,” Ronan says with a deep flush along his starched white collar.

The fact that he remembered not only what I ordered but also my desire to recreate the recipe means more than any words of flattery ever could. Now I can really test the flavors to figure out the ingredients—assuming I don’t eat all of it first.

When I go to put the boxes on the hall table, I notice something shimmering in his pocket. Is that a flower? “Are you meeting another woman or is that for me as well?”

He glances down, then chuckles as he withdraws the bloom. “Oh, yes. Of course it’s for you.”

I spin the stem between my fingers, fascinated by the sunlight sparkling on the silver petals. “This is gorgeous.” Quite possibly the most beautiful flower I’ve ever seen. The scent reminds me of a lily but isn’t quite as strong.

“I’m glad you think so. I picked it especially for you, from the castle gardens.”

“What kind of flower is it?” The petals look as if they’ve been dipped in moonlight.

“I’m not sure. I can ask the gardener if you’d like.”

“Please, do. I would love to know.” I thank him and bring my flower into the kitchen to retrieve a bud vase from the cabinet. The bouquet he sent me the other day sits in the windowsill, already wilting because the water has dried up.

It’s silly, but this solitary flower feels even more special.

Not that I don’t love bouquets as well, but a florist curated the bunch of roses and baby’s breath, whereas he picked this one himself.

I add water to both vases but bring the silver flower upstairs to my bedside table. The petals are so delicate, so ethereal. Who knew Ronan could be so thoughtful?

By the time I return to the front door, I find not one suitor, but two.

Trevor stands shoulder to shoulder with Ronan, the two of them trading glares. In his hands, he clutches a brown paper package wrapped with twine.

“Trevor. Hi. I thought we were meeting tomorrow.” Tell me I didn’t get my days mixed up.

His head swings toward me so quickly, his spectacles slide to the end of his nose. “We are, but I bought you a gift and thought I would bring it by.” He shoves his glasses back and then extends the package across the threshold.

So many gifts today, you’d swear it was my birthday. Less than five weeks left and it will be. Is one of these men my future husband? The thought makes my stomach burn with indecision. Good thing I still have time to choose.

Inside the package is a book. I run my fingers over the cracked leather binding and the faded gold foil title. Unseelie Fae : A Scientific Study.

Ronan snorts and folds his arms across his chest as he scowls at the tome. “Why the hell would you give her that?”

“Because she asked if the library had any books on the Unseelie. The only copy was already on loan, so I bought her this one.”

“Thank you, Trevor. This is such a thoughtful present.” And it couldn’t come at a better time. After what happened yesterday, I’m more curious than ever.

“If it gives you nightmares, I’d be more than happy to keep you company after the sun falls,” Ronan offers, pushing off the doorframe.

“I’m certain I will be fine.” This is a book of science, not some terrifying horror tale. I set the book on the table next to the boxes and grab the parasol Aunt Cordelia loaned me. “Shall we go?”

Ronan offers his arm with a muttered, “We’ll see you later, Trev,” tossed over his shoulder. What he doesn’t realize is that I can see him flashing my other suitor the middle finger.

There goes all the goodwill he earned with the flower and pie. “Actually, why don’t you come along, Trevor? The more the merrier, right, Ronan?”

From the way he gawks, you’d swear I asked the prince to shave his head. It takes Ronan a whole ten seconds to stop blustering and respond with a choked, “Of course.”

The walk is tense, one man asking me a question, followed by a completely unrelated question from the other. It’s like holding two different conversations at the same time.

Ronan wants to know about my favorite food; Trevor asks if I have a favorite author.

Ronan invites me to have dinner with him the following evening at a restaurant overlooking the castle. The way he describes it sounds impossibly romantic.

Trevor asks if I’d be interested in a carriage ride to Glassmarsh to visit the greenhouse there. According to his brother, they have some of the most exotic plants in all the kingdom, including one that eats flies.

How fascinating. I definitely can’t miss that.

By the time we reach the city center, my mind is spinning, and I’ve made enough plans with both men to last nearly to my birthday. I’m so relieved when we run into Nia and Nolan entering the same café that I give them both an exuberant hug.

Hopefully their presence will take some of the attention off of me.

The prince asks for a table at the back of the restaurant for privacy, and the server rushes to do Ronan’s bidding.

Conversation flows like the expensive bottle of honey wine Ronan orders. The syrupy drink coats my throat in sweetness, sort of like the medicine I used to take when I would get sick as a child. The only differences are, it tastes a lot better and makes me feel like giggling even before I’ve finished my first glass.

Who would have thought that I would be sitting at a table with so many handsome men? Perhaps I should have come to Rosehill sooner.

“It really is too bad the monsters come to Rosehill on Wednesdays,” Ronan grumbles. “Otherwise, we could’ve gone to the quarry for a swim yesterday.”

“You mean the men.” The Unseelie aren’t monsters at all. Sure, they’re taller, but I felt no malice from them yesterday, only mild curiosity. When I glance up, I find everyone staring at me as if I’d spilled the drink all over myself. “What?”

Ronan pats my knee, his smile tight. “You have only just arrived in Rosehill, Kerris. Your ignorance is understandable.”

My ignorance. Is he joking? “Have you ever met them? Spoken to them?” From the way he carries on, I doubt it.

The prince’s brows lift. “Have you?”

Walked straight into that one, didn’t I? What is in this wine? “No. Of course not.”

Nia shoots to her feet, her chair bobbling on the uneven stones. “I need to use the privy. Come with me, Kerris.” She takes the glass out of my hand and sets it down on the table.

“I don’t have to—” My cousin yanks me right out of my seat, hauling me toward the privy at the rear. “What is it with you and privies?” I mutter when she lets me go to lock the door behind us.

She ignores my question, her eyes flashing. “What the hell was that?”

All I can do is blink at her. Does she know how beautiful she is? And the dark kohl she added to her lashes makes them look impossibly long. I wonder if she’d let me borrow some the next time we go out?

“Kerris!”

“What?”

“Don’t play coy with me. You defended the monsters across The Divide, and in front of the prince no less.”

Again with the “monsters.” She saw them, same as me. They aren’t monsters at all. “All I did was say the Unseelie were men.”

“ Dangerous men.”

Men all the same. I find myself shrugging, a little thrill zinging through my blood when I think of their leader’s intense gaze.

Nia presses a hand to her forehead. “What did you do?”

The wine has made my lips feel a little too loose. “I may or may not have gone back to the well yesterday.”

Her mouth drops open on a gasp, her face going white as her hair. “On your own?”

“No, with Ronan.” HA! Imagine. “Of course, on my own.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing, really. I mean, I spoke to them?—”

“You did not.”

A giddy little laugh climbs my throat. “I did.”

“What did they say?”

“Nothing.”

Her brows inch higher on her forehead. “At all?”

“Not a word. So I started wondering if perhaps the Unseelie speak a different language than we do.” If that’s the case, perhaps I could learn a phrase or two. “I had planned on going to the library to see if I could find out, but then Trevor gave me a book with more information about them.” As soon as I get home, I’m going to read it from cover to cover.

With another huff, Nia props her hands on her hips, looking so much like her mother it makes me stand that much straighter. “You’re here to find a husband, Kerris.”

“I know.” I’m here with two suitors, aren’t I? “But since we aren’t supposed to leave our homes on Wednesdays, technically, my interest in the Unseelie isn’t interfering?—”

“It doesn’t matter! You cannot hope to make a good match if you flout the rules meant to keep us safe. If Ronan finds out, he will want nothing to do with you. Forget about them, Kerris. I’m begging here.” Her eyes are so imploring, I find myself offering a tight-lipped nod in return.

I thought Nia would understand. That she would be up for this adventure.

Clearly, I was wrong.

“Focus on choosing a husband first,” she says. “Once you are wed, then you can do all the research you want.”

* * *

Scientific study, my arse .

I’m two chapters into Trevor’s book and so far, it’s filled with more conjecture than facts. There’s no mention of the language the Unseelie speak or anything about what happened to their wells.

In the third chapter there are some illustrations that look nothing like the men I met. Beasts with elongated fangs that hang over rolled lips, coal-black eyes without a speck of white, and warts everywhere. The only part the illustrator got right were the longer ears, the greenish skin, and the muscles. Although in the drawing, their bodies are covered in coarse hair, kind of like boars.

And they… um…

The aren’t wearing any trousers.

The only member of the opposite sex that I have ever seen undressed is my brother when we were children, so I understand how a man’s anatomy differs from a woman’s, but this illustration cannot possibly be correct.

My door swings wide, and I snap the book closed when Nia steps inside.

“It’s almost three o’clock in the morning,” she groans on a yawn, rubbing at her squinting eyes. “What are you still doing awake?”

“Nothing.” I tuck the book under the covers.

She whips the quilt away and grabs the thing before I can stop her. Her eyes narrow. “Kerris, I thought I told you to put the Unseelie out of your—” She flips open the book, and the words die on her lips.

Even from my bed, I can see that she has stumbled upon the exact page that I’ve been staring at for the last twenty minutes.

Is it possible to die from mortification?

“Well,” she breathes, her own face as flushed as mine surely is. “I can certainly see what’s keeping you up in the middle of the night.”

I hide my flaming cheeks behind my hands, stifling my laughter. “Go away, you menace. I am only doing research.”

“Mmmhmmm. I see that. If I’d known this was the sort of ‘research’ you were doing, I wouldn’t have protested so much.”

I let my hands drop even though my face still feels as if it’s been burned by the sun. “There’s no way it’s that big.” Is there?

She tilts her head from one side to the other, then tilts the book, bringing the pages so close to her face that her eyes go crossed. “If it is, it’s larger than Nolan’s.”

“Nia!”

Her cheeks dimple with her grin. “What?” She holds the book out to me, tapping the page right next to… it . “Tell me that doesn’t look like a third arm.”

Swiping my book out of her hand, I clutch the yellowed pages to my chest. “Go back to bed and leave me alone.”

“Oh, I see how it is. Do you and your book need some privacy?”

“You are incorrigible.”

She saunters into the hall, but before she closes the door, she sticks her head back inside and wiggles her brows. “I’m not the one ‘researching.’”