LIGHT POURED into the room from a massive wall of windows. Two servants busied themselves around Melusine—one at the foot of the bed, preparing a small breakfast tray, and the other filling the tub inside an attached bathing room.

As she sat up in bed, the servant adjusted a bouquet of red roses before turning to her. She wore a plain blue dress that hung loosely on her plump frame, her blond hair tied into a simple but sleek braid. Melusine patted her own hair, which was no doubt wild from a night of restless sleep in a strange bed.

"Good morning, Lady Mel. I'm Shirley and that's Viola," the woman said, gesturing to the servant in the bathroom. "Would milady like a bath or a breakfast first?"

Melusine pressed a hand to her growling stomach. She hadn't properly eaten last night and her last decent meal was the fried cake she bought from the woman in Creston. "Breakfast, please."

She beamed at her as if Melusine had just offered her a gift. "Good choice."

Viola emerged from the bathroom, wiping her hands on a beige smock. Twins, she realized when she saw her blond braid and identical smile. "Would you like your meal in bed or at the table?"

"The table is fine." Melusine threw her legs over the side of the bed and stretched, yawning. She was so tired and weak when she fell asleep last night, but this morning she felt better than she had in the past hours. "Do you have coffee?" It was one of the human drinks she wanted to taste.

"Of course. The prince told us to give you an option so we prepared coffee, tea, and juice," Viola said. She bit back a smile, and she and Shirley exchanged a meaningful look. "And roses."

"We asked around," Shirley said, leaning in conspiratorially. "He didn't request flowers to be brought to any of the other girls."

"Or allow them to keep their pets. The queen is allergic to fur," Viola added, winking at Melusine. Then she looked over the side of the bed where Robby snored and mumbled to his sleep. "Should we wake him? The prince also told us to bring food for the rabbit."

Melusine didn't have to fake her surprise and delight as she approached the table. She ran a finger across a soft orange petal. A renegade butterfly fluttered in her stomach at his thoughtfulness even to Robby. Melusine did not want to feel anything for him, but how could she not?

She took a seat at the small table by the windows, pausing a moment to appreciate the heat of the sun on her face.

She took a sip of coffee from her mug. It was thick and decadent. Layered—as if she could taste the sunshine that warmed the beans and berries on the bush beside it. But even this couldn't distract her from the feast waiting for her. A plate full of pastries, colorful berries, a cup of creamy yogurt, and a platter of cured meats and cheeses. Melusine took a flaky pastry from the tray and nearly moaned as it melted on her tongue. She lost herself on the food as her maids busied themselves around her.

A thought suddenly sprang into her head. She put down the pastry fork and swallowed her food. "What happened to the maid who was with me last night? The one who assisted me with my preparation for the ball."

The twins stopped their tasks and exchanged a look. Shirley was the one to answer, "Can you tell us what she looks like? Her name?"

Melusine shook her head. "I forgot to ask her name, but she is shorter than me and petite. Chinky black eyes and a small rounded face. Her hair is brown and I can only assume it is long because she was able to tie it into a bun."

The pair was silent for a moment, thinking, then they shrugged and gave her an apologetic smile. "We apologize, my lady, but we cannot think of someone that fits that description. And the palace houses a hundred servants that it is impossible to memorize every face," said Shirley.

Viola nodded in agreement. "And believe it or not, we don't get to see the stable servants and garden keepers often. Our work keeps us divided so it's nearly impossible for us to socialize much."

There was no reason to press on the topic much longer. Melusine let Shirley and Viola do their tasks as she finished her breakfast, and when Robby woke up, it was time for her to get ready to meet the royal family.

Melusine played her part. A human girl excited over the prospect of marrying a crown prince.

She was bathed, scrubbed, plucked, and moisturized to within an inch of her life. Shirley and Viola asked Melusine questions about home, about what she thought of Edric, about what it was like to have his eye. Melusine tried to act like a regular human girl, a noble lady from Evergard, who had known luxuries from birth. She pretended she didn't know more than she should about their prince—like the way he gravitated toward the outdoors when the sun was out, a silent thief, or the way the muscles in his arms rippled when he swung his sword. For them, she pretended she didn't want to know what those soft lips felt like, and for herself, she pretended she didn't want to feel that.

The entire morning was surreal. Her maids treated her like some beautiful princess from a foreign land, not the most hated creature in disguise loathed by humans. If Melusine was honest, their doting was... nice.

They presented her with half a dozen dresses of different shades and styles, each lovelier than the last.

"Hair all up or half up?" Shirley asked. She dropped Melusine's curls and hid her delighted giggle behind her hand. "The prince thinks you're lovely either way, I'm sure."

Melusine cocked her head to the side, studying Shirley in the mirror. "Why do you laugh like that when you talk about Prince Edric liking me or asking you to do things for me? Is that uncommon with hu—" She caught herself right there and cleared her throat. She almost said, humans! "I mean, uncommon in some sort of tradition the royal family practices."

The maids exchanged another long look. "Not with the Lombards' family practices," Viola said. "But Prince Edric..."

Shirley shook her head subtly and offered Melusine an apologetic smile. "We shouldn't say."

"I wish you would."

"It won't hurt anything," Viola said under her breath to her twin.

Shirley bit back a smile, then let it loose. "Our prince has been reluctant to choose a bride. He's been doing what he must because this is a tradition done by every crown prince before the throne is passed to them, but he's not been involved in any of it. He alone has been responsible for all these delays in the ceremony."

"He didn't even show up on the first night of the Social Season three years ago when he was finally of age to take the throne," Viola said. "Rumor has it he told his father he wasn't ready, but he moved forward with it anyway. Eventually, the prince had to comply, but he's been... distant."

"Until you showed up," Shirley said, pinning a curl at the back of Melusine's head. "Now he's suddenly very interested in the process. So interested it seems he's already decided. Make sure Lady Mel has her options for her breakfast. Prepare one for Little Sir Robby too. Please prepare dresses for Lady Mel. Could you put a bouquet of roses on her breakfast tray?"

"And of course, he also gave you the nicest guest quarters," Viola added.

"And the sweetest maids, it seems," Melusine said softly.

The twins giggled happily at the compliment, but it wasn't just flattery. Melusine knew it was true. Edric had done all this for her and she wasn't sure if she deserved it.

And there was that lingering question in her head. Edric could have gotten himself a bride three years ago. Why did it have to be now?

Melusine sat still as they finished her hair. They pulled the top half of her hair back and pinned it in place, but they left the rest down, using special creams to tame her curls and make them hang perfectly.

These women wanted to be her friends. That simple kindness filled her with guilt as she imagined how she would deceive them in the days ahead. Would their kindness change once they knew who Melusine was?

"LADY MELISSA Ashborn of Evergard," the steward called from the doors of the throne room. Her fake name still made her wince. "His Majesty, King Adrian and Her Majesty, Queen Harriet, of the High Court, and His Royal Highness, Prince Edric Lombard, will see you now."

Melusine threw a glance over her shoulder at her maids. She needed their confidence. They gave her the smiles she was looking for, and she took a fortifying breath, lifted her soft white skirts, and followed the steward forward.

The king's blue-and-yellow-clad guards lined both sides of the path from the doors to the dais where the pair sat on their thrones. Even from across the room, Melusine could see his deep blue eyes, almost in the shade of black. He fixed them on her as she approached. Arrogance and entitlement roll off him in waves. He sat with his legs wide, oozing power and confidence. His dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck save for the two white braids that hang free, framing his sharp jaw and high cheekbones. If it weren't for the cruelty gleaming in those eyes, she might call him beautiful. But those eyes...

A sharp chill ran through her spine. This was the male who sent his group of Fairy Hunters to kill her kind. His eyes must have watched hundreds of fairies killed before him. King Adrian was one of the only humans who didn't make it to Melusine's most favored list.

And despite Prince Edric looking so much like the king, he shared no semblance of any physical traits with the queen.

The queen wore a yellow gown that sparkled in the sunlight. The jeweled crown atop her head looked heavy enough to break a neck, but she kept her head high.

Edric stood beside the queen, turned away as he spoke with the armed sentry nearest him. He looked nothing short of regal in his uniform of steel gray, a velvet yellow sash hanging across his body.

The space alone was intimidating—too big for so few people, too polished for a girl like her—and each step forward was an effort. But she realized that was the point. Any girl who didn't feel worthy upon entering this room had no business becoming Cassen's princess.

When she reached the foot of the dais, Melusine curtsied deeply. She wished Edric would look at her. She needed some reassurance—any at all—that he was going to make sure she could stay, that it was going to be okay. But he was wrapped up in his discussion with his sentry.

"Your Majesties," she said, standing. "Thank you for seeing me this morning."

As Melusine spoke, Edric whipped around and blinked at her. He must not have been paying attention when they announced her name, because he looked surprised. Slowly, his gaze traveled over her, and Melusine felt her skin heat with each detail he observed. Her hair curled and pinned neater than he had ever seen it, her eyes lined with kohl, her lips stained a dark crimson. His gaze swept across her bare shoulders and continued to the swell of décolletage above the dress's sweetheart neckline, over the bodice covered in glittering silver and gold crystals. Melusine's cheeks warmed, and when his lips parted and he drew in a ragged breath, her entire body warmed.

Her maids chose well when making their selections. With just enough white, we can make you look like a bride without wearing a bridal gown. Melusine lifted her chin, fighting the instinct to revel in the appreciation in those eyes.

"Tell us your name again, girl," the queen said.

Melusine tore her gaze away from her son to look at the queen. "Melissa Ashborn," she answered. Melusine refused the title lady like the steward did. She was no lady, and to pretend otherwise felt like an insult to a female she couldn't risk upsetting.

"Melissa. What a lovely name." A smile freed itself from the king's stern expression. The lines on his face smoothed and relaxed. Melusine was shocked at the sudden change in his demeanor, but her opinion of him wouldn't change. "Congratulations on making it this far. As you've seen, countless women have tried and were sent away. More will be sent home today. Tell me, why do you wish to marry my son?"

Melusine opened her mouth to answer, then snapped it shut again. She was prepared for this question, of course, but at this moment her planned response struck her as shallow. Edric seemed to hold his breath as he waited for Melusine to answer. She met his eyes and imagined an alternate reality where Edric never had a secret identity. One where he became just a common man and took her to meet his family.

"I can't claim to know your son well," Melusine said. It was in line with the part she was playing, but it was also true. "But I've met many males, young and old, powerful and powerless." Her voice shook a bit. "And yet Prince Edric is the only one who's ever made me feel special from his first smile and safe from his nearness alone."

The king chuckled and looked at his queen and then at his son. "She sounds quite besotted with you."

The queen rolled her eyes in an expression that was so young it was almost difficult to believe that she was middle-aged. "All the girls feel that way, my dear. Don't feel too special."

Edric shifted uncomfortably, but he didn't correct her. Queen Harriet arched a brow at her son. "Your thoughts, darling?"

Edric looked at her over again before clearing his throat. "I've had the opportunity to speak with Melissa, and I wish her to stay. I . . . enjoy her company."

Queen Harriet smirked at her son as if to say This one? Really? "You would risk marrying a girl who may not be capable of bearing you children?"

"My queen," King Adrian said softly, warning in his tone.

"I won't apologize for noticing that she is quite thin," said the queen. She tapped her nails on the arm of her throne as she studied Melusine. When she lifted her eyes to Melusine, she was struck by the disdain she found there. "My son's bride will be expected to bear him children. Do you even menstruate regularly?"

Melusine blanched. "Excuse me?"

"Your cycle? Do you have it? Or is it irregular due to—" she waved a hand to indicate Melusine's figure "—malnutrition?"

Melusine opened her mouth—to say she was not that thin when in her fairy form—but before she could doom herself, Edric spoke first. "I'm sure Lady Mel isn't used to speaking freely of such things, Queen Harriet. She comes from a conservative family in Evergard where women are expected to keep such information private."

"She forfeited any right to privacy when she decided she wanted to be your bride."

"I do," Melusine blurted. "I mean, my monthly cycle is . . . It's normal." Her cheeks were on fire. It looked like the whole tradition of the High Court of Cassen was built entirely around human fertility. As if a woman's only worth depended on her ability to give offspring. It was a struggle to smile through this confirmation, but Melusine did her best.

"Truly?" the queen asked. "If I ask my healer to examine you and he tells me you've lied—"

"Please, Queen Harriet," Edric said. Again. Queen Harriet, not Mother. "I'm sure that any gaps in Lady Mel's nutrition can be corrected during her stay at the palace."

The queen brushed her fingers against King Adrian's wrist but kept her gaze narrowed on her. "My son's tender heart will make his future bride so very lucky. He gets it from his father. My Adrian was full of compassion and goodness. Beloved by our people." She nodded at Melusine. "You may stay for now, Melissa. But see that you take full advantage of the meals while you're here, yes?" She smirked. "I will recommend that my healer visit you for a full physical examination in two weeks. Assuming that my son hasn't tired of you by then, of course."

Melusine nodded and curtsied. "Of course, Your Majesty."

She didn't dare look at Edric before she allowed the steward to escort her from the room. She was too afraid the relief on her face would make the queen question her true intentions.