Thankfully, the palace kitchen staff knew precisely what to feed a human. It turned out it wasn't any different from what the Fae consumed on a regular basis. We were in the dining hall, which, like most of the rooms in the palace, was designed to invite the outside in. No wall blocked the terrace, instead relying on curtains to create shade and shelter when needed.

The breakfast brought out on trays looked a lot like what I'd find at my favorite brunch place, minus the ornate silver and gold platters. Hot cakes and cinnamon rolls. Bacon and fluffy eggs. Sausage and biscuits and jam. All of it piled so high my mouth watered and stomach rumbled just looking at it.

One bite, though, and I knew that no matter how much it looked like the food back home, it could never compare. Eyes rolling in the back of my head, I gripped my fork hard as I rested my fist on the table, doing my very best to get a hold of myself and swallow the moan that pushed against my lips.

"Luna," Niamh gasped, touching my shoulder and drawing my attention to her. Her delicate features were pinched. "Are you okay? We haven't poisoned you, have we?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. It's delicious, and I'm seriously regretting letting you talk me into this dress because I'm going to eat until I'm stuffed."

The dress I referred to was a cream-colored gown that was nearly opposite in every way to yesterday's dress. Silk instead of filmy tulle. A sleeveless, halter style attached to a thick band of gold around my neck and fitted at the waist. Multiple slits in the skirt went all the way to the belt so that no matter how I sat, my legs were exposed, and I was certain it was only some sort of magic that kept other, more inappropriate bits from appearing when I moved.

Niamh braided my hair in a crown around my head with a gold, sapphire studded chain wound throughout. She had taken great delight in wiping shimmering powders and liquids on my skin to the point I'd been half afraid of looking in the mirror, terrified I would look like a six-year-old who got into her mother's makeup. Instead, I encountered a luminous, ethereal creature that couldn't possibly be me and made a mental note to ask if I could take some of the makeup home with me.

"Nonsense," Niamh said, leaning back in her high-backed chair. "You fill that dress out in a way I never could. Your breasts are so... generous."

I blushed, grateful we were alone in the room. I'd never been a prude, but when you were raised by a single father, there were some conversations you just didn't have. Like talking about your bra size. The poor man almost choked when I asked him for my first bra. To hear Niamh talk about my body so openly was a novel experience.

And she wasn't finished. "Your backside is quite voluptuous, as well. You will be a temptation for all the males here and many of the females. And just think. You look so wonderful in gowns designed for me. When you received the ones designed for you... Why, my brother will be beside himself."

"He already is," Lorcan said as he entered the room, his gaze zeroing in on my mouth as I licked syrup from the tines of my fork.

I squeaked and dropped the utensil, flinching as it hit the fine china plate with a damaging clink. "How long were you listening?"

"Long enough," he purred, flicking his shimmering eyes below my neck and back up. It didn't matter that every strip of flesh was covered. I felt naked beneath his fiery perusal. "Are you almost finished? I believe I promised you a little fun today."

An ache blossomed between my thighs at the mention of the fun he promised. Only the discussion with Niamh this morning kept me from yelling 'fuck it' and dragging him back to my bedroom. I could only be a good girl so long under this kind of pressure, and he and I both knew it there was only one way this was going to end.

Me being filled by a royal Fae cock.

"I'm always up for a bit of fun."

Three pairs of eyes shifted toward the newcomer. Calix's lips slanted in a smirk as he crossed the room, leaned over the center of the table, and plucked a raspberry from my plate. I watched as he chewed it slowly, swiping his tongue over his bottom lip before swallowing. With a wink, he pulled back and crossed his arms over his black clad chest.

"I don't think your brother was inviting you to participate," I said with a sniff.

"Do you plan on leaving the palace today?" He addressed Lorcan.

"Yes," the king spit out.

Niamh patted her mouth with her napkin and excused herself, casting an apologetic smile in my direction. Chair legs scraped loudly on the marble floors as she pushed away from the table. She walked onto the terrace, and like the day before, transformed into a blue hawk and launched herself into the sky.

The brothers didn't stop glaring at one another to acknowledge that their sister had left. I looked between them, considering for a brief moment whether I should follow Niamh's example, but since I couldn't fly, my only exit existed behind a wall of bristling male.

"Then I will be coming along with you on your outing."

"Absolutely not," Lorcan snapped. I bobbed my head in agreement.

Calix dropped into a chair and propped his boots on the table. On first glance, he looked relaxed and almost indifferent, but this close to him, I saw a tightness in his jaw and a hardness in his eyes.

"I'm the Captain of the Guard, which makes me the head of your security. Since you've identified Luna as the future queen, she falls under my care, and on her first day here, someone attempted to kill her."

Lorcan's shoulders sagged, and I knew he would give in. Determined to avoid a day in the presence of the surly prince, I jumped in, "We will be more alert now."

"Precisely brother."

Calix sneered. "Let me make this clear. I don't particularly care one way or the other if your human pet survives, but I won't have her death on my hands or my reputation. You are the one who bullied me into this position, Lorcan. You will allow me to do my job."

"Fine. But stay out of our way."

He walked to me and offered me his hand, which I accepted eagerly. I swayed a bit on my feet and inhaled deeply. This close to him, I was overwhelmed with desire and could feel the heat of that want reach my face, no doubt making my wanton thoughts visible for both males to see, and sure enough, Calix looked disgusted by my reaction.

We brushed by the prince without another word, our bodies pressed so close I could feel the coarse material of his trousers against my leg, but what I felt even more intensely and without physical touch, was the weight of Calix's eyes on my back.

"I apologize for my brother," Lorcan whispered as we walked toward the palace grounds.

"It's fine," I lied. "He won't bother me."

He spun me around and pushed my back against the wall. Pinning me in place, he cupped my face with one hand and slid the other through a slit in my skirt. "Make no mistake. With you in this dress, I will be very bothered, and all it will take is one word from you to ensure we find a moment alone."

At the sound of boots on the stairwell, he pulled away. I drew in a deep breath, unaware I'd stopped breathing while he pressed into me. I didn't immediately follow him when he started walking again. My brain was a muddled mess. Filled with images of Lorcan's body tangled with mine. Sometimes with Calix watched from nearby, his expression contorted in the same look of disgust he'd worn upstairs.

Only when a shadow fell over me, and I looked up to find the prince approaching, did I push off the wall and hurry after the king.