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?”