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.