He doesn’t try to speak to me other than to exchange a few pleasantries. Every so often, I catch him staring, but that’s to be expected in such a tight space.

With each turn of the carriage’s gilded wheels, my mood perks up a little bit more, and as the carriage rolls to a stop between two others, I am downright excited about the prospects of today.

Ronan is the first out and offers his hand to me as I exit. Not wanting to be rude, I let him help me down the stairs, then promptly let go.

Shouts of delight and revelry echo through the glen, where a wide cerulean lake waits at the bottom of a large crevice.

Fae in various states of undress sit on a dock of wide planks, their bare legs and feet dangling into the crystal-clear water. Others drink from wine bottles on the shore or share picnics in the grass.

Nolan shoulders our basket and a floral blanket, stretching the latter onto a free patch of ground, half in the shade of an oak tree and half out. As much as I would love to feel the sun on my skin, it’s too warm to enjoy the rays unless I plan on venturing into the water. Which I don’t.

“This is the most glorious day,” Nia muses, falling next to the basket, her chin lifted toward the sky and hair tossed by the spring breeze.

Nolan kneels next to the basket to pour us glasses of golden honey wine. I sink down as well, keeping to the shade as best I can.

All it takes is half a glass before the men decide to shed their shirts. Although they’re both in fair shape, Nolan’s physique is more toned than the prince’s due to the hours spent training as a royal guard. Ronan’s stomach is a bit softer, nothing at all like Ever’s.

I tip my glass into my mouth and take a deep drink of wine to clear the memory of bare, gray-green skin from my traitorous mind. Each swallow pushes him a little further away.

Nia swipes the damp curls from her brow with the back of her hand. “Heavens, it’s warm, isn’t it?” Off come her slippers and stockings, followed shortly after by her dress, leaving her in nothing but her swimming costume.

The thought of stripping down in front of all these strangers makes me clutch my glass a little tighter. If I were alone, or if it were only Nia and me, then I might venture into the water.

Perhaps I can convince her to return on a day when it’s not so crowded.