At first it had stung to hear that, but later it was a relief. After all, if Phillip didn’t love her, then it was okay to tell him embarrassing things. It was okay to be honest. It was okay to be totally herself.

“Yes,” Aurora said. “Very close.”

“You have been in the Moors before, Prince Phillip?” Lady Fiora asked. “You must be very courageous.”

That earned her a swift glare from her brother.

“Not at all,” Phillip said. “It’s an extraordinary place. There are plants growing there that I’ve never seen before, roses in colors I don’t have the words to name. And everything is alive. Even the rocks move. All the leaves in a tree might take flight and only then would you realize you were in the middle of a swarm of faeries.”

Aurora had never heard a human describe the Moors so beautifully.

Lady Fiora was staring at Prince Phillip as though she thought him even braver than before. “I would have fainted if I saw half those things. But I trust you would have caught me.”

Aurora rolled her eyes. Prince Phillip looked flummoxed by her flirtation. “I suppose I would have tried.”

“If we’re so close and you like them so well, perhaps you should explore the Moors again now,” Count Alain said testily. “That is, if Aurora will let you.”

Phillip laughed. It was a kind laugh—kind enough to draw the sting from Count Alain’s words. “Well, I was wondering if we could see into them from up there. Since Aurora brought us all here to get a look.” He pointed up the hill. There seemed to be a ledge of stone above them, but it meant riding through an area that was both off the path and thick with fir trees.

Aurora steered her horse up the hill with a mischievous grin. “I believe we can. Let’s scout ahead.” Phillip followed her.

“Where are you going?” Lady Fiora called after them.

“To see the Faerie Land!” Prince Phillip called back.

Lady Fiora hesitated, looking at her brother. Count Alain glowered.

Aurora saw Lord Ortolan sitting astride his horse and, despite herself, remembered his warning: He is here to win your land for Ulstead.

But he wasn’t. Phillip was going home. And he hadn’t even told her.

He would go back to his own country and eventually marry a noblewoman there. And while they would always be friends, his life would probably grow busier. He would have less time to spare. She would be less and less a part of his life. The more she thought, the more inevitable it seemed, and the more heartsick she grew.

A little way up the hill, Phillip stopped his horse.