Of course, there were many green covers in the library, but Greave worked his way through them, one by one, setting aside a tome showing a sword masters techniques, a work on the design of the bridges so vital for Royalsport.

Come on, he willed himself. Remember the title. Remember.

Then suddenly, as he poured through books, it came to him:

On The Body.

Greave shouted aloud in delight, thrilled it came back to him. A slim, green volume.

Yet recalling the title was not, he knew, the same as having the book itself. Surely, it must be in here somewhere?

With even greater urgency, Greave poured through stacks of books.

It has to be here, he said. It has to be here.

What has to be? a womans voice asked.

Greave looked up and instantly froze. The young woman who stood before him was as close to perfect as he had ever seen. She had to be around his age, slender and red-haired, with green eyes that seemed to be questioning the world around her with every glance. She wore a dress of grays and silvers that she somehow managed to make look anything but ordinary, and her smile… her smile was the most beautiful thing Greave had seen. The jewelry she wore suggested that she was noble born, for who else could afford so many gold and silver rings and chains? She had a ribbon of the same silver twined into her hair, the end of it spilling down over her shoulder.

I… Im looking for a book, Greave managed, remembering to breathe. Im sorry, who are you? What are you doing here?

Im looking for you, she said. Her voice was as beautiful as the rest of her, seeming to sing with the notes of the country far beyond the city. My name is Aurelle Hardacre.

Greave recognized the name of a minor noble family at once, but he still couldnt fathom the rest of her presence.

Youre looking for me? he said. It made no sense.

Where my family has its estate, they sing songs about the beautiful prince who sits in his library, wrapped in sorrow, Aurelle said. She glanced away for a moment. You sounded too good to be true, yet here you are.

Too good to be true? Greave didnt know about that. He knew that some people found his features attractive, but hed never been ruggedly handsome in the same way his brothers were, and anyone who did like him quickly drifted away once they learned about the true him.

Shall I help you to pick some of those up? Aurelle asked, moving to assist Greave in lifting the books that hed scattered so far in his search.

No, you dont have to, its all right, he managed. How could the presence of a woman hed only just met make him feel as if the world were tilting this way and that? It made no sense.