Page 76 of This Prince Is Not Charming

Her gaze softened and her hand dropped. I already missed the warmth of it against my skin. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

I dipped her, and her eyes danced. “For always being there for me.” I righted us, loving the way her cheeks were flushed. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Her eyes crinkled. “That’s funny because there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

A grin came to my face. I’d been right. Something had shifted tonight. I didn’t know why on Ceri’s part, but I’d find out. “Maybe it’s the same thing?”

She winked again. “Maybe.”

That wink went straight to my cock. “Listen, we’ve been friends—best friends—for a long time, and I don’t want anything to ruin that. Ever.”

“No, me neither,” Ceri said absently as she studied something on the floor between our feet.

I cleared my throat. “I want to reassure you that no matter what happens, we’ll always have our friendship. That will never change.”

“Uh-huh.” She’d stopped moving, and we stood still among a crowd of dancing couples. “I need you to come with me,” she said abruptly, still looking down at our feet.

“Uh, okay. I’m trying to tell you something⁠—”

She grabbed my hand and began pulling me through the crowd. I nodded at people in apology as we pushed and barreled past them. One couple leapt out of the way.

“Ceri, you should probably watch where you’re going⁠—”

A floating tray dodged to the left right before Ceri’s head bumped into it. She wasn’t even looking up.

“This is getting weird⁠—”

“Shh,” she said. “I’m focusing.”

She yanked to the left, pushing through more people, some of them glaring as I waved and smiled. “Sorry about that.” I leaned forward and whisper shouted, “You are worrying me, Cerriwen. If you could maybe let me know what we’re doing⁠—”

We burst free of the crowd, and she let go of my hand, her pace quickening, and I had to jog to catch up.

“What in the godwitches’ name are you doing?” I asked, but she didn’t answer.

Still looking at the ground, mumbling to herself. I thought I heard, “A good queen must find the heart of her people.”

That sounded familiar. Was it what Morton had said at the start of this trial?

The crowd was farther away now, the music fading into the background as we approached the other end of the throne room behind the dais, lined with tall pillars that Ceri marched toward with more purpose.

At this point, all I could do was follow and hope that she’d explain what was going on. She never took her eyes off the ground as she disappeared between two of the pillars and was shrouded in darkness.

I followed her, my eyes needing to adjust to the dim lighting, a soft glow coming from the flickering sconces hanging on the walls. Ceri stood in front of an alcove with a statue of Fairwitch pointing at a woman who knelt before them, head bowed in reverence.

“Who is this?” Ceri asked, turning.

I scratched my head. “I haven’t the faintest clue. I think it’s Fairwitch with one of her servants. A faerie if I had to guess.”

When I’d first become high prince, I’d gotten an eight-hour-long tour of the castle from one of our historians, and I’d stopped paying attention to anything he said after the first hour.

“What are we doing back here?” I asked, glancing at all the alcoves carved into the back wall, each with a statue of a different godwitch. Depictions of moments in history.

She stood in front of the statue and reached out to trail a finger over the faerie’s cheek. “I’m trying to win this trial.”

“That’s much less fun than what I was hoping for.”