time you went home, Princess. It’s only a matter of time before Bhaltair finds us, and I don’t have nearly enough supplies to take on his army.”
I nodded. A shower and fresh clothes sounded nice. And even though I wanted to explore the chemistry between Cypress and me a couple dozen more times, I knew that this had to be over. I needed to meet my parents. I needed to learn about who I was and what all of this meant. “Okay,” I replied.
The dress Cypress found for me was frilly and over the top. Whoever it belonged to smelled like lavender and was a good three feet taller than me, as I kept tripping over the long train of the dress. The light pink color looked good with my neon green hair, and he even found me some berries that stained my lips a deep plum color. It wasn’t ideal, but I was no longer ashamed to meet my parents.
Cypress had cleaned up, too. Unlike my oversized dress, he’d managed to find a shirt and hood that were so tight I was gifted with the sight of his engorged muscles rippling with every step down the trail. And now that I knew what those impressive muscles felt like on top of me, I was struggling to keep my hands to myself.
“Stop staring,” he grumbled under his breath.
I stumbled over my feet for a minute. “I-I’m not…”
Cypress spun around. “We’re almost there, and all I want to do is push you against one of these trees and feel you come on my palm.”
I clutched my chest, my lips parting. Cypress stepped forward and wrapped his arm around my body to grab my ass and pull me against him. “Your parents have eyes all over this forest. I’d hate to cause a scandal, Princess. And when you look at me with those hungry blue eyes of yours, it makes me feel a bit reckless.”
I gnawed on my lip, and his eyes locked on the movement. “I don’t see anyone. We’re alone, Cypress. Why not one more goodbye?” I lifted up on my tiptoes and smiled against his lips, nothing but a breath lingering in the air between our sensitive skin.
“Cypress!” A proper voice pinged through the air, making us both startle. “The Queen and King will be so happy that you’ve returned.”
I pulled away from Cypress and peered over his shoulder, surprised to see a female centaur standing there. She had long blond hair and armor on her torso. The sword strapped to her back looked long, and she was flanked by other centaurs that wore disapproving looks.
“Agata, hello.” He nodded to the crowd behind her. “Ladies. How completely perfect that you are here. It’s..pletely expected.” Motioning toward me, he spoke again. “This is the Princess, Layne. We’ve had a bit of a time getting here, but as you can see, she’s here relatively unscathed.”
Agata raised her feathery eyebrows. “Unscathed. Yes.”
I cleared my throat. “We got attacked. I’d be dead, twice over, if not for Cypress.”
Needing to support him seemed key. This woman and her friends leveled severe unapproving glares at Cypress. They either didn’t like him from some other time or there was something about how they found us now that put a glare on their faces. I’d never seen a centaur before. Maybe they always looked like that?
“Princess.” She bowed her head. “Your esteemed father, His Royal Highness, asked us if we were the ones to spot you, to help Cypress get you home. So that is what we will do. Would you, Princess, climb on my back?”
I swallowed. Well, actually, I didn’t want to do that. I couldn’t have exactly said why, but I didn’t want to be at her mercy. If I got on her back, she could take me anywhere. And she didn’t like Cypress. He might be blustery and mean, but I trusted him. If she didn’t like him, I wasn’t sure I could believe in her.
“I’d prefer to walk,” I replied with my chin held high. “Spent my life in a cage, and I’m really enjoying the freedom to move as I please.”
For the first time since meeting Agata, a smile cracked across her face. She seemed pleased. “As you wish, Princess. I can respect the need to walk. I’d go crazy at Nightmare.”
“Me too,” I replied with a wink, making her hardened exterior crack a little more. I quickly assessed that the problem was definitely with Cypress and not with me. I gave