to his bedroom. “Would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance…”
“Bloody hell, he’s doing it.” Wilhelmina let her head fall back, pinching her nose.
“Just one chance…” He held up his finger, stepping back from me, his voice belting out in the courtyard.
“Feck,” I muttered, letting my hair drop in front of my face. “Please stop.”
“To come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take…” He paused dramatically, everyone around stopping and staring at him. He jumped on a picnic table, his arms outstretched.
“Our freedom!” he belted out, giving so much to his performance, he was panting. A few people clapped or whistled.
I buried my face in my hands, laughing. The guy was a born actor. If that was an option for him, he would already be on a plane heading to Los Angeles.
He bowed, leaping off the table, a grin bursting over his face. He had done a few plays here at school, but the moment his father found out, he was banned from doing theater again. He was, quote, “embarrassing the family.” Whatever.
Fredrick was killing everything that made Landen special and amazing.
“Nicely done, cousin.” I continued to snicker, my grin hurting my face. “It feels as new as the hundredth time you did it.”
“Thank you.” He bowed. “It’s all about being in the moment.”
“Sutton!” Our last name boomed over the quad, causing our heads to jerk up.
“It’s for you.” Landen winked, hitting my arm.
His voice was a knife cutting through the crowd. Students scrambled out of the prince’s way, letting him through, bowing to his whim without a word uttered. His green eyes narrowed on me, his shoulders rising.
“What is this?” He pulled a piece of paper from his notebook, a bright green pamphlet reflecting off the sunlight between his fingers.
Everyone around us stopped, watching like hawks. I was no longer invisible at this school.
“If you ever learned how to read,” I whipped to face him, my arms folding, “Your Highness,” I stepped closer to Prince Theo, his dark hair ruffled, his tie loose like Landen’s, “you would see it’s a march for endangered animals.”
“And you think I care about that?” He stepped closer, tipping his head.
“I really don’t care if you do, only care if your money does.”
He stared down at me, breathing deeply. “If I see one more of these stuffed in my book, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” I countered his step, my shoes hitting his.
“I’ll do this.” His hands skated up my face, his mouth crashing down on mine. His lips moved against mine but held back from fully kissing me. It seemed way too soon that he broke away, his gaze darting around nervously. “Probably shouldn’t have done that here.”
“Probably.” My shoulders dropped, my eyes scanning the crowd for anyone taking pictures or video of us. We were mostly protected and safe here, but you couldn’t stop people from slipping photos to the paparazzi for a hefty price. Dating the prince came with onerous limitations. We always had to be on guard and keep PDA to a minimum.
“Just wait until we’re alone.” He grinned down at me, his eyes hinting at the promise. “Think you need to be punished greatly for these.” He held up the leaflet.
“Really?” I coyly lifted a brow. “Then you might need to discipline me over your dorm room too.”
“Oh hell. What did you do this time?” He waggled his head, moving in closer.
“I didn’t do anything.” I opened my eyes wide, feigning innocence. “I’m not allowed over there, remember?”
“Okay, what I meant to ask was, what did Landen do for you?” Theo’s gaze flicked over to my cousin.
“She made me!” Landen pointed at me. “Not my fault. I was blackmailed! Had no choice.”
“Damn, you fold easy.” I curved my head back to my cousin. “Not even ten seconds.”
“He can cut off my head!” Landen waved toward Theo. “Toss my sexy self into a dungeon!”
“And I can cut off other things, plus show your dad those pictures I have from when you turned sixteen. You remember, right?”
“Bloody hell, woman.” Landen shook his head. “You are truly evil.”
“I can’t help it. I was just born this way.”
“Hey, back to me.” Theo waved to himself. “Still scared what you did to my room.”
“Let’s just say you have wall-to-wall reminders of a fantastic charity to donate to. A generous contribution from His Royal Highness would be extremely appreciated.” I winked, moving in so close our bodies pressed together. “It’s