The Snow Prince - Raleigh Ruebins Page 0,64

same time slot that my mother’s interview had been days ago.

The interview questions started out easy. They asked me how I’d been faring in the last few days, in the wake of all of the “controversy” that had been happening. I gave simple answers, making sure that I never disparaged my mother.

Halfway through the interview, however, everything got more difficult. For me, at least.

“What are your plans, going forward?” Mallory asked.

I bit my lower lip. “My only plan is that I don’t want to deny love from my life any longer,” I said. “That includes loving myself and other people. For so long, I’ve ignored who I really am.”

“And we are so glad that you aren’t ignoring it any longer. And there is another man in your life, isn’t there?”

“There is,” I said, swallowing. “For our privacy, I don’t want to focus too much on my relationship. But for the first time in years, I can truly say that I am happy.”

“But the man is not a prince,” she said. I couldn’t tell if she was phrasing it as a question or a statement.

“He is not,” I said.

“So you can never marry,” she said, shaking her head. “Under your mother’s new laws, at least.”

I paused. Henry was across the room, watching from the other side of the bright lights. I could barely make out his face, but I didn’t have to. I knew this was the part of the interview he had been dreading.

And I had been dreading it, too.

“As they are written now, I would not be able to marry the man I love.”

“Awful,” Mallory said.

“It is awful,” I said. “But I don’t blame my mother for this.”

“She has the power to change this, though, doesn’t she?”

I nodded. “But Frostmonte runs on tradition,” I said. “It’s how all royalty is. How it always has been.”

“But Prince Sebastian,” Mallory said, her eyes boring into mine. “Your mother has already shown that she is willing to change tradition. No prince has married another prince before, but she’s made it possible.”

Suddenly my clothes felt like they were clinging to my skin. The lights were not only blinding but also hotter than the damned surface of the sun.

“I agree that it is flawed,” I said, clearing my throat.

“What a shame,” she said with a shake of her head as she turned back to the long list of questions in front of her. “Well. In conclusion, what we really want to know is if you’re happy with your life, now that your secret is out. Was it all worth it?”

Her forehead creased with concern as she watched me.

It was funny. I had known all my life that I was some sort of public figure. I had known that tons of people were aware of my existence, even if I wasn’t aware of theirs. And I’d never much cared about that aspect of being a prince. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dwell on it.

But now? Having one well-meaning TV reporter interview me was sending my body into some sort of anxious tailspin.

I pulled in a slow breath. “Of course it was worth it,” I said. “Even if it changes nothing. I would make that decision again and again, and I’d never change a thing.”

“That is beautiful to hear, Prince Sebastian,” she said quietly.

My heart was pounding hard in my chest. I felt like I might be sick.

The world was swirling all around me as Mallory wrapped up and the crew began to take down the set lights and equipment.

“That went great,” Henry said, wrapping his arms around me after I finally peeled myself off of the seat.

“It did go great,” I said, still in a daze. “It went perfectly.”

He pulled back, grasping my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. “Then why do I feel like you’re off on another planet right now?”

Of course he could tell. I couldn’t get any mood past Henry’s impeccable detector, but right now, I knew I stood no chance at hiding how I really felt.

“It’s a lot different saying these things and knowing that hundreds of thousands of people are going to hear them,” I said.

He furrowed his brow. “If you’re uncomfortable, you still have time,” he said, his tone hushed. “You can tell them not to air it.”

“No. It needs to be aired,” I said. “I stand by everything I said. I’m just worried about how the general public is going to interpret it.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “What do you have to lose?”

I held my hands