At first, nothing happened. My heart sank. Of course, it was too silly to be true. What had I expected to accomplish by kissing a frog?
Then Grenie started growing bigger and I hastily set him down beside me. A cloud of green mist smelling faintly of pond thickened around the frog, then with a popping sound, it dissipated. And there, in the wisps of green smoke, sat Naven. He looked a bit shocked, running a hand through his thick blond hair, and patting his clothing, as if to check and see if he was really there.
He recovered quickly and turned to me, with a grin. “Tuala. Can we try that again?”
I picked my jaw up off the floor. “I…Try what again?”
Naven leaned forward and tilted my chin up with his hand. “This.”
It was a gentle brush of his lips on mine, but it was full of promise, and I found myself leaning in and kissing him back.
And it turned out my mother was right.
This one, said my heart, as I tangled my hands behind his neck, This is the one we were waiting for.
When we arrived back at the castle, our hands clasped and unable to stop grinning, my mother actually squealed with glee. We explained everything to my parents and my papa gave us both big bear hugs.
The remaining princes were located and politely informed that the challenge had ended. Only one was headed in the right direction. I supposed he would win points for that, if I hadn’t thrown my lists off the tower.
Maybe it was too soon to say if Naven was my true love, but my head agreed with my heart. The rest of the princes didn’t stand a chance next to him.
* * *
My mother had chosen dinner in Paris as the date for the final challenge. She said that she had fallen in love with my papa there, and while it might be in the human realm, the city contained its own magic. We arrived in mid-afternoon and changed into human clothes to do some exploring before dinner.
“So, have you ever been to France?” I asked Naven.
He looked adorably awkward in jeans and a dark green T-shirt. He fiddled with the gold necklace that cast a glamour to make him pass as human. I wore a matching necklace and a flowered pink sundress.
“I have not.” He looked everywhere at once and collided with a tall dark-haired boy holding hands with a girl in a red hoodie. They laughed and she apologized. Her accent said Canadian, which would explain why she said, “Sorry,” when Naven was the one who had run into them.
“Have you been to the human realm at all?” I asked as we continued down the street. “Wait, we need to stop here and get macarons. Trust me. It’s important.” I grabbed the prince’s hand and tugged him toward Ladurée.
“I visited New Zealand once with my brother.” He adjusted my grip so our fingers intertwined, his pale fingers around my brown ones. “It was nothing like this. This is busier than the Seelie Court. But you come here often?”
I nodded. “My papa said I would never learn French properly if I didn’t spend time in France.”
We entered the shop and examined the stacked pastel pyramids of macarons. I got a box with some of my favorites, and a chocolate orange one for my mother.
“Why do you need to speak French when you live in Faerie?” Naven took the pastry box from me and reached for my hand with his free one.
“So my parents can’t keep secrets from me, of course!”
* * *
Later that day, we sat at a little table on a patio overlooking the River Seine. The sun cast a golden spell over the river, and the Eiffel Tower twinkled on the far side as it lit up for the evening.
A waiter brought us a fresh, sliced baguette with delightfully stinky cheese. I took a sip from my glass and laughed.
“Mint tea with honey?” I took another sip and sighed. Perfection.
“Your father asked if there was anything we needed to make the dinner perfect. I think he knows the owner?”
I nodded and poured him a glass as well. “That sounds like him.”
After the waiter took our order, I leaned forward. “All right, Naven, it’s time to fess up.”
“To what?” He took an innocent sip of iced tea.
“You know what. The whole frog fiasco. The amphibian incident. What happened?”
“Oh, that.” The prince buttered a piece of baguette. “We were on our way to your challenge. Forlagh was helping me carry my belongings to the Juniper Gate—you might owe him an apology, by the way. None of this was his fault.”
“It’s true. Poor Forlagh. I’ll bake him a cake tomorrow.”
“He likes hazelnuts. Anyway, we were about to go through the gate to the Lily Court when out stepped an old woman in a red cloak.”
“Who was she?” I took a bite of my own bread, savoring the pungent, gooey cheese on top.
“I don’t know. She had the hood pulled down. I could only see the bottom of her face. Anyway, she offered to grant me a wish.”
“A random old lady offered you a wish, and you asked to be a frog?” I raised my eyebrows.
“I know it seems strange, but there was something familiar about her... Anyway, no. I did not wish to be a frog. I wished to win the competition. To have you see me as not just a childhood friend.”
“Well, that was sweet of you.” I bumped my knee against his under the table.
“Thank you. Apparently, I should have been more specific. You should have heard her laughing as she cast the spell. Although, to be fair, you didn’t see me as your childhood friend.”
“Ooooh. That’s true.” I took another bite of cheese and thought it over. “It seems a bit excessive, but I can’t complain too much. My wish certainly came true.”
Naven grinned and captured my hand, lightly kissing the back of it. “So did mine.”