Chapter Eleven

Daniel

I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans and look over at Tremblay. “So, do we wait out here or go inside?”

We’re standing outside Oak’s Tavern, a large stone building on the south side of town. Orange light spills out from the door and I can hear music and cheerful voices.

“Don’t sweat it, man.” Tremblay slings an arm over my shoulder. “You sound like you’re about to go on a first date.”

I swallow. If this was a date, it would be easy. I’ve been on hundreds of dates before.

Instead, I feel like I’m going for drinks with the devil.

“Just a friendly post-game drink with some friends!” Arm still around my shoulder, Tremblay guides me toward the door. He stops just before we go in and looks me in the eye. “And remember, we’re just having Cokes tonight.”

“Yeah, I know.” My teammate is right. Even though drinking myself into a stupor is probably the easiest way to survive a night out with Lyle Worthington, I’ve got to be on my best behavior. Who knows what the rat has planned?

We walk through the entrance of the pub and I’m immediately smacked in the face by a wave of heat. This place is packed, with almost every seat and booth taken. There’s a roaring fire in a giant stone fireplace and long bar tables stretch the length of the pub. With the wood detailing, log benches, and stuffed deer heads on the wall, it looks more like a hunter’s cabin than a pub. But I guess that’s what you get in Eldonia, which is only a couple hundred years behind the times.

The bar’s manned by a hulking guy in suspenders. Behind him, bottles of booze with peeling labels line the walls.

Tremblay and I walk toward the counter. “I don’t see Lyle yet,” he says.

I look around. The pub’s crowded, but I could spot Lyle’s fiery red hair anywhere. I’m sure he plans to keep me waiting.

“What’ll it be, boys?”

I turn to the bartender and he stops, studies me for a moment, then smiles broadly enough that I can see all his teeth—some silver and a couple of gold. “Prince Daniel! What a pleasure having you in my humble abode!”

Damn, does everyone in this town know who I am? “Thanks. It’s, uh, rustic.” I scan the bottles, trying to make out any of the labels. I’ve got to keep myself in line. “Just two Cokes, please.”

“Taking it easy night tonight, eh boys?” The giant bartender turns away, his big barrel belly shaking with laughter. When he returns, he’s got two short glasses filled with Coke.

“We’ve got lots of, uh, stuff to do tomorrow…” I stumble over my words.

“Kingly stuff!” Tremblay interrupts. “I mean, princely stuff.”

I’m tempted to smack my face with my palm. I could really use Madison’s quick wit and charming smile tonight.

The thought makes me want to snatch a bottle of rum from behind the counter and down the whole thing. Madison gave me the biggest reminder today that our fake relationship is the closest I’ll ever get to calling her my girlfriend. I couldn’t bear to kiss her a second time, knowing how much it meant to me, while to her, it was just a picture in a tabloid.

“No matter what you’re having, I will take fine care of you! I am Mr. Oak, the proprietor of this establishment.” The man pushes the glasses toward us. “You know, the royal Harwell family has been coming to this pub for over two hundred years! It’s been in the Oak family for generations…except for that thorny instance in 1875 when we briefly lost it to the Birches. Your father even called us a national treasure.”

I look around at the cobwebs in the rafters and the rickety log benches and think that Eldonia’s national treasure is in desperate need of an upgrade. There’s no way this place is up to code.

“In fact,” Mr. Oak continues, “I served your sister her very first drink on her sixteenth birthday. Your father, too.”

That’s right, the legal drinking age in Eldonia is sixteen. And I can’t even enjoy it.

“And to think,” the man says loudly, gesturing to the whole pub, “we’ve got Prince Daniel joining us tonight!”

Everyone in the bar turns to look at me.

The Bastard Prince.

But as I stare back at them, I’m not seeing the looks I remember. I don’t see scorn or hatred. And when I think about my trip into town with Madison earlier today…from the tomato seller, to the server at the restaurant, to all the people coming up to me, asking for pictures… Everyone was surprisingly nice.

This is the first time I’ve been back in Eldonia since my three-day whirlwind trip for Dad’s funeral. Everyone must have heard the rumors, must be wondering who will be the next king. And maybe they actually prefer me to Lyle Worthington.

“Already commanding attention.” A long voice drawls from the entrance of the pub. “It seems my betrothed really has been teaching you a thing or two, old sport.”

I turn to see Lyle in the entranceway, Laughy and Alderson standing behind him.

Lyle saunters into the pub and thankfully everyone goes back to pretending to be interested in their drinks. But I know their attention is still on me.

Tremblay tries to pay for our drinks, but Mr. Oak insists our drinks are on the house. We grab the cups. “Let’s sit down.”

The five of us find a couple of seats that surround a low table by the fire. Tremblay and I sit in a well-worn brown sofa, while Lyle and his goons take a seat across from us. A waitress in a short plaid skirt walks over. “What can I get you, gentlemen?”

“What are you drinking?” Lyle flicks a finger toward my glass.

“Just Cokes for us tonight,” Tremblay answers for me.

“Hmm.” Lyle makes a small sound in the back of his throat. “I’ll have three pints of Brewsters Pale Ale. It’s on the prince’s tab.” He sneers at me. “Surely you can handle something a little stronger?”

“We’ll be good with these,” I say, and when Lyle’s face twitches, I add, “We have to be up early.”

It’s not a lie. I’m sure Eva’s got plenty of training planned to bore me with tomorrow.

“Fine, fine,” Lyle says, turning back to the waitress. “And we’ll have the Eldonian Special delivered in a little while. Thanks, dearie.”

The waitress nods and leaves the table. I have no idea what the Eldonian Special is, and while it may have intrigued me at another time, Tremblay’s right. We’ve got to keep it under control tonight. I’m here to improve my image, not make it any worse.

Keeping up a conversation with Lyle isn’t actually as hard as I thought it would be. All I have to do is ask one small question about his life, and he’ll go on and on…and on and on. I feel my eyes getting glassy, and I swallow the rest of my Coke, just to keep myself awake. If I stare at Lyle’s face long enough, I can see flecks of powder on his nose from where he’s tried to cover the bruise I gave him on the ice this morning.

The pub door shoots open, and the candles on the table flicker. Everyone who was pretending not to look at me (but really was) turns to the door. In walk four drop-dead gorgeous girls.

They’re stunning. Their matching short dresses show off every inch of their mile-long legs. “Oh man,” I whisper to Tremblay. “Look at who just walked in.”

Tremblay, who seems more interested in his conversation with Laughy on how frozen a lake has to be to safely skate on it, finally turns to the door. He looks back at me with a bored expression.

I never thought I’d see the day when Captain Tremblay was so enthralled with a tall, scruffy-haired, bossy girl that seeing four incredibly sexy women has no effect on him, whatsoever.

But as I look at them, instead of excitement, I feel a sinking sensation in my gut. None of these girls are the one I want to see. A couple weeks ago, I might have relished the distraction of talking to girls like them. But now, after spending so much time with Madison, I know what it would be like to be with her. Really with her.

Which only makes our pretend situation worse.

I look across the table and notice Lyle’s gone over to stand by the girls.

They flock around him, touching his arm, laughing and pulling out their phones for selfies.

“Boys, my lovely friends have arrived,” Lyle says, guiding them over. “This is Paige, Idina, Krista, and Halle.”

Tremblay waves a friendly hello, and so do I. This is so weird. Why would Lyle introduce me to his gorgeous friends?

“Girls,” Lyle says, “this is Prince Daniel and—” He swats a hand toward Tremblay. “—company.”

They start giggling, their lilting murmurs barely audible: “Oh, Prince Daniel.”

“Make room, Your Highness,” Lyle clucks. “We’re not going to make the poor ladies stand, are we?”

Is Lyle being…semi-nice to me? Using my royal title, getting the pretty girls to sit beside me. Maybe he feels bad about being such a dick to me for the past seventeen years. Maybe he knows he’ll never be king and wants to suck up.

But then it dawns on me. It’s a trap. Lyle brought me to a bar, is trying to get me to drink, and is now surrounding me with gorgeous girls…

It’s so obvious. He wants to get me drunk so I’ll hook up with one of these random girls and ruin my reputation further.

Does he think I’m an idiot?

I lean back in the couch and grin. Not today, Lyle.

With Lyle’s couch taken over by him and his goons, Krista plops down in his lap and strings her arms around his shoulders. I guess that means the rest of the girls are going to have to squeeze on this couch with Tremblay and me. I move over so I’m tight against Tremblay and he’s pushed all the way against the side of the couch. Normally, I’d be sprawled out, arms open for these girls, pulling them beside me. But I feel stiff and awkward.

Idina, Halle, and Paige crowd into the space beside us. It’s a tight fit and Idina is pressed right up against me. Her bare legs touch mine.

“Tell me if this is too squishy, Prince Daniel,” she says, running a hand through her long platinum blond hair. Her accent is musical and friendly.

Normally this would drive me wild, but to my own surprise, I’m not even tempted by her. Instead, I keep thinking of Madison’s shiny black hair, her cheeky smiles, the way she narrows her eyes at me when I do something dumb.

“Idina’s visiting from Norway.” Lyle lazily plays with one of Krista’s strawberry blond braids. “Maybe you could be a good host and show the girls around your kingdom tomorrow?”

Idina leans in closer to me and puts her lips by my ear. “Or you could show me around…tonight.”

I must be sitting too close to the fire, because I’m burning up. What is even happening? I shake my head to see if I’m dreaming. A girl has never just come out and said something like that to me before. She doesn’t even know me.

Well, she knows one thing about me. And I guess that’s the only thing that matters.

Maybe that’s why, as much as Lyle thinks this is a temptation, it’s really not. Why I never tried to play the prince card back in Chicago. Because once people find out you’re royalty, that’s all you are. All they care about.

It even turned Madison. She liked me before she knew I was a prince, yeah. But she never wanted me as her boyfriend.

“I’ve got a meeting in the morning,” I say to Idina. “And in the afternoon, I have plans with my girlfriend. But I’m sure I can find someone in the castle to escort you.”

Tremblay gives me a smile—approval from the cap.

“You have a girlfriend?” Halle pouts.

“Yeah.” I close my eyes. Even though I’m hurt about this afternoon, I can’t think of Madison without my heart quickening. I feel compelled to tell these strangers all about her, how she loves old Hollywood movies but still goes to see blockbusters at the theater every Tuesday. And how even though she’s teeny-tiny, she can still eat an entire pot of my spaghetti. But instead I just say, “She’s amazing.”

“Oh, that little girl from the party who was hanging off your arm all night?” Lyle says. “I figured she was just your plaything for the night. She’s quite pretty, though. For a commoner.”

My fingers dig into my palms. Lyle can insult me all he wants…but to bring Madison into this? I wish I’d hit him harder on the ice. Hit him hard enough he couldn’t flap that arrogant, pompous mouth of his ever again.

“We should get going,” Tremblay says, standing. He tugs on my sleeve and I follow his lead.

“Oh,” Idina pouts. “But can we take a photo first?”

“I guess.” I shrug.

All the girls stand up and throw their arms around me. Idina shoots a glare at Tremblay until he backs out of the photo, and she hands her phone to Lyle who snaps a couple pictures.

“Now one of just us!” she says to me as the other girls sit down.

“Uh, okay.”

“Smile, Prince Daniel,” Lyle says.

I look at his smug face. That’s so weird—he never calls me Prince Daniel. But before I can think anymore, Idina grabs my face and kisses me on the mouth just as the flash goes off.

I blink, stumbling backward. She smiles and pats me on the cheek. Lyle’s laughing.

“Hey!” I stammer.

“Such a cute face.” She grins at me.

I turn to Tremblay, and his eyes are wide. He rushes forward. “Well, I better take this cute face home now, before we—”

But just then, the waitress comes over to us and sets a large tray down on the table. On the tray rests five crystal glasses of flaming green liquid. Each glass has a small spoon with a single sugar cube resting on top. There’s also a large bottle, swirling with green liquid.

“Eldonian absinthe,” Lyle says and puts one of the glasses right in front of me.

The Eldonian Special.

Tremblay turns to Lyle. “Thank you, but we have to get going.”

“Did you know, Prince Daniel,” Lyle says, “that true absinthe can only be purchased in five countries, one of them being Eldonia? This is one of Eldonia’s delicacies. But if you’d rather miss out on a part of your country’s heritage, tsk, to each their own.”

I stare at the dwindling green flames, the melting sugar cube. The last bit falls into the glass.

Lyle removes his spoon and picks up his glass. “Cheers to a wonderful day with friends.”

“Cheers to what, Lyle?” I say, and I can’t keep the anger from creeping into my voice. “You blackmailed me to get me here. Don’t pretend you’re actually having fun.”

He downs his shot, then grabs the bottle. “Au contraire, mon ami. I’m having an absolutely splendid time.”

I stare at the green liquid as Lyle twirls the bottle in his hands. “I bet you are.”

“Although,” he says, “skating at that little rink made me think. The first thing I’m going to do once I’m king is tear down that disgusting, dirty arena.”

My nails bite into my palms. “What? My father built that arena!”

Lyle laughs. “And it’s a travesty! I couldn’t bear to think of my and Evangeline’s children playing such a barbaric sport in that hideous building.”

Tremblay grabs my arm, but I pull out of his grip. “Don’t talk about her. Eva would never let that happen. Our father made that place what it is.”

Lyle takes a swig of absinthe, straight from the bottle. “She won’t have a choice. Once I’m King of Eldonia, I can do anything I want. And I want that place to burn to the ground.”

I lunge at Lyle and grab him. He doesn’t stand a chance. Suddenly, it’s like everything is happening in slow motion. I yank Lyle out of his seat by his shirt collar. His eyes go wide and he squeaks. He stumbles over his feet and his small hands open…and that bottle of absinthe flies straight toward the fire.

There’s a pop and suddenly I’m thrown back as flames erupt from the fireplace.

…

Madison

“Okay, so what are you thinking?” I ask. “Boys over Flowers or Coffee Prince?”

“I’m confused by everything that just came out of your mouth.” Eva raises a brow at me.

I actually can’t stop staring at her. She just looks so…so…so normal. It’s nighttime now, and Alice, Eva and I are in our PJs, getting ready to cuddle in bed and watch some TV before turning in for the night. Who knows when the boys will be back from their guy’s night out with Lyle at Oak’s Tavern?

Eva’s got her hair in one long braid over her shoulder and she’s wearing a silk nightgown that’s probably imported. But without the glamorous hair and heels, and maybe with the vulnerability of seeing her in her pajamas, well, she actually looks sixteen years old for once.

“They’re Korean dramas,” I clarify. “And if you want to understand them, you can’t fall asleep like Alice always does. They have subtitles.”

“Oh…okay,” Eva says. She looks at Alice and me carefully, sitting shoulder to shoulder on my bed, laptop between us.

“Coffee Prince is about a girl who pretends to be a boy,” I say, “which is one of our favorites, because we have lots of experience with that.”

Eva raises a brow. “How do you have experience with…that?”

Alice and I exchange a look, then Alice launches into an explanation. “Daniel hasn’t told you? Madison helped me disguise myself as a boy for, like, a year, so I could play for the Falcons.”

Eva’s face is expressionless for a moment and I wonder if she’ll bolt now that she realizes how strange Alice and I really are. But then she breaks into a huge smile. “Are you kidding? Turned you into a boy? Screw the telly, I want to hear that story.” And then Evangeline, Princess of Eldonia, shoves in beside us on the bed. “Tell me everything.”

…

“And then Freddy hit Alice into the boards so hard, the glass broke all around her. She hit the ice hard,” I say.

Eva’s eyes are wide as she gazes with rapt interest back and forth between Alice and me. She crunches loudly on a chip from the bag she’s nearly demolished. Our bed is littered with cookies, chips, and candy. About halfway through the story—the part where Alice was teaching the boys how to figure skate—the Princess of Eldonia demanded that it was time for a snack break and had Eldy deliver us goodies.

Alice and I should have sleepovers in Eldonia more often. This totally beats the fruit trays Xander brings us at her house.

“And then Hayden busted in!” Alice explains, throwing an entire box of cookies off the bed.

“No, not yet,” I say. “First, I took you to the trainer’s office.”

“But he found out you were a GIRL?” Eva says.

Suddenly, the door bursts open and Eldy stands there, panting, a panicked expression on his face.

“Eldredge,” Eva says, “whatever is the matter?”

“Oak’s Tavern.” He gasps for breath. “It’s ablaze!”

…

“Hurry, Boulder!” I say, my heart doing acrobatics in my chest.

Dwayne Boulder speeds the sleek black car down the cobblestone streets toward town. We could see the flames and plumes of smoke all the way from the castle.

Alice holds my hand the whole way there, telling me everything is going to be okay. I think she’s trying to convince herself more than me.

Eva is silent in the front seat, her eyes staring straight ahead. She hasn’t even put on a jacket.

Fear settles deep within me, but I don’t let myself think about what could have happened. I breathe in deeply through my nose, and out through my mouth. Every special memory I shared with Daniel flashes through my mind, including our kiss earlier. I wish I could go back to that moment, hold him close and beg him never to leave my side.

Finally, Boulder screeches to a stop. We’re still a block away from the burning tavern, but we can’t get any closer. It’s surrounded by fire trucks, ambulances, and a crowd of people. Smoke billows out in great black clouds, and we can see that the entire building is engulfed in flames.

We jump out of the car. Boulder tries to grab Eva’s shoulder, but she leaps out of his grasp and charges forward. Alice and I are right behind her.

There’s a giant wall of firefighters holding people back from the tavern. I search the faces in the crowd, but they’re all black shadows against the flames.

“Daniel!” I scream.

Then Alice stills beside me. I turn to her and watch her face twist as she chokes out a sob. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alice cry. I follow her gaze and see Hayden standing in the crowd. He’s disheveled, and covered with soot, but he’s safe.

She runs to him and he wraps his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“Where’s Daniel?” I cry.

“Everyone was out,” Hayden stammers, “but we realized we couldn’t find Mr. Oak, the proprietor. Daniel…Daniel went back in to get him. I tried to stop him…”

And suddenly, I can’t hear Hayden anymore. I can’t hear anything. I look to the flames consuming the building. No…no…

“Dan-Dan is in there…” Eva grasps my arm, her voice shaking.

Suddenly, a silhouette appears from the pub, black against the flame. My heart pounds, as I shove forward to make out the face.

It’s Daniel.

He’s got his arm around a giant man, who I can only assume is Mr. Oak. They hobble forward together, Daniel supporting the massive man’s weight.

I run forward, but a fireman stops my pursuit. “Please, miss,” he says. “Stay back.”

“But you don’t understand!” I yell. “He’s my…that’s my…”

I watch as a fireman grabs Daniel and Mr. Oak and guides them over to the ambulance. He’s going to be okay. Daniel’s going to be okay.

My numb body breaks like an icicle crashing to the frozen ground. Tears fall down my face and my body is wracked with sobs.

“I wouldn’t waste your tears.”

My spine crawls at the sound of that prickly voice. I quickly wipe my eyes and look up to see Lyle Worthington standing over me, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“I suppose you’re crying for your prince.” He sneers. “Don’t waste your pity. Not when this was all his doing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Prince Daniel started this fire,” Lyle says, “and soon all of Eldonia will know it.”