As I expected, Bathsheba has found shelter near the riding track. Another of our few horses has joined her there and I lead them both back to the temporary stable that’s been set up near the east side of the palace. The rain is still pelting overhead, but at least the hail has stopped for now.

The horses seem almost as eager as I am to get out of the rain. I find a spot for each of them in the large shed—we’ve used this shed once before after a storm like this one caused our previous barn’s roof to cave in.

I stroke Bathsheba’s nose for a few minutes—I haven’t been spending as much time with her as I used to. The grooms still ride her daily, but I’ve been so busy with my life for the past several months that I haven’t been able to ride her myself in far too long.

That changes after this storm is cleaned up. At least until I move back to America… Perhaps I can arrange to have her sent with me—I’m still not certain where I’m going to go, only that it won’t be here.

And it will be far, far away from William.

I’m not sure what’s going on with me, only that the odd attraction I’m feeling toward him cannot be healthy. Obviously. I’m somehow strangely aroused by our constant fighting, though it’s probably that the arguments now end in kissing that is so stimulating.

Damn, he’s a good kisser. I suppose I could acknowledge that. He is very good at kissing, but that is as far as I’m willing to let things go between us. Not that he wants more—after all, he did leave our bed last night to sleep in the rain. I gave him the opportunity—again—and he chose not to take it. I suppose he’s made it perfectly clear that I disgust him at least as much as he disgusts me.

Whatever. It isn’t as though there isn’t more than enough to do outside our suite now. William can make himself busy entertaining the staff while they wait out the storm. He seems to enjoy that—being the center of attention.

I tighten the ties on the other horses in the makeshift stable and ensure each of them has access to the hay and water one of the grooms has carried over from the storage shed. At least we got them all out alive.

Our country may not have been so lucky. It will be days before we hear of the majority of damage, particularly since the electricity went out so quickly this time. Many of the farmers in the outlying areas will be so busy tending to their farms that they won’t have time to report their damages.

I’ll have to go into the city tomorrow to see if I can help there. Our infrastructure is old—and with the storms, we haven’t had the funds to be able to replace much of it. Many of the bridges in the city are years older than our compliance laws state they should be, but we haven’t been able to raise taxes to be able to pay for such things.

I hear a sound behind me, followed by the braying of another horse, and I turn to see William, tying up one of the older horses near where the others stand.

He glances over at me. “How many more are there?”

I frown. “I don’t know.”

He nods before he hitches a thumb over his shoulder. “What’s going on out there?”

“I have no idea what you mean.” I walk over and retie the knot William has made to keep the horse in place. “It’s still raining—”

“I mean with the guards.”

“Oh.” I glance over at the door, but I don’t see anything. “I’m sure they’re just out trying to help to start cleaning up the mess—”

“There are hundreds of them, Princess. I don’t care how big the storm is, no one needs hundreds of Royal Guardsmen—”“

“Oh, really? I suppose you’ve been out to survey the damage yourself then? You rode Jessup down to the city in the hour since I’ve seen you?” I give the horse in front of me—the one William brought in—a pat. “You took it upon yourself to go and inspect the damages done from the storm by yourself?”

“Of course not, Princess.” He pats the horse as well, chuckling. “His name is Jessup?”

I ignore the comment. “Why are you so untrusting? You’ve seen the damage done here—and the palace is protected by the hill behind us.” I hitch my own thumb over my shoulder. “The rest of the city—the rest of the country—is not so lucky. Did we not already have this conversation?”

“It isn’t safe for anyone to be traveling anywhere, Princess.” He frowns at me. “Including the Royal Guard. Which is why I find it suspect that they’re all headed toward the east wing of the palace.” He lifts a brow. “What is it you have hidden in there?”

I glare at him for a long moment. “Oh.” I nod, narrowing my gaze. “That’s where we keep the dragons. They’re probably making sure they haven’t gotten out again.”

His brows draw together, but I don’t wait for him to make a snide comment before continuing.

“They probably did get out. It’s probably how the barn caught fire. You’d better watch out, Your Highness. They don’t take kindly to strangers.”

“Very funny.” He pauses for a moment. “You don’t really have dragons, do you—?”

“Of course we don’t have dragons.” I glare at him. “Unless we do. That would make perfect sense, wouldn’t it? It would at least explain whatever it is we have hidden in the east wing that you’re so ridiculously curious about.”

He lifts a brow. “Well, it would explain some things…” He shakes his head. “What am I saying? What the hell do you have hidden in there?”

“Nothing to my knowledge, Your Highness.” I sigh. “You should get Jessup some of that water over there.” I point at a trough. “The buckets are on the other wall.”

I turn to walk back to my horse, giving her a few strokes on the nose. I lower my voice, but not so low that William couldn’t hear me if he chose. “He thinks we have dragons, Bathsheba. Perhaps he isn’t as intelligent as we first thought.”

He calls over to me. “Well, at least you concede I’m not an idiot.”

“I concede nothing of the sort. Perhaps you can learn to ride one.”

“I’ve ridden plenty of horses in my lifetime, Princess. Probably more than you—”

“Not horses, Your Highness. Dragons.”

“Very funny.”

I chuckle to myself. “I thought so.”

He rolls his eyes and pats Jessup on the nose. “Yes, you’re a regular comedian.”

“Not as funny as you, clearly.”

“Few are.”

I roll my own eyes at his comment. “Yes, I’ve heard rumors that you’re the funniest man in Montovia. It’s a little sad for Montovia, really.”

That earns me a small smile and a shake of his head. “You might be surprised at my other talents, Princess.”

I hear the innuendo in his voice, and it sends a shiver of need through me. I turn away, hoping he can’t see whatever might reveal itself in my expression.

“We should go inside and find some food, Princess. And I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted—”

“I doubt that we’ll be able to find a separate room tonight, Your Highness. Until the glass has been cleared—”

“I never asked for separate rooms.” He strides over to me. “I never wanted separate rooms.”

“You did ask, though. You asked last night. And you found sleeping in my bed so distasteful that you slept outside in the rain instead.” I lift a brow. “If you like, you’re welcome to sleep on the veranda again, though you’ll likely get wet—”

“Considering I—like you—am in desperate need of a shower, it might not be such a bad thing.”

I nod. “Fine, then you may sleep outside again. If that’s what you prefer.”

“I never said that was what I preferred…”

I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, but I feel like I’m needling him only to get him to kiss me again. But this time, he isn’t taking the bait. He stands just far enough away from me that he can’t merely tip his head to kiss me. It’s almost as though he wants me to come to him this time.

But I refuse to do that.

Instead, I edge around him and head for the exit.

He calls to me. “You never told me what the guardsmen were doing out there, Princess.”

I turn to face him again. “I believe I did, Your Highness.”

He shakes his head slowly. “I will get to the bottom of this.”

“Sure you will.” I smile. “If you can do it in the next ninety-six days, of course.”

His eyes widen for a moment before they narrow with what almost looks like anger. “And I will get to the bottom of that, too.”

I grin. “Of course you will, Your Highness. But for now, we should go and find some food.”