I could hear Lily laughing and applauding in the background, and when we finally broke apart, I looked up at her sheepishly.

“Don’t give me that look, Sophie. You enjoyed every second of that.”

I looked back at Dominic, and he could clearly read the truth of her words in my face, because he leaned in to do it again.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Lily with another laugh. “Just hold on there.”

Dominic glowered up at her, but she was unmoved. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Lily. And that’s my twin you’re holding so possessively.”

He gave a reluctant laugh, the sound almost as rough as it had been when he was the Beast. He lifted me gently from his lap, and stood, pulling me up with him. “I am Dominic. And I can assure you that I have no wish to start my new betrothal at odds with my bride’s twin.”

“Oh, excellent. You can speak now.” Lily gave me a significant look. “Wasn’t there something rather important—and time sensitive—that needed to happen once you could speak?”

I gasped. “The coronation vow! Quick, Dominic.” I ran back through the still open doorway, tugging him along behind me. Lily and Jon trailed after us.

“What’s all this?” Jon kept pace with us despite his confusion. “Is there really such a rush?” Obviously, the coronation hadn’t been one of the things Lily had been able to explain to him while they were under guard.

I shrugged and didn’t slow down. “I don’t know if anyone has been keeping track of the number of hours it’s been since Dominic’s father died. And I for one don’t want to discover we’ve arrived too late because we dawdled on our way there.”

“Very well, then,” said Dominic and, without warning, swept me into his arms and took off at a jog.

I giggled and swatted at him. “Put me down!”

“I thought you said we were in a rush?”

I rolled my eyes, but secretly I liked the way he carried me, as easily as if I were made of cushions. He might have become human again, but some things hadn’t changed. His shoulders were still broad, although correctly proportioned now, and his arms were still strong.

After a whispered conversation between Lily and Jon that I didn’t attempt to catch, Jon broke away from us. However, he had joined us in the throne room within minutes of our own arrival, with someone else in tow. Lily had already explained that they had stashed the terrified official in a dusty sitting room, and that Jon had gone to fetch him.

“If he was official enough for a wedding ceremony,” she said, “we’re hoping he’s official enough for a coronation oath, too.”

The man seemed extremely nervous to be confronted with Prince Dominic, but he made no protest to our request. I expected that performing the ceremony in such a fashion would feel rushed and irreverent, just the four of us gathered around the official. But Dominic stood tall, and his strong voice spoke the words of the ancient vow with such meaning, that the moment achieved a solemnity I had not expected.

And when he finished, cheers broke out all around us. I had been so transfixed, I hadn’t even noticed the hall behind us filling with the guards and other inhabitants of the city who had made their way up to the palace to find out who had broken the curse.

For a long time after that, Dominic was busy talking with important citizens and the occasional noble who had remained in the capital. The guards, members of the single company he had ordered to remain in the capital when the others had been dispersed, were ordered to round up any of Cole’s men who still remained free and return to their barracks.

Several of the people who had arrived identified themselves as palace servants who had been living in the city while the palace stood unoccupied. I received the strong impression that no one in the city had stepped foot in the palace since the curse. That they had, in fact, feared the place. Since they had initially fled at the return of King Nicolas from his massacre, none of them could have known the curse’s true nature.

But if they had been afraid before, they now seemed happy to have returned. They quickly put themselves to work cleaning out the kitchen and several of the bedchambers.

“You’ll have to hold a proper coronation ceremony, with the actual crown, at some point,” I said to Dominic. “But I suppose you’ll have to wait for the nobles to gather first. How in the kingdoms have you been ruling them all this time if you couldn’t hear anything they said?”

His eyes looked sad as he answered me. “My father’s was a harsh rule. He had trained his subjects to immediate and unquestioning obedience. With the mirror at his disposal, the nobles dared not break his commands even on the privacy of their own estates. The godmother allowed me a week to make my way to my castle, and I used the time to issue my orders. I knew the kingdom needed to go into sustainment mode.”

He frowned. “Since I couldn’t hear them, I had no choice but to find each noble and issue my orders without conversation or discussion. I must have looked terrifying to them, too. I can only suppose they thought I meant to rule as my father had done. They did not know of the protection they had been given, or that I would be confined to my castle. I have watched them through the mirror, understanding as much as I could from observation alone, and sent further orders as seemed necessary.”

“Did you bring the mirror with you?” I wondered if it could be helpful now as we tried to bring the kingdom back together.

“No,” he said. “I’m afraid I didn’t squeeze it into a saddlebag when I leaped on Spitfire’s back and charged off to rescue you.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Men. They never think of the practical things.”

Dominic stiffened, offended, until we both burst into peals of laughter, and he relaxed.

“I think having the two of you together is going to take some getting used to.”

“Well, get used to it,” said Lily, slipping her arm around my waist. “Because I intend to be around for a while.”

Jon slapped Dominic on the back. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it. Mostly. Just don’t be surprised if she starts breaking off mid-sentence or staring into space for protracted periods in the middle of a conversation because she’s been distracted by a voice in her head.

Lily shook her head at him, but fixed her eyes on Dominic and me. “Speaking of the practical things.” She put her hands on her hips. “I hope you weren’t serious about that getting married in the morning thing. Because I cannot possibly put together a royal wedding overnight. And just think of our family. Mother and Alyssa would be heartbroken if they missed your wedding. I’ve already sent them word to come—so they could save you and attend my wedding—but it will take them weeks to arrive.”

“Ha!” I grinned at my twin. “You don’t fool me, Lil. There’s the real reason—you don’t want me getting married before you.”

“Well, I am the older twin,” she said with dignity, although her eyes laughed back at me.

“And I’ve already been waiting patiently for several months,” said Jon, slipping his arms around her waist from behind and pressing his face briefly into her hair.

I glanced back at Dominic. “The curse doesn’t require we be married in the morning, does it?”

He pulled me close and leaned down to whisper in my ear. The sound of his familiar voice speaking aloud, the growl still lurking behind his words, thrilled me. “Would you believe me if I said it does? I don’t like this talk of months.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “You’ve waited for years, you can wait a little longer.” I looked over at Lily. “I don’t think Dominic could possibly leave Palinar right now. Do you think the people of Marin would stand for their heir being married here?”

Lily’s eyes lit up. “A double wedding! As soon as Mother and the rest arrive.” She turned to Jon. “Oh, Jon. Can we?”

He laughed. “If it means finally setting a date, I will use all of my persuasive powers. We can have some sort of ceremonial event when we return to Marin to commemorate it.” He tried to suppress a smile. “I know you’re a little sick of balls after the Tourney, but…”

Lily groaned. “I said my birthday ball was the only one I would attend this year.” She bit her lip, but I could see excitement in her eyes. “But if it will convince your parents, I suppose I might be persuaded to dance…”

“Dance?” asked a familiar voice behind us. “But you dance so beautifully, Princess Sophie.”

“Oh, no…” said Lily, as I swung around to confront the girl.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, looking wide eyed between the two of us. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…You must be Princess Lily. My apologies.”

“Tara!” The short girl looked close enough to my imaginings that I suspected I might have recognized her even without her voice. I rushed forward to embrace her, and she squeaked in surprise. “Sorry!” I stepped back. “But I had no idea you were here in the capital, and I’m just so excited to be able to see you.”

I glanced reproachfully at Dominic. Why hadn’t he told me he had brought my friends with him? But he was regarding Tara with a raised eyebrow and an expression of resignation. “Tell me,” he said. “How many of my servants have gone rogue and defected to the capital in my absence?”

Tara flushed, looking a little scared. “Oh, no, Your Highness! Only, I couldn’t sit around at the castle, not knowing what had happened to the princess.”

“Ignore him.” I told her. “That was extremely sweet of you, although probably foolhardy. It could have been dangerous.”

She shrugged. “That Cole made it through, didn’t he? And I didn’t ride here alone, or anything. Lottie’s Samuel has turned out to be far more resourceful than I would have imagined. He was on duty in the entrance hall and overheard His Highness talking about riding to the capital because he had seen Cole there in the mirror and also your carriage heading in that direction. So, Samuel convinced one of the coachmen to bring us here in one of the unused carriages.” She looked a little guilty. “We may have given poor Thomas the impression that you were expecting your maids to follow you.”

“You mean Lottie’s here, too? Where?” I looked around, eager to see if my mental image of her had been equally accurate. My eyes fell on Lily who appeared to be suppressing a laugh.

I gave her a glare. These are my friends!

She grinned back at me. I’m only laughing because she’s so exactly like you described her. You have to let me come and meet Lottie, too.

Tara had already started leading me away, and Lily ran to catch up without waiting for my response. Tara apologized profusely for mistaking her for me, but Lily waved away her apology and had soon entirely ingratiated herself with my maid.

We found Lottie with a tall man, dressed as a footman, who hovered over her protectively. I immediately recognized the truth of the assessment Tara had made of him months ago. Samuel looked trust-worthy and easily approachable. And I also realized that Tara had been right about Lottie.

My image of her had been quite wrong, although her basic features and coloring were as I expected. I had allowed her general attitude and her lack of confidence in herself to override Tara’s description, but it turned out she was indeed willowy and graceful. I couldn’t be surprised at the way Samuel looked at her.

All of the introductions were quickly made, and Lily was soon winning over Lottie as well. I watched her with amusement, somehow suspecting that I would now be expected to share their services. But in truth, I was merely glad to be so quickly reunited with my friends from the castle. With so many new people to meet, I appreciated the familiar voices.

All three were full of thanks to me for breaking the curse, although I tried to deflect their praise onto Dominic, since he had really been the one to free them.

“But he couldn’t have done it without you,” said Tara. “He hadn’t broken it in all the years before you came.”

I considered telling her the details of the double curse but hesitated. I didn’t know if Dominic would want it widely known, and I wasn’t sure I had the energy for such a complicated explanation, anyway.

“Of course, we don’t really know what the curse involved,” said Lottie, “and we weren’t supposed to talk about it. Except you can’t stop rumors, not completely. We were all sure you must have come to break it, and at least half the servants were convinced that if you couldn’t break it before the coronation window closed, we would all be stuck forever.”

I shuddered to think of the truth to that guess. Now that I knew the truth of the curse, I knew that it would never have been broken with Cole as king. Would the wilderness have returned once Dominic had no longer been heir and regent?

I shook myself from such gloomy thoughts to ask after the rest of the castle servants.

Tara told me that Gordon had begged to come, claiming that his work helping Matthew with Chestnut qualified him to assist our coachman. When Gilda roundly refused his demand, he had even attempted to stowaway in the carriage. Lily exclaimed that she wished he had succeeded since she was dying to meet him, but I couldn’t help feeling relieved he had failed.

There would be enough going on over the next few days without my feeling responsible for whatever unintended mischief he would have been sure to land himself in. I told Lottie she should write to them all, though, and let them know that I would visit the castle as soon as possible to meet them properly at last.